Why Leonardo Bittencourt is My Unsung Hero of Werder Bremen
March 7th, 2020, was the first day I started supporting SV Werder Bremen.
Since the Bundesliga was the first European to return to action following the COVID-19 pandemic and I needed someone to write about as a freelance journalist, I ended up watching a Bremen side I had some previous connections with.
Take a look at the lineup from that day and Werder fans will see a list of names from the past. Niklas Moisander captained the side, and he was joined in defence by the likes of Kevin Vogt and Theodor Gebre Selassie. Philip Bargfrede and Maximilian Eggestein were in front of them, while the attacking setup featured Davie Selke and Milot Rashica.
There were also some current players in the team, like Marco Friedl and Milos Veljkovic, while goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka only left at the end of this past season.
However, there’s one man in particular that’s been around ever since then, and that’s who I want to highlight in this article. That man is Leonardo Bittencourt.
Leonardo Bittencourt: Opening Impact
Leanardo Bittencourt was one of the players I knew a decent amount about going into things.
A Bundesliga journeyman, he was on the books of FC Koln, Borussia Dortmund, and Hoffenheim. I had seen him plenty when playing FIFA throughout the years, especially in Ultimate Team.
It felt like he was one of those players who was extremely talented in moments, never quite hit his full potential, but was still a solid attacking option to have.
Those assumptions were proven correct very quickly.
Bittencourt scored the only goal in Bremen’s very next game, drilling a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. That secured a much-needed victory in the fight for survival that the club had found themselves in.
The story was the same two matches later. On the road to Schalke 04, the number 10 received the ball on the right wing, dribbled inside, and then curled an absolute beauty into the top-left corner. That was the winner in a 1-0 victory.
That ended up being the end of his goal scoring for that season, but it was enough to form some major memories in my brain. For context, Werder were in the midst of a tough relegation battle. Most of the team was really struggling, especially going forward. For Bittencourt to step up and prove two moments of pure magic were monumental.
Bremen ultimately survived via the relegation playoff, but they were doomed to drop the following season. The attacker had a bad campaign, only scoring four goals and providing a meagre two assists, but in his defence, no one on that team was any good, and the coaching was awful.
The player had injury problems and life in the second division was challenging at first, but the most extraordinary things happened to save Bittencourt and Werder. Markus Anfang, the new manager who failed to make the most of his side early on, had to leave the club due to a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.
That allowed Ole Werner to come in, and the rest was history.
A New Role
He brought a 3-5-2 system with him, slotting Bittencourt into a deeper role in the heart of the midfield, next to fellow forward-thinker Romano Schmid. It seemed like a strange decision given at first, considering he had usually been much further up the field in previous teams.
That’s where he’s been ever since.
The German was key for Bremen in that second-division season. Management wanted the team to be attacking, and he served as a key link from the defence to the front two. He’d float out wide, combining with a wingback, or he’d stay central and operate alongside his midfield partner Schmid before getting the ball to a striker.
His two goals and four assists weren’t a major return, but his impact went well beyond the scoresheet. Bittencourt was often the one to get on the ball, putting his foot on it and slowing the pace of play when needed. He could do direct as well, although he was at his best when he was linking things together.
He had some big moments, too. There was an 88th-minute winner on the road against Nuremberg. The No. 10 assisted in a topspiel clash versus Schalke, and he set up the opener on the road to Erzgebirge Aue in the penultimate match of the season.
This all led to Bremen securing promotion at the first time of asking, unlike rivals Hamburg, who are still stuck in the second tier after several seasons.
Werder are a historic club, but there were still concerns about their first campaign back in the Bundesliga. Would their attacking mentality lead to goals at the highest level, or would it cost them at the back?
It only took Bittencourt 23 minutes to mark his return to the big time. Making the late run into the box that had epitomised his new central role, the 5’7” midfielder converted an excellent cross, burying a header into the back of the net.
He somehow scored another header at the end of the month against Eintracht Frankfurt. Leo only added one more goal to his tally near the end of the year against hometown side RB Leipzig, but he was less responsible for getting onto the scoresheet at this point.
That was proven this past campaign, as he only had one goal and two assists to his name. He was still brilliant, though, as his role had shifted again, both on and off the field.
Old Head
Bittencourt didn’t have to carry the attacking burden, and he didn’t have to be on the field at all times.
Instead of venturing into the final third, the midfielder usually parked himself in the middle of the pitch, letting his more athletic teammates take care of the running. He’d work the ball around with a wingback, and then either of them would be in space to put a cross in.
This happened around the same time Bittencourt saw a decrease in minutes. There was a three-game stretch near the start of the year where he didn’t feature at all. He was an experienced old man now, helping Bremen’s younger core in training every day.
The No. 10 wasn’t completely removed from the lineup, though. There were times when others weren’t available or playing poorly, and manager Ole Werner knew he had Bittencourt to rely on. The player started each of the final eight games of the campaign, and he was even captain for one of them.
He wasn’t going to score any more screamers, but he’s someone you can trust in a tough spot. Werder’s got plenty of other options in midfield now, like Jens Stage, Senne Lynen, Romano Schmid, Skelly Alvero, and even Naby Keita, potentially.
No one’s been around as long as Bittencourt has, though. He knows what it’s like to play for Bremen at this point. He knows how to battle against relegation, secure promotion if need be, and hang around the middle of the Bundesliga table. This isn’t the version of the club that’ll be near the top of the table. They’re going to have to fight for every point they earn.
I think that’s why I especially connect with him. He’s been around as long as I’ve been. I wasn’t around to watch the likes of Miroslav Klose, Diego, and players like that who were winning trophies at the Weserstadion. I can’t relate to them.
Bittencourt, meanwhile, is just a dude trying his best. He’s not the fastest or the strongest, but he’s got technical ability, and he uses his experience to still make an impact.
He brings positive energy to the team. He’s often featured on the club’s social media, either partaking in activities or celebrating important victories with his fellow teammates. You can’t blame them for featuring a character like him.
It’s unclear how much gametime he’ll see this upcoming season. Maybe this is the year he truly gets phased out of the lineup and the young guard takes over. While that’s probably the plan for Bremen, don’t be surprised to see Bittencourt pop up whenever a calming presence is needed.
I just hope that the club never sells him. So many things have changed since that game against Leverkusen in 2020, and yet Bittencourt has remained in Bremen through it all. He’s not even the same player as he used to be, but he’s still as important as ever.
Who knows, maybe he’s even got a few more screamers left in him.
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