Scots are almost always popular in the Bundesliga. Borussia Dortmund fans adored Paul Lambert and Murdo MacLeod. Alan McInally was also a welcome guest at the Munich Oktoberfest long after his time at FC Bayern.
Scots are seen as open-hearted and strong in battle – and that’s how Oliver Burke introduced himself to Werder Bremen. “I’ve rarely seen a player who is so dangerous after being substituted on. He’s unbelievable,” Werder striker Niclas Füllkrug praised the newcomer from Sheffield United.
The 25-year-old Burke got the penalty in the 2-0 win in Bochum, which was converted by Füllkrug shortly before the end. Before that, he scored the 3-2 winner in Dortmund and the 2-2 equalizer against VfB Stuttgart in injury time. Burke’s goals this season were already worth three points in just 54 minutes. This is one of the reasons why Werder has the great opportunity on Friday evening in the home game against FC Augsburg to leave the next supposed competitor in the relegation battle far behind, just one week after VfL Bochum (8:30 p.m. / DAZN).
Compare with Bale
Burke’s greatest strength is his speed. “Leipzig’s Scottish Gareth Bale” was the headline even on the Bundesliga website when the attacker switched to a German club in 2016 as a 19-year-old. Leipzig came too early for him as a career station at the time. He has now returned to the Bundesliga in Bremen via West Bromwich Albion, Celtic Glasgow, Deportivo Alaves, FC Millwall and Sheffield United. And his new coach Ole Werner praised him before the Augsburg game: “His qualities are obvious: he has exceptional speed.”
The only problem with Burke is that Werder already has a strong striker duo in Füllkrug and Marvin Ducksch, and Werner wants to continue to hold on to him since he was promoted to the Bundesliga despite Ducksch being goalless. So far, Burke has dealt with it the Scottish way: don’t give up, keep pushing – and be there when you need him.
