Series of bankruptcies, stadium changes: “Surreal” frenzy deals brutal blows to Union Berlin

Everything about Union Berlin has been out of this world in recent years. Out of nowhere, the Köpenickers shoot to the top. Instead of going to Sandhausen, they are now going to Real Madrid. However, in what is actually the club’s best half-year, a curse befalls them. Everything, really everything, goes wrong.

Union Berlin had to survive one last attack in front of more than 73,000 spectators in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Then at least the first point in the Champions League would be won, then the series of defeats would be over and somehow everything would be somewhat normal again. Things got dramatic and the last punchline didn’t please anyone who was in favor of the Iron Men. Braga’s André Castro scored from distance in the 94th minute and an entire stadium went into a state of shock for a brief moment. Then they picked themselves up again and sang, because they always sing. It doesn’t matter whether Union Berlin wins or loses. This happens quite often these days.

The 2:3 (2:1) against Braga was the sixth competitive defeat in a row and a slight grumbling could be heard in advance. The reason? The move to the unloved Olympic Stadium. Not all old Iron fans agreed with this. Not only that, there was also disagreement about who had put Union Berlin in this situation in the first place – UEFA or perhaps even their own club?

UEFA had put Union in an awkward position this summer. From 1998 to 2022, UEFA banned standing places in European competitions. Then the turnaround as a model experiment. Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion could be admired in all its impressive beauty with its full south stand and they also rejoiced at the Alte Försterei in Köpenick: the season in the Europa League was saved.

Why Union Berlin had to move over to the West

Two things happened this summer: Union Berlin stormed into the Champions League completely unexpectedly and UEFA extended the test run for the club competitions. This threw the Iron Men into a dilemma. Would they give all members – and there were many of them in the years of the upswing – the perhaps once-in-a-lifetime chance to see their own club play in the premier class, or would they rely on the brute force of their own stadium? But that would only have been possible if they had made numerous changes to the stadium at the Alte Försterei.

A clear vote by the European Football Union against continuing the standing room program would probably have made more sense for the club, but nobody wanted to do them that favor. And in the deepest hearts of the club, that was a good thing: because Union is one of the strongest supporters of the test. The sporting success in the Bundesliga alone took them by surprise, at least in this respect. The team on the pitch had been far too successful far too quickly. The club was unable to grow, also because the planned expansion of its own stadium was increasingly delayed due to the traditional slowness of the Berlin authorities.

After much deliberation, the move to the west, to the home stadium of local rivals Hertha BSC, was decided. They’re just tenants in the Olympic Stadium and have been wanting to get out for years, but they’ve been there for half a century. Union not. Still, they went over. President Dirk Zingler told the members in a letter that it was important to him to “make the Union tangible for people”: “Let’s spend the highlight of our club’s history together with as many Union members as possible.” Moving to the West also brings something financially. But not so much. Additional revenue in the single-digit million range is expected.

Upheaval on all levels

It is a situation that seems likely to plunge a club into a major crisis of meaning. “We miss the chance to show the world our true colors and run the risk of becoming an interchangeable part of an event,” the ultra group HammerHearts announced in a long text about the move. On the day of the match against Braga, flyers explained to the fan scene at length and in detail why the move had taken place. They also referred to the UEFA regulations. “Today we would like to show how absurd these requirements are,” it said and: “We would like to show the world that the UEFA machine doesn’t care about football. Business is more important to them.” In front of the opposing stand, a banner reminded us of the Alte Försterei, which the fans need “like the air they need to breathe.” But they were in the West, on October 3rd of all days. What a date, what a place for the first game in the premier class.

And so they presented their banners against UEFA, which said everything that had appeared in UEFA’s books, and of course it was all true. But it seemed strange, because it wasn’t UEFA that had ultimately brought the club into this situation, but, curiously enough, also their success. But he doesn’t want to adjust anymore anyway. After two wins at the start of the Bundesliga season, everything that could go wrong goes wrong for Union. Two late defeats in the Champions League and four defeats in a row in the league.

Because something got out of hand on the pitch too. Because the stop sign Rani Khedira is injured, because Robin Knoche, the central man in defense, is missing, because Kevin Behrens cannot score three goals in every game, because the spaces are no longer properly occupied, because – in short – there are too many changes has given. There were always those at Union. But manager Oliver Ruhnert always had a solution. This summer everything was delayed. With the Italian European champion Leonardo Bonucci, ex-national player Kevin Volland and DFB star Robin Gosens, three very important and, above all, well-known new additions arrived very late. With Lucas Tousart and Alex Kral, two midfielders were signed from relegated Bundesliga teams, while Brenden Aaronson was signed by a heavily burdened relegated team from the Premier League.

Knight Mace alone on the square

Unlike in previous years, there is no unit on the pitch these days. The squad was too late, there were too many gaps in the defense, the efficiency in finishing on the other side plummeted too quickly and Khedira was missing in the middle. In general, the positioning on the field has changed, and Union now usually has more possession of the ball. It’s a different game in the now bright spotlight of the European public.

Who first saw two fully deserved goals from Sheraldo Becker on Tuesday and then witnessed a colossal collapse. With the absolute low point in the 94th minute. “Have we somehow done something wrong? Have we somehow insulted the football god that we are currently being treated like this?” asked newcomer Gosens, who presented himself as the new face of the club early on.

“You ask yourself: How many hits can you take?” asked Fischer after the game. The cameras had previously captured him in an unusual pose. He sat in the coaching bench deeply sunk and even more disappointed. On the pitch, the mascot Ritter Keule tried everything to cheer up the fans. He didn’t seem to be able to do it very well. There was defiance and yet too much pain. The horror was almost unbearable. The next defeat.

Union receives a beating from the football god

Too many questions remain unanswered after this game. Did Union Berlin put money above sporting success? Did the people of Köpenick give away some of their identity by moving to the unloved West? And were the highly praised newcomers this season perhaps just ones that seriously unsettled the statics of the once stable game?

The football god is repeatedly hitting the Iron Men these days, who have been blessed since their promotion to the Bundesliga. Union Berlin has arrived at the bitter reality of football. They too cannot shift the laws of the game. Even if it felt like that in the heady years. Even if they had escaped everyday life on an eternal high. It was not for nothing that coach Fischer reminded people of this in almost all his requests to speak. “Surreal” was his standard explanation for what was happening to the club.

Now the crash. Your own success eats up the club. You have to stop the monster. How we deal with this will shape the future of the club. Immediately after the bankruptcy, those responsible had little idea. “It’s important to get up again, look forward and try to take something with you in Dortmund,” said coach Fischer in generalities about the decline before the landmark game in the Westfalenstadion (Saturday, 3:30 p.m./Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker). Nobody wants to imagine what would happen if the football god meant something bad to them again. The hangover after the endless party would be almost unbearable.