Sheraldo Becker: Who is the speedster propelling Union Berlin into the Champions League?
Union Berlin's versatile forward, Sheraldo Becker, has been fuelling Die Eisernen's unlikely qualification for Champions League football, but who is the Dutch-born, Suriname international?
Age: 28
Club: Union Berlin
Position: Winger, forward
Country: Suriname (seven caps, two goals)
Key stats
Heading into his fifth season at Die Eisernen, 2022/23 was his finest campaign to date. The Amsterdam-born attacker took his goals tally up to 11 for the campaign, and also boasted a season-best seven assists with Union in the Bundesliga; his progress has mirrored that of the capital club, with a steady, unstinted rise to the top table of European football.
A product of the world-renowned Ajax youth system, Becker enjoyed several loan moves before earning a transfer to Ado Den Haag in 2016. It was in his final season at the Dutch outfit - when he netted seven goals and laid on 10 assists in 33 Eredivisie appearances - that he drew the attention of his current club.
Newly promoted in 2019, the Köpenick club moved for the powerful player who had largely impressed as pacy right winger, the position in which he has played some 167 times during his career to date. Union coach, Urs Fischer, also enjoyed deploying Becker up front, where he formed a formidable partnership with Taiwo Awoniyi, the striker who registered 15 goals in 2021/22 before moving to Nottinham Forest, and more recently with Kevin Behrens.
Becker's pace also sets him apart, with his top speed of 22.72 mph ranking him third in the all-time fastest players in the Bundesliga.
Watch: Becker with a goal of the season contender
Plays a bit like: Timo Werner
Excellent close control, a frightening burst of pace that can take him past stunned defenders and capable of subtle finishes as well as net-busting rockets: Becker boasts many of the characteristics of former RB Leipzig star and current Chelsea forward, Timo Werner.
Did you know?
Becker represented the Netherlands at various youth levels but later decided to change allegiances to Suriname, the place of his parents' birth. The forward scored twice on his debut for the South American nation in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bermuda in 2021.
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What they're saying
"The boy's doing well; he creates opportunities for us, has opportunities himself, and scores goals." - Union coach Fischer offers his take on the team's No. 27
"In the beginning it was difficult because we had never played together. It was also difficult for me because I played more as a winger and rarely as a striker, so I had to learn new things. Now we work very well together. Now it only takes a very quick look between us, and then I know exactly what he's up to and where he wants to run to." - Becker on his strike partnership with Awoniyi
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