Bremen dismiss Werner | OneFootball

Werder Bremen dismiss head coach Ole Werner

After guiding Werder Bremen to back-to-back top half finishes, Ole Werner has been dismissed by the club following his decision to opt against an extension of his contract beyond 2026.

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Reacting to Werner's decision, the club's managing director of professional football, Clemens Fritz, said: "We are really disheartened by this decision, because we could have easily imagined working with Ole in the long term. However, we need continuity and clarity for the future for this role, which is why we have decided to part ways with Ole."

"From the outset, we wanted to avoid starting the season with a head coach entering the final year of his contract. Ole’s decision not to extend his contract prompted us to make this call now, as it’s extremely difficult to move forward with personnel planning when it’s unclear who the head coach will be next year."

Werner was previously head coach at Holstein Kiel and had been in charge at Bremen since 2021, joining with the club in 10th place in Bundesliga 2 after 20 games. He secured promotion as runners-up, though, before overseeing 13th-, ninth- and eighth-placed finishes in the top flight.

Fritz added: "We would like to thank Ole for the last three and half years and the outstanding work he has done at Werder Bremen. We had a very strong and trusting working relationship with him. Ole continuously developed the team and had a big influence on successfully establishing Werder back in the Bundesliga."

For his part, Werner said he felt he had taken Bremen as far he could have and that a change was necessary.

"It was anything but an easy decision for me to not extend my contract," he explained. "But I’ve often said that my work is about developing a club. And once a certain point is reached, there are usually two options: either you make changes around the coach, or you change the coach.

"That’s why I made the decision for next summer and informed the club’s management. I understand Werder’s decision from the club’s perspective. I had a wonderful time in Bremen with my coaching team, fantastic staff, a great squad and club officials whose support I always felt."

The club's immediate priority is now to find a new coach.

“Our goal is to appoint a new coach in the short term who can continue the successful development of the past three years and who suits Werder both in terms of footballing philosophy and as a person,” said Fritz.

In addition to Werner's exit, the club also confirmed that assistant coaches Tom Cichon, Patrick Kohlmann and Hannes Drews will also be leaving their roles with immediate effect.

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