Olivier Deman, the 26-year-old who has not missed a single competitive minute for SV Werder Bremen in the 2026/27 season, revealed in the club podcast WORTWECHSEL that he originally played as an offensive player and won a youth scoring title.
From Belgian Coast to Bundesliga Wing
He struggled to break through at Cercle Brugge until a tactical shift altered his trajectory. In his final year at the Belgian club, the team deployed a back three and lacked a natural wide player. The manager at the time, Miron Muslić—now at FC Schalke 04—shifted Deman to the role.
Am Anfang habe ich gedacht, was macht der Typ jetzt?
Deman recalled of the positional change, chuckling at his initial confusion. Translated into English, he admitted: “At first I thought, what is this guy doing now?”
Muslić provided the necessary time and trust for the transition. Six months after the positional experiment began, Deman earned a call-up to the national team. A year later, he transferred to Werder Bremen.
Establishing Stability Under Daniel Thioune
Having secured a regular starting spot under head coach Daniel Thioune in the spring, Deman anchors the left flank for Werder Bremen. He views the role as his optimal position now, noting that professional football requires those defining shifts in career trajectory that differ drastically from youth setups. The current campaign sees him featuring continuously without interruption across all competitive fixtures.
Moritz Studer reported these details in the latest episode of the Haake Beck-presented podcast, which also touches upon Deman’s childhood and summer acquisitions on the golf course.
