Formed: 1899
Nickname: Die Werderaner (The River Islanders), Die Grün-Weissen (The Green and Whites)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1992
• UEFA Cup: (2009)
• UEFA Super Cup: (1992)
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• Domestic title: 4 (2004)
• German Cup: 6 (2009)

History
• Founded as Fussballverein Werder von 1899, the club started out in Bremen's regional leagues. Following a short period as SV Grün-Weiss 1899 Bremen, they took their current name on 28 March 1946. Until 1963 and the foundation of the Bundesliga, Werder played in the highest division, the Oberliga, but had to wait until 1961 for silverware when they beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final.

• Bremen won a surprise title in the second Bundesliga season 1964/65, but followed it with a prolonged slump, culminating in relegation in 1980. Otto Rehhagel's appointment as coach in March 1981 signalled a revival, and Werder won promotion to the Bundesliga that summer.

• Werder steadily rose to a status as prime challenger of FC Bayern München's dominance, easing the stranglehold by winning the 1988 and 1993 Bundesliga titles, and the 1991 and 1994 German Cups. In the midst of that run came triumph in the 1992 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Klaus Allofs and Wynton Rufer on target in a 2-0 final win against AS Monaco FC.

• In 1995 an epoch ended as Rehhagel departed after finishing second in the league, and the new era started in May 1999 when Thomas Schaaf took over as coach, helping avoid relegation before winning the German Cup. By 2004 they had claimed the double, Ailton finishing Bundesliga top scorer with 28 goals.

• Second only to FC Bayern München in the all-time Bundesliga rankings, Werder still have ground to make up in European competition. They came close in 2008/09 when Schaaf's side reached the last UEFA Cup final, with the blow of a 2-1 defeat by FC Shakhtar Donetsk in Istanbul softened slightly by German Cup joy a week later.

Club records
Most appearances: Dieter Burdenski (444)
Most goals: Marco Bode (101)
Record victory: 8-1 twice, most recently at home against DSC Arminia Bielefeld (Bundesliga, 29 September 2007)
VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-7 Bremen  (Bundesliga, 30 April 1966)
Record defeat: Eintracht Frankfurt 9-2 Bremen  (Bundesliga, 14 November 1981)
7-0 twice, most recently v FC Bayern München (Bundesliga, 12 April 1980)

* Last updated on 10 June 2010