Hertha Berlin were on track to secure an immediate return to Bundesliga after manager Ruprecht Prusseit made a solid start to his biggest job so far on his OstDeutscher Sieg journey. But there was plenty of pressure on the Dresden-born boss to make that promotion happen.
However, Prusseit’s credentials as a manager were significantly boosted as he passed his Continental Pro Licence, the highest coaching qualification possible in January 2032. The new qualification saw his world reputation increase to 3.5 stars or National.
Taking The Fight To Heidenheim
Union Berlin began 2032 superbly as Matej Lnenicka and a brace by winger Antonio Villalonga had them 3-0 up inside 24 minutes at Ingolstadt. The hosts scored twice out of nowhere after the break but Union held on for a 3-2 victory. Midfielder András Schäfer nicked a 1-0 win at home to Holstein Kiel followed by a 3-0 win at Jahn Regensburg while league leaders Heidenheim lost two on the bounce, which suddenly sent Union six points clear.
A week later, the lead was nine points as Union came from two goals down to thump 10-man Paderborn 7-3 led by a brilliant Schäfer four-goal haul while Heidenheim lost again. And a strong start continued before a six-game winning streak ended with a 2-0 defeat at Hansa Rostock.
Union got back on track with a 1-0 win over another fellow OstDeutsche side Magdeburk courtesy of right-winger Grga Picak’s delicious finish. Then top scorer Ahmed Ramadan scored his 20th league goal of the season in a 2-0 win at Sandhausen.
8 Games From Bundesliga
Union’s strong start to 2032 had coincided with Heidenheim having had a dreadful one, losing five of their last nine games having only lost three of their first 17. With eight games remaining, Union had built up an 11-point lead on Heidenheim, 12 points on 3rd-place Rostock and 4th-place Darmstadt.
Ramadan had been quiet of late but burst into life with his second four-goal haul of the season in a 6-0 hammering of Karlsruhe. Then just a second draw of the season, a 1-1 at Bochum, saw Rostock cut the lead to 10 points. Heidenheim, meanwhile, had continued their slump down to 5th and Union’s first chance to clinch promotion could come against them. They were looking good as Lnenicka scored early on but offered nothing after that and allowed Heidenheim back into it. But Rostock also drew and they stayed 11 points clear of 4th-place Darmstadt with five games remaining.
Their next potential opportunity came in Prusseit’s first return to Energie Cottbus, who they put seven past earlier in the season. They again dominated his former club, with Picak adding to his hat-trick in the first game with a first-half brace alongside Lnenicka and Ramadan strikes, then a late Achim Jungehülsing goal wrapped up a thumping 5-0 away win.
On The Verge Of Bundesliga
The next day after Union’s crushing of Cottbus, Rostock drew with Ingolstadt to leave Union 12 points clear of 4th place with four games remaining. So Union just needed one point to confirm promotion and two points to clinch the title.
They had a good chance to achieve both as they entertained 10th-place St. Pauli. Union came out flying and dominated the first half by 11 shots to one, eventually taking advantage as Villalonga slammed home after 43 minutes then laid on the second for Schäfer three minutes later. The game was all over as midfielder Phil Meyer drilled home from the edge of the box 10 minutes after the break and young striker Dominic Frenking sealed a dominant 4-0 win late on.
Union Berlin were 2. Bundesliga Champions!!
A successful campaign concluded a 3-2 win at Nürnberg thanks to Ramadan’s hat trick, a 2-2 draw with Augsburg and a final day 2-0 loss at Darmstadt. Union won the league by 12 points from Nürnberg, massively outscoring the rest of the division with 90 goals while only Nürnberg conceded fewer than their 33.
Ramadan was the second-top scorer with 28 in 33, only bettered by Nürnberg striker Leonardus Michaux scoring 34 in 34. Villalonga set a new league record with his 7.53 average rating, Lnenicka also set a new league record with 15 assists followed by Villalonga’s 12, and Mads Hermansen kept the most clean sheets with 15.
Looking Ahead To A First Bundesliga Campaign
Prusseit was delighted with Union’s efforts this season, especially a dominant second half of the campaign that saw them walk away with the 2. Bundesliga title. Furthermore, the title success bagged Union a much-needed £17.25m.
Ramadan topped the goalscoring charts with a new club-record 31 in 35 games plus five assists and a 7.48 average rating. And his strike partner Lnenicka scored 10 and got a new club-record 16 assists with a 7.38 average rating.
Winger Villalonga scored five and got 13 assist with a club-high 7.49 average rating and is apparently considered a leading Bundesliga player. Schäfer scored 14, Pica scored 11 and got six assists, and left-back Jan Hosek got 10 assists.
There was plenty of work to do in the summer if Union were to survive in their manager’s first-ever season in Bundesliga. But having just completed three successive promotions with two teams, Prusseit was feeling pretty confident. And he’d already set about making transfers to strengthen the squad.
Good news was that he’d managed to make it up to Bundesliga without Leipzig becoming the first-ever OstDeutscher champions. Bayern won their 20th successive Bundesliga, winning the title by 11 points from Leverkusen with Leipzig finishing way down in 10th. Rostock, Magdeburg and Cottbus all survived in 2. Bundesliga and Dresden finished mid-table in 3. Liga, where they’d be joined by Chemnitzer who won Regionalliga Nordost.
Could Prusseit build a squad capable of competing in Bundesliga? Join us on Friday to find out!
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