Disappointed on the lap of honor: Union’s team was celebrated despite their first defeat of the season.
Photo: Imago/Contrast
The still young season in the Bundesliga offers reason enough to marvel at the development of 1. FC Union. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and coach Julian Nagelsmann judged the Berliners to be the most difficult opponent so far after the 1-1 draw by the dominant champions FC Bayern last Saturday. Five games, three wins, two draws – the Köpenickers are tied with the Munich team, who are also undefeated, in fourth place in the table. 1. FC Köln are waiting on Sunday.
Day-to-day business is better than ever. Union footballers managed their first win in the fourth Bundesliga year – and that against Hertha BSC. An equally emotionally uplifting success was the 2-1 win against the unloved Red Bull branch in Leipzig on the third day of the game. This was followed by a 6-1 win over Schalke, the highest Bundesliga win in the club’s history. In addition to the credibly assured humility, the growing self-confidence sometimes shines through. As with coach Urs Fischer, who at the press conference after the game against FC Bayern did not fail to mention that two key players, Jordan Siebatcheu and Janik Haberer, were missing.
“The thing went through the roof.” When Dirk Zingler uttered these words about his club last Tuesday, the press conference with the President was drawing to a close. In the 60 minutes before he had swung far: from Union Oberschöneweide to 1. FC Union, from the Sadowa sports facility to the old forester’s house. Arrived in the now, he said: »A dream is coming true for us.« He formulated it in a letter to the 45,000 club members on the same day as follows: »For the first time in the more than 100-year history of our stadium there is a European Cup match in our home.«
On Thursday the time had come: Europa League. The club’s anthem ran a little earlier than usual before the game against Royal Union Saint-Gilliose and during this time, unusually, there was also advertising about the gangs – the constraints of sporting promotion. Of course, the historic evening was celebrated accordingly. The choreography was dedicated to the old forester. “Football, where it belongs,” could be read in large letters on the forest side. The stadium was sung until the Uefa competition anthem could no longer be heard.
Almost all Unioners had followed the motto “All in red”. And this time even more than usual could be there live. In the Europa League, visiting fans only have to get five percent of the available tickets, in the Bundesliga it is ten. And a special draw will make it possible for every club member to experience at least one home game in the group stage in the stadium.
The nearly 21,000 fans couldn’t celebrate. Of two disciplined teams, the Unioners from Belgium were more snappy in defense and in midfield and had the better chances to score. Senne Lynen used one of them to score the winning goal in the 39th minute. The Unioner from Berlin seemed inhibited in their first defeat of the season, only “half chances” were played out, judged midfield boss Rani Khedira. So they need to step up if they want to reach the club’s goal of wintering in Europe. The other opponents in Group D, Malmö FF and Portugal’s SC Braga, who won 2-0 in Sweden on Thursday night, are no easier to play against.
The fans celebrated extensively after the final whistle, the team and the club. Zingler noted on Tuesday that this historic game was possible thanks to the current successful sporting phase. This one-hour excursion into his “emotional world” on that day would not have been necessary for this logical conclusion. And so the president described the development of football in Köpenick along the historical line with two wars, a divided city, the many difficult phases of the club after the fall of the wall – and the arrival at the longed-for Bundesliga. »We have a lot to thank for the fact that we got there over the course of many years.«
During Zingler’s tenure, things went steeply upwards – in existential need from the Oberliga to Europe. Looking back on these 18 years, he said: “Betting on our club back then is like buying Apple shares 30 years ago.” He also thanked all partners of 1. FC Union.
The president doesn’t want to know anything about an end to the development. “We’re growing by 1,000 members every month,” Zingler reported. He wrote to the members of the association that he wanted to expand apparent limits bit by bit. You can trust him. A letter as an example: Shortly after Union qualified for the Europa Conference League in May 2021, Zingler wrote to Uefa boss Aleksander Čeferin. “Here we are. And we want to stand,” he briefly outlined the content. The result of a long process, which according to Zingler is also due to the strong work of Borussia Dortmund, is: After almost a quarter of a century, standing room is allowed again – and thus European Cup games at the Alte Försterei.
