Jens Stage is what you would imagine a Dane to be. He is a quiet, tidy guy who only speaks when absolutely necessary. If he ever became overwhelmed by his emotions, it must have happened in an extremely private setting because the public has not yet heard about it. The SV Werder Bremen midfielder does the things he is asked to do in such an accurate and unpretentious manner that you can easily imagine how he, the model Dane, is happy every time he sets up Sweden runs in training. It can also be assumed with a clear conscience that Stage always goes on his city walks with a searching eye – looking for grandmas he can help across the street.
Well, these are just clichés that surround Danes in general and Danish footballers in particular. But you have to give this Jens Stage, 28, one thing: he uses these well-meaning clichés in an exemplary way that only a few can. And in Bremen they couldn’t be happier about this.
Werder won 2-0 at newly promoted FC St. Pauli on Saturday, in one of those games in which ambitious Bundesliga teams traditionally undergo a reality check. It was terribly cold. It was drizzling. It was against an opponent who wasn’t necessarily in the mood for jokes. You first have to win as confidently as coach Ole Werner’s team has managed to do again and again.
The Bremen team recently performed well in so-called compulsory tasks in Hamburg, Bochum and in the DFB Cup against Darmstadt and did not concede a goal in each case. The table is currently rewarding this with an immediate connection to the European places. “That was a very mature and controlled performance,” said Werner about his stay in the Bremen neighborhood and added: “Exactly what you need away from home.” These two sentences had a clear claim to universality. And they described very precisely the value of the Dane Stage – the footballer that Bremen probably needs most right now.
Jens Stage is also Bremen’s top scorer with six goals this season
At Werder they certainly have one or two so-called difference kickers in their ranks, most notably the archaic attacker Marvin Ducksch, who is bursting with ideas on a good day and who scored 2-0 with a powerful left-footed shot on Saturday. Stage, on the other hand, moves much more subtly across the lawn. He completes long deep runs, creates gaps, drives and embodies the unwavering conscientiousness that one is more familiar with from scouts.
Stage is not a footballer (nor a character) who forces himself into the center of attention out of inner conviction; Even after the game in St. Pauli, he sneaked past the reporters and left the Hanseatic sovereignty of interpretation to others, for example Ducksch and the highly gifted wingman Derrick Köhn, scorer of the interim 1-0. Still, Stage has been standing out lately. Because he has been playing noticeably well recently and is intervening more and more decisively in the game: with six goals this season, Stage is currently Bremen’s best top scorer.
On Saturday, the midfielder was again able to register copyright for a Werder success. Stage prepared the first goal by taking the ball in a fluid movement and then playing a perfectly tempered pass that enabled Köhn to finish with his strong left foot. This was an action in which even the smallest, seemingly unimportant details were correct and which once again shows the midfielder to be the ideal Ole Werner player. “Staying on the topics and working for years,” that’s what’s important, said Werner: “Jens does it very reliably, very consistently. And then it’s a matter of time before we take steps forward.”
When Stage moved from FC Copenhagen to Bremen in 2022, he first had to go through the classic ox-tour that Werner imposes on almost all of his arrivals. It took a while until he developed from a supplementary player to a regular player and finally claimed leadership. That’s why he’s an example of why Bremen are getting a little better every year, even though they’ve only very subtly beefed up their squad during this time.
Former Bremen striker Niclas Füllkrug recently said that it was “crazy” about the development aid under coach Werner: “There isn’t a Werder player who hasn’t gotten better under him.” In any case, Jens Stage obviously wants to get even better. He extended his contract long-term three weeks ago.
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