Friday, November 5, 2021
No rioting or rioting
Bitter Europe lesson for Union Berlin
By Sebastian Schneider, Berlin
Union Berlin is playing in Europe. That’s crazy. This is the reward for the incredible rise in iron in recent years. But now they are facing some new problems. So far, they have collected some points on their way, but many memories.
Floodlights, sold-out stadiums, the European Cup – everything else is sometimes annoying. The otherwise powerful icon “Ritter Coole” also faltered. Union Berlin really lives the dream of a Bundesliga club now: European competition. The Kopenikers are doing what their blue and white city rivals can dream of this time around and are busy collecting memories. This is not the first time through the UEFA Conference League that when they lost 2-1 to Feyenoord Rotterdam, the Iron Party found that everything was not fantastic.
Because bankruptcy can actually be summed up in one word: unnecessary. Because those in last place on the team need to win the last two games to progress. But that’s how it came to be: most of the time, the Berliners are in control of the game. Shortly before half-time, Captain Christopher Trimmel made up for the deficit a quarter of an hour later.
After the break, the Union even came close to 2-1. But then the destruction of Union goalkeeper Andreas Louth Berlin’s continuous rain. The goalkeeper slips into the “special spot” (as Queen Kedira called the mud grass), and a Rotterdam player can convert it to 1: 2. “Football is a wrong game. It’s a mistake. It changed the game,” Union coach Urs Fischer said after the game.
“Beat ourselves up”
He does not criticize the goalkeeper much. On the contrary, another thing bothers Fischer: “That is, not scoring a goal can also be described as wrong.” With this he takes advantage of Sheraldo Becker’s unused big chance and the remaining chance in the sixth minute. As it sometimes happens, two more actions are needed shortly before the end: first Captain Trimmal flies in, and then Cedric replaces the teacher. “Today we beat ourselves up,” said Defense Chief Robin Noch.
Internationally, Copenhagen raises money for training. Rhythm is unfamiliar, it changes processes, takes time. As a coach, Fischer also knows how to report. “We can’t work out right now. If you play a game every third day, it’s mainly about regeneration,” he explained before the game, when asked about possible training corrections after 2: 5 against Bayern on Saturday. Suddenly Union faces the big problem of a great club: the three loads of league, trophy and international competition. “This is the biggest difference from last season: we don’t have a week to prepare for the opposition.” That’s why a lot of video goes through analysis and dialogue.
Of course, this is not an excuse for two failures, nor is it the place of yesterday. Again, the Union has to go to the infamous Olympic Stadium for international competition. Although the straight line to the actual house, Alte Försterei, is only 23 kilometers, someone from Copenhagen has already complained about the “long train journey” of his life on the way there. At the stadium, they clarify what fans think about the guest appearance at the Berlin West. Nothing. First with a banner (“Life needs air-like alde forestry”), then with slogans (“alde, alde, alde forestery”). Guests from Rotterdam also did not seem very happy. The rain pushed the marathon goal back throughout the season.
No increase
However, this is the best place possible. Because since the onset of the epidemic, Nerve Capital has been enjoying its first real risk game. Feyenoords fans are infamous all over Europe. Berliners feel it too. Union representatives were attacked before the first phase. The second phase in Berlin employs about 2,000 officers. Routes for fan camps will be divided, while those from Rotterdam will be guided through the spacious Olympic Park on the field.
The first provocation of the guests takes place on Wednesday morning. At two o’clock in the morning at the East Side Gallery in Berlin, two Dutch citizens – still carrying paint in their hands. They sprayed a large “Feyenoord” on the Berlin Wall. In all, more than 70 people, mostly from the Netherlands, were arrested before the game. Earlier in the day, rumors were circulating that Ultras would also travel to the city from Poland, Denmark, Rostock and Gladbach. Police said attacks, property damage and pyro torches were set on fire near the stadium and underground stations before the game began. This excitement! Fans, the city and the capital’s press, rarely encounter scenes like this. Berlin and Europe. Everyone needs to get used to it.
An evening at an unwanted ground ends with a completely unnecessary defeat. Europe is not always easy. Fischer “definitely needs to address one or the other” after the game. But again there is no time beyond that. It’s Sunday Bundesliga. At 1. FC Köln. Turn gray daily. At the stadium, a few employees set up a “night club”. Take a selfie with a rare guest in Berlin’s West. Collect memories. Floodlights, ground sold under infectious conditions, European Cup. It will stay.