Werder Bremen fires coach who declined to extend his contract

BREMEN, Germany (AP) — Werder Bremen fired coach Ole Werner on Tuesday after he indicated the day before he would not be extending his contract next year.

“Since we need continuity and clarity for the position of head coach in the future, we have decided to let Ole go,” Bremen’s managing director for sport Clemens Fritz said.

Werner had a contract to the end of next season, but the club said on Monday that he refused to sign a new one.

“It’s anything but easy for me not to extend my contract. But I’ve often said that my job is about developing a club. When a certain point is reached, there are usually two options — either you make changes around a coach, or you make changes to the coaching position,” Werner said in a club statement.

“From the club’s perspective, I can understand why Werder has now decided to take this step.”

The 37-year-old Werner, regarded as one of Germany’s leading young coaches, took over at Bremen when it was in the second division and oversaw promotion, then steady improvement in the Bundesliga. The team only narrowly missed out on European qualification this season.

Werner took over as Bremen coach in unusual circumstances in November 2021 after his predecessor Markus Anfang resigned while facing an investigation into his use of a fake COVID-19 vaccine document.

Bremen said its search for a new coach has its “highest priority.” Horst Steffen, the coach of second-division Elversberg, has emerged as a favorite after his team narrowly missed out on Bundesliga promotion on Monday.

Leipzig, Wolfsburg, Augsburg and promoted Cologne are also looking for new coaches, as are second-division clubs Schalke and Hannover.

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