Werder Bremen - The Weser Stadium - Capacity - 42,100
The Stadium – The Weser Stadion Franz-Böhmert Strasse 1c, Bremen 28205
The Weser Stadion has been the home of Werder Bremen for nearly 100 years, and is now one of the most distinctive looking stadiums in the country due to its unique floodlights and its oval shape. It was originally used as a general sports field in the early part of the century before being developed for Political rallies in the early 1930’s at the time when the Nazi party was on the rise.
The stadium was extensively remodelled in the 1970’s with a new roof added as well as the addition of 9,500 seats. During the 2001/02 season the biggest project took place when the pitch was lowered, allowing a further 8,000 seats to be added to the ground.
The stadium has a dual capacity depending on the nature of the matches played – for normal Bundesliga matches the capacity is over 42,000, but this falls to around 35,000 for Internationals as the terracing has to be converted to seating. Normally the ground has around 32,000 seats. In September 2005 the German national team played a friendly international at the stadium against South Africa. The stadium also houses a museum, and holds regular tours of the ground which costs €5 for Adults and €2.50 for Concessions.
Who Plays There? Werder Bremen are now established as one of the most consistent teams in German football, after their capture of the domestic Double in 2004, and appearances in the Champions League group stages in both 2004/05 and 2005/06. Their 3-1 victory in the Olympic Stadium in Munich in May 2004 will go down in history as one of the most dramatic games in German football history as it broke Bayern’s seemingly unbreakable hold on the Bundesliga title. The team, led by coach Thomas Schaaf won the title for the fourth time, and the first time since 1993 through the efforts of players like Johan Micoud, the Brazilian Ailton and Miroslav Klose.
In the last two Champions League campaigns, the club have made it out of difficult group stages, only to fall against perceived weaker teams in the first knock out rounds. They will be hoping that with experience and the goals of Klose and Klasnic will help them realise their potential on the European stage.
The club were originally formed in 1899, and whilst performing well in the North German Leagues, they did not taste any glory until 1961 when they beat Kaiserslautern to win the German Cup in Gelsenkirchen. After failing to be included in the first ever Bundesliga in 1963, the team showed their critics the errors of their ways by winning the Bundesliga title in their first season in the league in 1964. Over the next decade the team couldn’t find any consistency and actually fell into the second division in 1980. The appointment of Otto Rehhagel as coach revived the team and under young stars such as Rudi Voller saw the team rise again and in 1983 they finished runners up in the league. In 1988 they took their second Bundesliga title, starting a magical period for the club under Rehhagel which saw a further League championship in 1993, German Cup wins in 1991 and 1994 and victory in Europe with the European Cup Winners Cup title in 1992.
After Rehhagel left the club in 1995, the club struggled to replace him until they decided to promote Thomas Schaaf in 1999. In his first season Werder took the German Cup after beating Bayern Munich on penalties. His performance during the remaining seasons to date are of legendary status, and the double of 2003/04 has proved to be no fluke after another top top finish last season with Klose, Klasnic and Borowski powering the team forward. Werder are also the highest scorers in German football, and fans saw the team score four or more goals ten times last season. This season the Champions League has again provided successful for the team as they have taken valuable points off Chelsea and Barcelona, so that with just one game left they have nudged ahead Barcelona for the final knock out stage spot.
How to get a ticket for the Weser Stadion Last season Werder sold out a number of matches, including the games versus Hertha Berlin, Bayern Munich and Hamburg, but the average attendance was around 39,500 meaning that for matches against the majority of opposition tickets are available. Tickets can be purchased from the stadium on match days, as well as by internet at http://www.werder.de/cgi-bin/cgi_shop1. Tickets range in price from €11 behind the goals to €29 in the upper tiers close to the halfway line. Ticket prices tend to be 10% higher for Champions League matches.
How to get to the Weser Stadion The Weser Stadium is located to the south east of the city centre on a reclaimed part of land next to the River Weser. The stadium is easily reached by public transport, as well as being close to the A1 Autobahn. From the Hauptbahnhof take tram line 10 in the direction of Sebaldsbrücke and alight at Juergen Strasse, or take line 3 in the direction of Weser. The journey should take less than 10 minutes and the journey is free for match ticket holders.
For a more detailed view on who plays where in Germany, go to Footiemap.com.
Getting around Bremen is a very functional city, and public transport consists of the U-Bahn and trams. Most of the main sites are located in a small area in the old town, and so you will not need to use many routes. A single journey is €1.
Bremen Airport is located 3 ½ kilometres from the city centre. From the airport you need to catch tram number 6 which runs from outside the departures area direct to the central station every 10 minutes. A single ticket costs €1.95 and takes just over 15 minutes. A taxi should cost around €10.
Easyjet currently fly daily to Bremen from London Luton and Ryanair from London Stansted. The nearest other cities with airports are Hannover and Hamburg.
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The Stadium – The Weser Stadion