With six wins in a row and ranking second in the Bundesliga, how did civilian team Union Berlin soar?

Which team is the biggest dark horse in Europe's top five leagues this season? Union Berlin is sure to get a nomination. The team, which only reached the Bundesliga in 2019-20, is now second in the league, just one point less than leaders Bayern Munich. Since the end of the World Cup, Union Berlin has won six consecutive victories, beating RB Leipzig, drawing Bayern Munich, beating Borussia Dortmund, taking into account the Europa League and the German Cup, the team still has achieved excellent results, such performances have surprised many fans and media.

So, how did Berlin Union do this?

The offense is economical, and the defense is solid

It is not difficult to see from the Bundesliga standings that Union Berlin's point winning process is very economical. After 20 league matches, they have scored 35 goals and earned 42 points, with the weakest attack among the top 3 teams. Bayern, who have one more point than Union Berlin, have now scored 24 more goals than they did. In the last five games, Union Berlin won 4 of their last 5 games with a score of 2-1, after all, whether it is winning 1 goal or winning 10 goals, it is 3 points, and Union Berlin gets the highest return at the lowest cost, and the efficiency of scoring points is very good.

This season, Union Berlin will also have to juggle Europa League matches. If in the Bundesliga, there is still a 6-1 victory over Schalke 04, then in the Europa League, Union Berlin has taken the "economy" to the extreme. In the six group games, Union Berlin won four games 1-0, lost two games and lost both of them 0-1, and exchanged four goals for 12 points, and the team successfully qualified for the play-offs as the second place in the group. Although four goals out of 32 teams in the Europa League can only be tied for 29th place, for Union Berlin, every goal can be exchanged for three points.

While maximising the benefits in terms of goals, Union Berlin's defence this season is also commendable. The performance of conceding two goals in six games in the Europa League is tied with Real Sociedad for the fewest in the group stage. In the Bundesliga, Union Berlin conceded 24 goals, just more than Bayern Munich at the top. It is worth noting that the 24 goals conceded, including a 5-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen and a 4-1 defeat to Freiburg, means that Union Berlin have conceded very few goals in most matches. Last October, the team kept a clean sheet in five consecutive games, and the excellent defense was evident.

It can be seen that in the case of mediocre offensive strength, based on defense is the key to Berlin United's point grab, and the team's excellent results this season are directly related to the stability of the defensive end.

Players are poorly known, civilians create magic

Union Berlin's cost-effective operation is not only reflected on the pitch, but also in terms of personnel, their players are also very cost-effective. Among the top 8 teams currently ranked in the Bundesliga, Union Berlin is worth 110 million euros, which is the lowest ranking, and Bayern, who are at the top, are worth a full nine times more. It is not difficult to see from the roster that Union Berlin has few well-known players, but Fischer, the manager who led the team all the way from the Bundesliga to the second place in the Bundesliga, has created enough cohesion for the team.

In the goalkeeper position, the main Rongnov has previously played a substitute role in Eintracht Frankfurt and Schalke 04, the second Gerlier was previously a substitute for Bayer Leverkusen, and the third Jensen is a veteran of Union Berlin, but he has not played for the team since the 2017-18 season. In terms of defenders, Knoch, who had been a regular in Wolfsburg, is almost the biggest player in the team, Dokshi has joined from Vitesse in the Eredivisie and Yekel is from Fürth in the Bundesliga. Both veterans Trimmel and Giseilmann have played in the lower leagues for a long time, with the recent addition of Yuranovic and the loaned Wright from Celtic and Porto, respectively, who are relatively more well-known in European football.

The players in the midfield are also not well-known, but most of them are powerful. Haberle, who joined Freiburg im Breiburg, has scored five goals this season, while Rani Khedira, the younger brother of former Real Madrid midfielder Khedira, was shortlisted for Germany's World Cup primaries and caught Barca's attention this season. Hungary international Schaefer and Norway international Tosby are the main rotations in the team's midfield.

Up front, top scorer Becker has been playing for the team for four seasons and gradually becoming a regular player, and he is also a Surinamese international who is extremely fast, with a two-speed ability of 94 and 95 in FIFA23; Two veterans, Behrens and Michel, were playing in the regional league and the Bundesliga five years ago. U.S. international Sebaçeu and Germany Under-21 international Lewerin, who cost the team €6 million and €400 respectively, are among Berlin's most expensive players.

(Sebaçeu scored the United goal)

Obviously, among the current Berlin United players, none of the German players have played for the national team, and most of the players who have international experience are from Central and North America and European non-traditional football powers, and there are many players, who have played in the lower leagues for a long time, and it is not easy to score goals in the Bundesliga. When manager Fischer took over, he had only been in charge of the Swiss league, but he brought Union Berlin from the Bundesliga to the top of the Bundesliga table. Civilian players, civilian managers, together they are an extraordinary team.

The momentum is fast, and the problems still need to be resolved

Of course, the excellent results do not hide the problems of the Berlin Union. If they want to make a difference in the Bundesliga and Europa League, they need to further improve their teams. The first is the personnel problem, the team sold the main striker Awoniy at a high price in the summer window, and lost two main players Genki Haraguchi and Ryerson in the winter window, although the squad was made up for through cost-effective signings, but with the outstanding results of Berlin United, there will inevitably be players joining a higher platform in the future, how to maintain the integrity of the squad will be a difficult problem that must be solved.

The overall strength of the team also needs to be adjusted. At present, there are only 5 midfielders and only 6 defenders in the usual use of Berlin United, and the number of appearances of other players is relatively limited. This brings physical problems. After drawing with Bayern, Union Berlin lost at home to Belgian side Saint-Giros United, and in October, they lost to Bochum, who were at the bottom of the table. After winning the crucial game of the Europa League, the team lost 5-0 to Bayer Leverkusen, and went without a win in the first three World Cup games. With multiple fronts, Union Berlin need to bring in more players to fill the squad.

If they can maintain their current form, Union Berlin are expected to play in the Champions League next season, which is another breakthrough for this inexpensive team. But at the same time, whether they can remain competitive in the long term needs to draw a question mark for a while. If they seize this opportunity, Berlin Union may be able to usher in a qualitative leap, but if they fail to juggle multiple fronts at once, they may also return to mediocrity. The most extreme result is a return to the Bundesliga, which is obviously not what people expect.

(Supine Push-ups/Yin Chongzeng)