Union’s hard landing after the high
Status: 04.10.2023 | Reading time: 4 minutes
“How many hits can you take?” – Union’s bitter evening against Braga
Union Berlin receives the next late blow in the neck at the home opener in the Champions League. Despite the squandered 2-0 lead, coach Urs Fischer cannot be angry with his team after their sixth defeat in a row.
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It feels like things have been going uphill for 1. FC Union since they were promoted to the Bundesliga in 2019. But for the first time, Berliners are now experiencing a sporting crisis. The next blow in the premier class came against Braga. The reasons for the decline are complex.
They were celebrated even when there was nothing to celebrate. Actually. But the support of 1. FC Union Berlin does not make his affection, his dedication dependent on the results of his team. He shows her respect and admiration, even if the raw numbers give no reason for it.
When the final whistle sounded on Tuesday evening in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium in front of 73,445 spectators, the supporters sang and clapped once again, even though their team had suffered another defeat. And once again at the very last second. The first Champions League home game against Sporting Braga, in which the Berliners had led 2-0 after goals from Sheraldo Becker (30th and 37th minutes), ended 2:3 (2:1). The late blow to the neck was reminiscent of the premier class premiere two weeks ago, when Union conceded 1-0 at Real Madrid in stoppage time.
“That was a very bitter defeat. “You ask yourself how much you can take,” said a visibly depressed Union coach Urs Fischer. “But,” he added, “it’s important to get up even after this blow.”
“At the end you sit there and ask yourself: why?” says Fischer
The 57-year-old Swiss not only has to lift up his team because of the two defeats in the Champions League, but also a team that has now suffered a total of six competitive defeats in a row. Against Braga, Fischer was even happy with the team’s performance, he just missed the right attack in defense.
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“Shortly before the break a standard, shortly after the break a standard. We didn’t defend well when we conceded goals. It’s not enough at this level,” said the coach about the goals conceded by Sikou Niakité (41st), Bruma (51st) and in added time by André Castro, in which Fischer missed the assignment of his players: “It’s important to have one Mission to fulfill.”
But the offensive players also had to put up with criticism from the coach: “We have numerous opportunities to score more than two goals.” Even before the first goals, Union had a few chances and even after the 2-2 equalizer “three 100% chances again . And at the end you sit there and ask yourself: why?”
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In addition to the sporting errors in the games, one reason is also the loss of the injured leading players Robin Knoche and Rani Khedira. Without the duo there is a lack of stability and sovereignty. Even the experienced additions Robin Gosens and Leonardo Bonucci cannot make up for their absence. They are fully committed, but they don’t yet know the processes exactly – and coach Fischer can’t practice them with them either. “We don’t have time to train at the moment,” said Fischer, also with regard to the game at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday (3:30 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker).
Union’s painful learning curve
“The worm is in there. It just doesn’t want to happen,” said midfielder Janik Haberer. Exploiting opportunities, he added, is somehow an issue. “For every shot on goal,” he continued, “we are conceding goals at the moment. It eats away at you.” This cannot be overlooked. Things that worked smoothly in the past few months are no longer working. Robin Gosens, who came from Inter Milan in the summer, said he was sad afterwards. “If you see what we put into the game, the body language and mentality we showed and how we fought our way back into the game after conceding two goals, we would have deserved the three points.”
They are currently experiencing difficult weeks at 1. FC Union Berlin. After years in which it felt like things were always going up and the promotion in 2019 was followed by qualification for the Conference League two years later, then for the Europa League and now for the Champions League, things are not going well. It’s a hard landing that the Berliners, which their opponents are apparently getting better at preparing for, are experiencing after flying high.
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