OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 25 | Massive Record Sale

Union Berlin had made a solid start to their second season back in Bundesliga. But Ruprecht Prusseit was keen to avoid the slump they suffered in the second half of last season after the winter break.

However, 2034 began with some disappointing news as Bayern München met star right-back Nico Korte’s £44m minimum release fee. Annoyingly, £12m of that went to former club Hansa Rostock but, on the positive side, that record transfer fee doubled the club’s bank balance to over £50m. Backup centre-back Emiliano Otero also left for £1m to Argentine side Atlético de Rafaela then, on deadline day, 28-year-old centre-back Philipp Schulz joined Wolfsburg for £7.5m as he had 18 months on his contract and refused to sign a new one.

The Korte deal went through after Prusseit had agreed deals that extended his transfer policy of signing inexpensive players with massive potential. Union’s Scandinavian contingent was added to with right-back Mathias Nilsson Morsing joining for £2.5m from AGF and attacking midfielder Mads Vollesen coming in for £2.8m from Brøndby. Prusseit also snapped up Colombian winger Dúvier Canizalez on a free transfer from América de Cali then added depth with a few random loanees on deadline day.

Looking To Climb Bundesliga

2034 began with the toughest test possible, a trip to 22-time reigning champions Bayern München, who’d just signed striker Riley Shackell for £124m from Chelsea! Prusseit’s defensive approach and Mads Hermansen’s 15 saves limited the damage to 2-0 after Bayern battered them with 35 shots to nine.

But Union bounced back in dominant style with 25 shots to nine at home to Nürnberg, with striker Michael Storskov making two count to lead a 2-1 victory. The post-Korte era began with a trip to bottom-of-the-league Jahn Regensburg, who still only had three points. Storskov was on the scoresheet again after 16 minutes and Grga Picak doubled the lead before a late consolation. And they made it three wins on the bounce as midfielder Gerhard Seibert scored the winner in a 2-1 victory at home to Gladbach, who were in freefall having topped the league after seven games.

Prusseit’s 100th game in charge of Union was a big one as they travelled to fellow OstDeutscher side but, interestingly, not a local rival RB Leipzig. They caused no shocks in a 2-0 defeat but bounced back with a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen with Nilsson Morsing scoring his first goal for the club – which is one more than Korte scored! – before another Storskov strike. But another away defeat followed with a 2-1 loss at 5th-place Stuttgart.

DFB-Pokal Latter Stages

Union had progressed to the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals, where they faced a tough test at Wolfsburg. But Storskov continued his fine start to 2034 with two first-half goals to inspire a 2-1 victory.

They probably got the best draw in the semis as they faced Leverkusen while Bayern faced Leipzig. Leverkusen started better and took advantage of it as a brilliant Wirtz pass sent their ridiculous striker through for the opener. Union came back into it but couldn’t but their chances away and the hosts doubled the lead before gifting a consolation with a bizarre own goal. But on the positive side, Union bagged £2.92m for losing in the semis. Leverkusen went on to win the cup, defeating Leipzig 1-0 in the Final.

How High Can Union Finish?

Union went into the final 10 games of Prusseit’s second Bundesliga campaign in 9th place on 37 points. The relegation concerns predicted by the media were long gone and they were six points off the European places.

The run-in began with a tricky game at home to 2nd-place Wolfsburg but a strong defensive performance earned a 0-0. Another clean sheet followed as a Storskov goal was enough to down Arminia Bielefeld. That victory saw Union surpass last season’s points tally of 39 so anything else now was a bonus. But could they reach even higher levels?

Another point was added as a late winger Antonio Villalonga strike earned a 2-2 with 7th-place Frankfurt. Yet another tough game was up next as leaders Dortmund game to town and, for the second time this season, scored through an Adeyemi penalty. But Union stayed strong and Storskov nicked a deserved equaliser just before the hour for a second 1-1 with Dortmund this season. That gave Union confidence heading into a trip to 15th-place Hamburg, which they nicked 2-1 with an early Picak screamer then Storskov seized on some shambolic defending.

Final Day OstDeutscher Excitement

The win over Hamburg lifted Union into the European places for the first time with five games to go. A big test of those credentials came with a visit from 5th-place Freiburg and it wasn’t looking good as Freiburg took the lead after 28 minutes. But the brilliant Picak levelled with a total fluke then, just as it looked to be drifting to a point apiece, played a delicious through-ball for loanee Robert Gruber to nick a winner. A winnable game followed at home to Köln and they delivered as a Storskov double, a Villalonga strike and centre-back Ali Salameh’s first goal for the club inspired a 4-1 thumping.

Three days after the Leverkusen semi, Union had another huge game as their final home game of the season saw out-of-form rivals Hertha cross town for the Berliner Derby. The game started poorly but Villalonga woke the fans up with a superb left-footed finish. Yet another Hermansen howler gifted Hertha’s striker an equaliser but he was bailed out as Picak finished superbly before centre-back Mikulas Mraz headed home from a free-kick. That kept them three points above Frankfurt heading into two away games.

First up was a trip to Leverkusen, where they were really unlucky to lose 1-0. Frankfurt beat Jahn Regensburg 1-0 to move the two teams level heading into the final day.

So a win at already relegated fellow OstDeutscher side Hansa Rostock could seal European football. Union came out and dominated the first half with 15 shots to two but went into the break at 0-0. Prusseit fired the team up and got his reward as Villalonga slammed home then Salameh made sure of it by heading home a corner. Unfortunately, it was all in vain as Leverkusen’s cup success meant Union missed out on Europe but they did bag £62m in prize money.

Elsewhere, shockwaves reverberated around Germany as Bayern didn’t win Bundesliga for the first time since 2012. They were usurped by Dortmund, the previous German champions in 2012, and even slipped to 4th thanks to being battered 5-1 at Leipzig!

Reflecting On More Union Progression

Storskov was the top scorer at the club with 21 goals in 33 games. But arguably their best performer and Prusseit’s favourite player was Picak, who scored 11 and got 10 assists with a 7.30 average rating in 35 games.

Villalonga chipped in with six goals and six assists, Seibert scored seven and got four assists, while winger Jakub Silny got 10 assists and Matej Lnenicka got nine from midfield. And the potential in the squad was confirmed by Silny coming third in NxGn 2034 with Mraz in 17th and loaned-out defender Kresten Vilfort in 42nd.

Prusseit was absolutely loving his time in Berlin building an exciting, youthful and potential-packed team. So he had no hesitations in accepting a new contract that upped his wages to £20k a week until 2037. Furthermore, his efforts this season saw Prusseit win German Manager of the Year for the first time, weirdly ahead of Germany’s assistant manager!