Matthew films, Fischer grumbles
Rani Khedira is extremely annoyed by Union’s performance
03/17/2023, 07:55 am
Union Berlin is looking for its lost strengths. The end of the European Cup in Belgium reinforces the impression that minds and bodies long for a break. Rani Khedira finds very clear words. Captain Christopher Trimmel counts on a quick recovery.
Lothar Matthäus first pulled out his mobile phone. Even before his game analysis as an RTL expert, the German record national player wanted to quickly capture a scene as a video. 2,000 fans of 1. FC Union Berlin loudly celebrated their team in Anderlecht’s Lotto Park – after the highest international defeat in the history of the Bundesliga club. The self-confessed Union admirer Matthäus was not the only one who, even after the Irons lost 3-0 in the round of 16 second leg of the Europa League at Saint-Gilloise and the associated elimination from the competition, developed a feeling that despite a used football evening not everything could have been bad for the Berliners.
“For me personally, even though it’s almost like a bitter end, I’m still proud that we’ve come this far. We’ve already enjoyed this trip,” said Union captain Christopher Trimmel in the stadium catacombs. The fans were still chanting Urs Fischer from the arena. The discrepancy between pride and disappointment was one thing. The other reality is that the Berliners have not won five games in a row or, alternatively, only one game from the past eight appearances.
“…then you don’t have to be surprised”
In fourth place in the Bundesliga you are still above average for your own increased demands. The Champions League could become the big stage in September. But this downward trend cannot be ignored. When analyzing the error, coach Urs Fischer spoke plainly for his circumstances. The coach complained about individual failures in a continuous loop. “If you make such mistakes, and not just since today, you don’t have to be surprised,” Fischer quarreled. Union must find itself again, demanded the 57-year-old. “In the end we have to function as a team. That got us to where we are,” said Fischer. But are strength and mental freshness enough at the moment? The doubts grow.
Frustration also prevailed for Rani Khedira. “We were dealt with for more than 90 minutes. That wasn’t Union Berlin-Like,” said the midfielder on the RTL microphone. “From the first to the last second we weren’t on the pitch, we weren’t agile, we weren’t aggressive, we didn’t get our game onto the pitch,” emphasized Khedira. Union was “thus well deserved”. Teammate Robin Knoche was also “disappointed because you had the chance to reach the quarterfinals.”
Trimmel demands: don’t badmouth everything
After Union came back three times in the first leg in the An der Alten Försterei stadium last week in a 3-3 win against the Belgians, there was no catching up this time. Defender Knoche had put his teammate Diogo Leite under pressure with a bad pass and Teddy Teuma (18′) conceded the first goal, Lazare Amani (63′) and Loic Lapoussin (90’+4) destroyed Berlin’s hopes of participating in the first game finally final in a European quarter final. “I said last week that we made too many mistakes, this time I made one,” admitted Knoche, adding that “from a little distance” the team can be proud of what they have achieved.
On Sunday (3.30 p.m./DAZN and in the live ticker at ntv.de) pursuer Eintracht Frankfurt – another bitter European Cup loser this week – comes to the Alte Försterei. Trimmel is certain that the old mechanisms will then be working again. “The coach will find the right words, the president will find the right words, I’m in good spirits. As I know the team, they’ll sit together a bit because we have a good mentality. Don’t badmouth everything, in the end we’re there agree that it was outstanding”, was the overall conclusion of the Union captain’s European Cup season after the bitter Belgian end.