1. FC Union Berlin The downward trend continues
Union’s nerves are on edge – Bonucci finds himself caught in the crossfire of criticism
As of: 11:00 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
With their fourth defeat in a row, Union Berlin sets a negative record. Coach Urs Fischer’s comfort is at stake, the Swiss makes it clear. Star signing Bonucci has to take criticism, and the Italian press also attacks him.
Word of Leonardo Bonucci’s unsuccessful Bundesliga debut for 1. FC Union Berlin quickly spread to his native Italy. The “Gazzetta dello Sport” wrote about a “disastrous” premiere after the botched debut in front of the home audience. The paper called Bonucci’s misconduct in a duel with Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric, which led to a penalty goal, “naive”.
And even coach Urs Fischer wasn’t exactly kind to the 2021 European champions after the 2-0 defeat against Kraichgauer. “The first half doesn’t work like that. We just weren’t there. That also applies to Leo,” said the otherwise calm Swiss after the fourth competitive defeat in a row, which also meant setting a negative record from spring 2020.
Bonucci didn’t need the ratings from his home newspaper or his coach on Saturday. When he was substituted in the 81st minute, the unlucky guy knew full well that he had wasted his debut at the An der Alten Försterei stadium. Bonucci was also one step too late when Maximilian Beier conceded the second goal.
The veteran left the pitch with his head bowed and to cautious applause. It didn’t matter to the experienced defensive legend that, at 36 years and 145 days old, he was the older outfield player in 21 years to make his Bundesliga debut. Without a word, the Italian stalked back into the dressing room after the final whistle.
There were encouraging words from teammate Sheraldo Becker. “He knows what he has to do. “He played a good game, like he did in Madrid,” praised the attacker. Instead of complaining about the penalty that Bonucci was responsible for, Becker took himself and his offensive colleagues to task: “In the end we have to score against the strikers. If we don’t score, it will be difficult.”
Union Berlin is tumbling towards the bottom of the table
With the transfer of Bonucci, Union had made a statement. The change was intended to show that, after the great successes of the past few years, the Berliners are now also looking to sign players in a higher class. The Italian haven of peace has a lot of Champions League experience, even more than Robin Gosens and Kevin Volland.
But instead of acting even more firmly with Bonucci, the Köpenickers are slowly but surely stumbling towards the lower places in the table. There is a lack of consistency. The Iron Men allowed themselves too many slacks – against Hoffenheim this phase lasted all of 45 minutes. Fischer then spoke of a “non-performance”.
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In any case, Fischer’s Swiss comfort was gone after the defeat. “You can’t waste 45 minutes in the Bundesliga. I’d rather not say much more. “I’m a bit pissed off,” said the 57-year-old and recapitulated his locker room speech at halftime as follows: “I was loud. I think the words came through.”
Quite a few people laughed at Fischer at the start of the season when he – once again – talked about Union’s season goal of 40 points. The transfers of Bonucci, Gosens and Volland alone suggest that the Berliners secretly think in other size categories. However, if the Iron team’s points tally remains so meager, the team would only approach the 40 mark with difficulty.
“When you talk about development, you sometimes have to take two steps back in order to be able to move forward again,” said Fischer, using a football phrase. The Unioners want to move in the right direction again against Heidenheim on Saturday.
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