Union Berlin: 2019/20 season so far
Union Berlin are enjoying a thrilling first season in the German top flight, but how have they managed to steer clear of the relegation zone?
bundesliga.com looks back on the promoted team’s memorable adventure so far…
Who they signed: Union knew that – despite the vociferous backing of their famous fans – they would need to strengthen to survive. With that in mind, the club sought out a combination of seasoned pros with lots of Bundesliga experience as well as younger players with something to prove.
In the former category, there were a couple of two-time German champions. Former Borussia Dortmund defensive stalwart Neven Subotic returned to the Bundesliga from French side Saint-Etienne, while Christian Gentner extended his stay in the top flight by switching from Stuttgart to Berlin.
A league winner with Stuttgart (2006/07) and Wolfsburg (2008/09), the veteran would add some know-how and steel to Urs Fischer’s midfield. Ex-Bremen, Cologne and Mainz forward Anthony Ujah also made the move, while centre-back Marvin Friedrich – whose goal against Stuttgart earned promotion – made his loan switch from Augsburg a permanent one.
Suleiman Abdullahi did likewise, staying on after leaving third division side Eintracht Braunschweig, while talented Freiburg centre-back Keven Schlotterbeck arrived on loan.
The club also splashed out on Danish attacker Marcus Ingvartsen, who hadn’t seen much game time with Belgian champions Genk, while Marius Bülter made the step up from Bundesliga 2 outfit Magdeburg. Midfielder Robert Andrich and forward Sheraldo Becker were two other players who also signed on to experience Bundesliga football for the first time.
What they expected: The team known as “Iron Union” had the best defence in the German second tier last season and – after a 2-2 draw against Stuttgart – they needed it in the second leg of their promotion/relegation play-off last May.
The home side held out for a 0-0 draw at their Stadion an der Alten Försterei, and that was enough for them to become the 56th team to feature in the Bundesliga.
There were impressive celebrations after their dogged, away goals win over the team that finished third from bottom in the 208/19 Bundesliga – both the fans and the players would enjoy the ride in the top flight no matter what the outcome.
Watch: Union's promotion party
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Subotic, however – a key part of a Dortmund squad that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jürgen Klopp between 2010 and 2012 – knew how tough it would be to stay there.
“Survival will perhaps be the toughest job of my career,” he told Bild shortly after landing in Berlin during the close season. “If we do it, we’ll be absolutely delighted.”
How it played out: Union were given an example of how difficult it could be on the very first day. Thumped 4-0 by Leipzig on the pitch, however, the club once again stood out off it. The official attendance at the game was recorded as 22, 467 – 455 more than could fit into Union’s home ground. The move was part of an initiative called “Finally There”, organised by Union fan groups to remember supporters who had passed away before getting their chance to see the team in the top flight.
Union gained their first point – and some much-needed confidence – when Sebastian Andersson scored a late equaliser in Augsburg on Matchday 2. Andersson was on the mark again a week later – but upstaged by Bülter’s two goals – as the promoted side earned an exhilarating 3-1 win over Dortmund in their east Berlin home.
Fischer and his team were soon brought crashing back down to earth, and four defeats in a row left them third from bottom after Matchday 7. They had all been narrow defeats, however, and slowly but surely they began to climb the table again. As expected, Iron Union were proving less-than-accommodating hosts in Köpenick, and a run of four wins from five included home victories over Freiburg, Hertha in the derby, and then, on Matchday 12, against Bundesliga leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach.
By that stage Union were up to 11th, nine points clear of the automatic relegation places and five ahead of Fortuna Düsseldorf, who occupied the promotion/relegation play-off spot. Remarkably, the upstarts from the capital were closer to the European places – only four points behind Dortmund in sixth.
Union continued to pick up points here and there, rarely losing by more than the odd goal. They were still 11th going into the winter break, having conceded only 24 times in 17 matches during the first half of the season.
Attacking midfielder Yunus Malli was their one signing in the January transfer window, arriving on loan from Wolfsburg to add more experience and quality to the ranks.
Dortmund got their revenge with a 5-0 hammering at the start of February, but Union continued to pass many of the key tests handed to them. They bounced back with a crucial 2-0 success at relegation-threatened Werder Bremen, and soon followed up with another win, their third on the road, in another dramatic game at Eintracht Frankfurt.
They slipped a place to 11th again and lost in the DFB Cup quarter-finals at Bayer Leverkusen before the current break. But another year of top-flight football now looks all but certain.
Key player: It’s been very much a collective effort for Union, whose work rate and more-than-the-sum-of-their-parts attitude has lifted them to a snug mid-table position. Swedish striker Andersson has led the line superbly, and has 11 goals in 25 matches – one off the number he hit in the second tier last season.
Bülter is next in line with seven goals – the same number of assists that right-sided defender Christopher Trimmel has thanks largely to his dangerous set-piece deliveries. Ingvartsen has weighed in with four goals – some of which were spectacular – while Sebastian Polter will always cherish his late, match-winning penalty in the Berlin derby.
Friedrich, Schlotterbeck and Subotic have offered assurance at the back, but behind them goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz has been exceptional. By the end of Matchday 25 he had kept out 94 shots – second only to Gladbach’s Yann Sommer. The Polish netminder – who scored a last-gasp equaliser in Bundesliga 2 last season – has kept six clean sheets, and all of them in games that Union won. The 32-year-old is enjoying a long-awaited time in the limelight, and they are glad to have him in east Berlin.
Best game: There are several games that Union fans will never forget, but for an “I was there” moment it must surely be the shock Matchday 3 success against Dortmund.
The visitors arrived in town as one of the favourites to win the title, and many might have been expecting them to sweep away the promoted home side like Leipzig had a couple of weeks previously.
Union struck first when a clever corner-kick from Trimmel was beautifully tucked away by Bülter midway through the opening half, before Paco Alcacer swiftly replied for Dortmund. Five minutes into the second half, though, Bülter finished smartly on the rebound, and Andersson completed a famous first Bundesliga win for the hosts with 15 minutes left.
The victory gave Union belief that they belonged at Bundesliga level and, as Subotic suggested afterwards, also gave them strength for the challenges that lay ahead.
Watch: Union's sensational win over Dortmund
Biggest surprise: Like many of Union’s players, Bülter is proof that good things do come to those who wait… and work damn hard. The hero of the Dortmund win didn’t even make his professional debut until the age of 25, after 20 goals for SV Rödinghausen in the German fourth tier during the 2017/18 season convinced Magdeburg to give him a chance in Bundesliga 2.
Bülter couldn’t keep that newly promoted team in the second tier, but he looks to have done so for another one in the top flight. Scoring with his first two shots at goal in the Dortmund game was the stuff of dreams, but he has continued to live them throughout the season.
A first-minute strike sent Union on their way to victory over Freiburg on Matchday 8, while the 26-year-old’s deadly second-half double in Bremen has almost guaranteed Union will get a second season at the top table.
“I try to consider every game as a highlight, enjoy the moment, and keep working hard because not everyone gets this chance,” he told bundesliga.com after that crunch game in Bremen.
Bülter sure has seized his opportunity – and how.
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