‘This Union Berlin can also win the Bundesliga’

Ajax will take on 1. FC Union Berlin in the Europa League on Thursday. The Iron Ones are having a dream season. The men of trainer Urs Fischer are currently in second place in the Bundesliga, just one point behind leader Bayern Munich. Sebastian Karkos, who presented the Berlin surprise on behalf of the leading sports newspaper BILD closely follows, expects Ajax to get a heavy blow to Union.

Door Jordi Tomasowa

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“What makes Union so strong is that it is a very close-knit team,” Karkos told Voetbalzone. The German journalist emphasizes that Fischer has no star players at his disposal. “Last year that was still the case in the person of Max Kruse. Everyone now works for each other and the selection has an enormous amount of running ability. Union has fifteen, sixteen players of the same level. That means that the team does not necessarily look weaker if a player gets injured or if someone is missing due to a suspension.”

The 56-year-old Fischer is working on a great series of victories with Union.

Union plays in a close and compact organization from a 5-3-2 formation and, according to Karkos, is constantly lurking for moments to strike in the transition. “It’s just a very difficult opponent to play against. You have to be concentrated against them for ninety minutes and play your best game if you want to beat them. Union plays with a certain amount of aggressiveness, but the team is not unsportsmanlike. To give an example: only Schalke 04 committed more fouls this season than Union in the Bundesliga. Fischer’s team, however, is one of the teams with the fewest cards received.”

According to Karkos, there are opportunities for Ajax if it manages to come up with smooth attacks. “Union is vulnerable when opponents quickly shift the game from the left to the right flank. I can remember, for example, that they had trouble with the playing style of RB Leipzig at the beginning of the season, although Union won that game 1-2. In the end, Leipzig itself only scored two shots on target.” The fact that the Berlin stunt team has not conceded more than one goal this calendar year does not come as a surprise to Karkos. “They defend excellently as a team. Union does not create much themselves, but with their counter football they usually score very easily.”

Karkos expects ex-Ajacied Sheraldo Becker to be able to make the difference during the intermediate round in the Europa League. “He was Union’s best player in 2022, although he has struggled so far this year. Maybe because opponents pay special attention to him because of his speed.” The Union watcher is sure that Becker is motivated for the double meeting with Ajax. “He will play against his old club, in a big stadium and all his family will be there. For Becker, these will probably be the most important games of his career.”

Karkos also names centre-back Robin Knoche as a player to watch. “He has been playing for Union for two and a half years now and has only missed two games so far. Remarkably, both of those two games were lost. He is extremely important to Union, which also applies to midfielder Rani Khedira, who makes a lot of progress. in my opinion the epitome of today’s Union.”

Becker (left) has already scored eight goals and seven assists on behalf of Union this season.

The journalist is also positive about Danilho Doekhi, who came over from Vitesse on a free transfer last summer. “In the first weeks you clearly noticed that he still had to get used to the higher level in the Bundesliga. Then he was on the bench, but at the moment Doekhi is a fixed value and he is developing very well. He has also been four times accurate with the head. Union is very strong this season anyway from standard situations.” This is also evident from the figures of choose. Fischer’s men have scored the most from corners and free kicks of all teams in the European top competitions this season.

Karkos finds it difficult to explain how it is possible that Doekhi and Becker – who did not play for Dutch top clubs – managed to hold their own so easily with a title candidate in the Bundesliga. “Doekhi played almost everything at Vitesse. It is not so much of a surprise that he can handle the level at Union. You could say that about Becker. In my opinion, his statistics were never great in the Eredivisie, until his last year at ADO Den Hedge.” Becker saw a strong season, in which he scored eight goals and eleven assists, be rewarded in the summer of 2019 with a transfer to the iron ones.

“You should not forget that Becker did not score a single goal in his first season with Union,” says Karkos. “There were rumors that he would leave the club after one season. He has since changed his mindset. He is calm in his mind now. It is very challenging to play in the Bundesliga. Becker is one of the fastest players in the league, but now he knows how to play in the Bundesliga. Becker has not yet scored this calendar year, but he remains extremely important for his trainer Urs Fischer. Union played 29 official matches this season and the attacker started in all these games in the base.”

With his head power, Doekhi is a weapon for Union Berlin in standard situations.

After the diptych with Ajax, Union continues the exciting battle for the German national title. Three days after the return against the team from Amsterdam, the top match against Bayern Munich is scheduled. At the beginning of this season, Union played 1-1 at home the record champion. “This Union can also win the Bundesliga,” says Karkos. “Why couldn’t they do it? It may sound strange, but it really is possible. Bayern are not as strong as they were in recent seasons. They are at the top, but the selection is not at all comparable to last season They have a lot of new players and there seems to be a lot of pressure on the team.”

“Everyone always expects Union’s winning streak to come to an end, but I’m sure they can maintain this good form until the end of the season. Whether it will be enough for the championship? That remains to be seen and also depends on Bayern you have to imagine that RKC becomes champion of the Eredivisie, you can compare this fairy tale of Union with that. Here in Germany, people mainly point to Leicester City, which won the Premier League out of nowhere in 2016. I am a hundred percent sure that Union will play Champions League football next year. That would be no wonder. The club is in a flow and the difference between Union and the competitors is huge.”

Finally, Karkos estimates the chances for both teams fifty-fifty. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a penalty shootout is needed next week in Berlin to determine a winner. Not much is said and written about Ajax here. It is no longer the dominant team of recent seasons. That is probably because the selection now lacks real eye-catchers. Jurriën Timber is a very talented defender, but Brian Brobbey disappointed in Germany at RB Leipzig, for example. Ajax is still a big name, only because of the lack of real star players on the Amsterdam side I find it difficult to predict how both matches will end.”