Berlin Writes History in Soccer

The Stadium Altere Försterei, where FC Union Berlin plays at home. Photo taken by Christian Liebscher via wiki-Commons 

FC Union Berlin advances to the German Bundesliga for the first time ever after ousting VFB Stuttgart in the Relegation Round.

BERLIN- In the end, only the strongest survived. The strongest in terms of nerves but also in coherency. The strongest is the one that makes history. This was done last night with FC Union Berlin. After a 2-2 draw against VFB Stuttgart, who had been sitting in 16^th place during almost the entire 2018/19 Bundesliga season, all the iron men could have done is put the iron curtain in place- literally in front of goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz  and let Stuttgart fire their shots- to the left, to the right and right into the goalie’s hands. And while the offense was on autopilot, a 0-0 tie was enough for Berlin to make history.

For the first time ever FC Union will play in the premier league this upcoming season, competing with the likes of Bayern Munich- fresh off its seventh consecutive title but poised to lose its top two players in Frank Ribery and Ariel Robben- the Robbery Duo- similar to the Killer Bs of the Pittsburgh Steelers in American football before Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown left the team after the 2018/19 season and its lone B- the quarterback, Ben Rothlisberger. It will be facing other teams with multiple years of experience and armed with deep pockets for 1^st class players, such as Frankfurt, Dortmund, Hoffenheim and Bremen. And while Freiburg, Cologne and Augsburg may be push-overs, like it was with Hamburg SV during its time in the second tier (winning 2-0 and tying 2-2), Union Berlin will have two rivalries to contend with:

1. Inner-City Rivalry: FC Union Berlin will have to contend with Hertha BSC Berlin, which has been in the premier league for all but two seasons since 1997. While FC Union Berlin has had many soccer rivalries in the German capital, even during the Cold War era, this one will be the battle of the iron fists that will attract tens of thousands, and whose victories will be very close. While FC Union lost a close one 2-1 on 3^rd September, 2012, the two teams finished tied at 2-2 on 11 February, 2013, the last time the two played. When the rivalry continues this upcoming season, it will be the first inner-city derby in the Bundesliga since the 2010/11 season with Hamburg vs St. Pauli.
2. East German Rivalry: Apart from its western city rival, FC Union will have to contend with Leipzig. But not the Leipzig that many soccer historians are accustomed to. While Union and VfB Leipzig’s rivalry attracted thousands of fans during the 1980s and 90s, the Leipzig they will be facing is one that will have a new (and fiery) head coach and a talented group that is regrouping after losing the 2019 German Cup to Munich and finished third in the regular season- meaning RB Leipzig. Even they have played three games, FC Union has yet to beat Leipzig, having lost two and tied one- but all in 2015 and 2016.

FC Union Berlin will be the sixth East German team to be in the top league in almost three decades- the others were Dynamo Dresden, Hansa Rostock, VfB Leipzig (now FC Lok), Energie Cottbus and Hertha. It is the 56^th team in history to reach the top tier. And after years of toil and disappointment, the team has entered chartered waters bound to make history. The team has the largest fan club in German soccer and its culture is implanted in Berlin soccer, with a stadium that has hosted soccer games, Christmas events and concerts and crowds that come to enjoy the game and not rampage it, like in some cities. This was noticeable with last night’s relegation game with Stuttgart- it ended in celebration and with no incidences! One could blame Stuttgart for its shortcomings, which will land them in the second league for the first time in three seasons, but the timing of FC Union Berlin’s rise to the top could not have come at a better time. All it needed was unity and the team got it.

And should this unity continue in the upcoming Bundesliga season, then FC Union Berlin will be making even more history as it climbs in the rankings at the expense of those who have been there for years. Seven years ago, one wondered whether professional soccer will return to the east. With first Leipzig and now Berlin, that question has been answered.

 

Congratulations to FC Union Berlin on making it to the big leagues! 🙂

FC Union Berlin won the relegation based on the “Goal Away from Home” rule. This means the team that has scored more goals “away from home” wins, if the total goals scored by each team are otherwise equal. This is sometimes expressed by saying that away goals “count double” in the event of a tie. In this case, Berlin won against Stuttgart based on that rule by a score of 2-0 because of the 2-2 draw in Stuttgart. 

Soccer Update: Leipzig Advances via Disqualification

German Football Federation rules in favor of RB Leipzig after Lighter Incident. VfL Osnabrück disqualified from German Cup- Further Sanctions Pending

FRANKFURT(MAIN)/LEIPZIG/OSNABRÜCK- Four days after the infamous lighter incident during the first round of the German Cup (DFB Pokal) and three days after both teams requested that the game be replayed, the German Football Federation made its decision on Friday. Despite the growing demand for the game to be repeated after a fan from Osnabrück threw a lighter at the referee in the 71st minute of the game, effectively taking him to the hospital and cancelling the rest of the game, played in Leipzig with Osnabrück in the lead 1-0, the Federation ruled against the notion and awarded the game to Leipzig. Reason for the decision was according to the handbook, the teams are responsible for controlling the fans and their actions, which the Federation claimed that Osnabrück did not do. The end result was Osnabrück being disqualified from the Cup with further sanctions pending. The team already has a 5000 Euro reward available for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who instigated the crime. Leipzig, which won 2-0 via ruling, advances to the second round, where they face Regionalliga team Unterhaching in October. A list of other teams advancing to the second round and their opponents can be found here. Among the opponents include a galactic battle between FC Bayern Munich (2015 Bundesliga champion) and VFL Wolfsburg (2015 German Cup champions), but also another David-vs-Goliath match-up between Regionalliga team FC Carl Zeiss Jena and Premere League team VFB Stuttgart. Jena, which knocked Hamburg SV out of the first round 3-2, last played Stuttgart in the 2008 German Cup, which the team won 5-4 in overtime, advancing to the Final Four Round, where they lost to Borussa Dortmund 3-0. Stuttgart has struggled to avoid being demoted to the Second League, finishing between 14th and 15th place the past 4 seasons. Also included in the match-ups are (L denotes league): Bayer Leverkusen (1L) vs Viktoria Cologne (4L), SSV Reutlingen (5L) vs. Brunswick (2L), and another Premere League match-up between FC Cologne and SV Werder Bremen.