On Saturday afternoon, the time had come: 1. FC Union Berlin defended fourth place in the table with a 1-0 home win against SV Werder Bremen and thus secured their ticket to the Champions League. The Köpenickers have thus written club history and, as a Bundesliga club with the smallest, but perhaps most beautiful stadium in the league, have done something extraordinary in only their fourth year in the Bundesliga.
Penalty area, field and football: All information about game operations
Upside down world in Berlin! While Hertha BSC, the actually big club in the capital, has to go into the second division, 1. FC Union Berlin celebrates the greatest success in the club’s history! The Köpenickers will be able to play in the concert of the best clubs in Europe in the coming season and have qualified for the group stage of the Champions League by fourth place in the Bundesliga!
In a heart-stopping final in a long-distance duel with Sport-Club Freiburg, it looked as if the irons would still be intercepted on the home stretch. The Breisgauers led 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt for a long time, while Union initially only drew 0-0 against SV Werder Bremen. But then came Mr. Reliable: Rani Khedira redeemed all FCU fans with his goal in the 81st minute and sent the whole of Köpenick into ecstasy.
“What shit, Champions League!”
On Saturday afternoon, the Iron Fans not only proved once again that the An Der Alten Försterei stadium is one of the most atmospheric stadiums in the republic, but also ironically classified what had been achieved as excellent: “What a shit, what a shit, what a Shit, Champions League!” It echoed through the outdated stadium in the east of the federal capital.
Union defeats Werder and plays Champions League!
For the successful coach Urs Fischer, who had already led the Köpenickers to the Bundesliga in 2019, reaching the Champions League must first be realized. “The promotion back then will stay in my memory forever and now we’re standing here playing the Champions League,” said the Swiss, visibly overwhelmed after the end of the game.
The home win on Matchday 34 put the icing on the cake of a record season for 1. FC Union. The Köpenickers celebrated their 18th win of the season against Werder and collected an incredible 62 points in 34 games – both new club records for the Irons in a Bundesliga season. In addition, no opponent in this Bundesliga season could conquer the fortress Stadion An Der Alten Försterei, because the Köpenickers did not concede a single home defeat – there were eleven wins and six draws at home. Across the seasons, this means an ongoing series of 23 Bundesliga home games without defeat!
Union Berlin wants to stay true to itself
After staying up in the first Bundesliga season (eleventh place in 2019/20), reaching the Conference League 2020/21, entering the Europa League 2021/22, fourth place and the Champions League qualification at the end of this season the logical consequence of the almost linear success curve of the Köpenickers.
Urs Fischer, who stands for the iron success story like no other, knows that “it will be important that we stay true to ourselves, show this humility and modesty and don’t change too much. That will be the challenge in the end.” Despite this clearly defined direction, it will be interesting to see whether reaching the Champions League will be the end of the Köpenick fairy tale.
Matchday 34: This is what the Bundesliga is talking about
The football world in Berlin could perhaps become even more wrong if Union were to win a title one day. After all the sensational successes of the last few years, it wouldn’t be surprising if the people from Köpenick soon raised a trophy to the skies – maybe the DFB Pokal in the Olympic Stadium…
Goal scorer Khedira! The six shoots the goal of the day against Bremen – IMAGO/Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch/IMAGO/Matthias Koch
2023-05-29 04:04:46
#Union #Berlin #solves #ticket #Champions #League
