“Always look on the bright side of life”. This is the refrain that Union Berlin supporters have been repeating for years, taken from a song by the Monty Python comedy troupe. Whether it wins, whether it loses, whether it plays for the title or maintains it, the team from the capital plays to the rhythm of these words which brought them luck for four years. Discovery of the Bundesliga in 2019, qualification for the Champions League in 2023: the daydream turns into a nightmare this season. The European newcomer had eight defeats before hosting Naples at the Olympic Stadium this Tuesday (9 p.m.).
“I don’t think a coach can lose indefinitely,” conceded the main player, Urs Fischer, after a new correction inflicted by Stuttgart last Saturday (0-3). “Why should I throw in the towel?”, however, he retorted when his future was put on the table. The ugly series of results does not do justice to what his flock is offering. The statistics support the impression, including in the Champions League. Twice, the Union lost after added time, at Real Madrid (1-0) and against the Portuguese Braga (2-3).
“It’s struggling at the moment, it’s eating away at us from the inside,” said midfielder Janik Haberer after the setback against Braga. The Champions League matches are certainly magnificent, but they are also brutally painful. Union Berlin, although it is the most popular club in the city ahead of Hertha, was not programmed for that. “They are a hardworking people, a very family club, whether at the level of the players, the staff, and the employees of the club in general”, confided to us a year ago the former French player Marc Pfertzel, who passed through there between 2011 and 2014.
Proof of this is with Urs Fischer, appointed coach in 2018, with whom the Union enjoyed a honeymoon that seemed eternal. Last February, the club was still leader of the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich. Reward for hard work. According to the specialist site Transfermarkt, Union Berlin’s squad is worth €189 million. This is less than eight French clubs including Olympique Lyonnais, bottom of Ligue 1.
The frustration is reinforced by a summer transfer window that was salivating. Leonardo Bonucci, nine times Italian champion with Juventus, European champion with Italy where he has 121 caps, was a prestigious recruit in defense. But at 36, his impact is invisible, both on the field and in the locker room. Striker Kevin Volland, taken from AS Monaco, received a red card for a bad tackle against Leipzig, which earned him a 3-match suspension. French midfielder Lucas Tousart, who moved from Hertha to Union, does not carry weight. The only satisfaction, left midfielder Robin Gosens bought from Inter Milan, finalist of the last C1, is a meager lot of compensation.
So the Union is moving forward as best it can. 15th in the Bundesliga after eight days, he is only two points ahead of the red zone. A defeat against Naples, Italian champion also not in good shape, would undermine their hopes of a 3rd place in Group C to be knocked down in the Europa League, which would already be an authentic performance.
To encourage him, the Bundesliga published an article listing five reasons why “the Union will beat Napoli.” A support on which “die Eiserne”, or “the men of Iron”, cannot spit, in reference to the working culture of the Berlin district of Oberschöneweide, where the club was built a century ago. “You started from nothing, you return to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing,” continued the Monty Python song that Union supporters love so much. She definitely seems cut out for the club…
