OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 31 | Bundesliga Title Battle

The rise of Union Berlin had seen the club top of the league heading into 2037, raising hopes that they could become the first-ever team from East Germany to win Bundesliga. They’d also performed well above expectations in their first six Champions League fixtures.

The new year began with unhappy winger Lucas moving back to Brazil with Sao Paulo for £7.2m. But another Brazilian arrived in his place as full-back Rogério Poulos joined for a new club record £15.5m from Flamengo. Attacking depth was boosted with striker Fredrik Fossdal for £3.5m from Bødo-Glimt and much-needed German talent in winger Markus Ambrosius for £5.5m from Karlsruhe.

Strong Start To 2037

The new year began with Union making the trip to city rivals Hertha an they never really got going in a dull 0-0 draw. Later that day, Bayern obviously won at Wolfsburg to move level on points with them. Another tricky game followed at home to Leverkusen but a brace from striker Miroslav Milosevic got them back to winning ways.

Prusseit’s former senior club Hansa Rostock was eventually defeated 3-1 with late goals by substitutes Claudio Sepúlveda and Leandro. An easier run of games continued as they thumped Nürnberg 4-2 before Sepúlveda scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win at Freiburg and a brace in a 3-2 win at home to Gladbach. Milosevic got in on the act as he scored both in a 2-1 win at Frankfurt and a 2-0 win at struggling Schalke. Then a rare set-piece goal saw Jean-Paul Vogt score the only goal at home to St. Pauli. While a miracle happened and Bayern dropped points after Christmas as they drew at home to Leverkusen and at Hertha.

And an eight-game winning streak had moved Union into an exciting position heading into the final eight games.

Champions League Progression?

Union had performed well in their first-ever Champions League campaign but had two really tricky fixtures remaining. First, they made the trip to Paris to face reigning champions PSG, who had a 33-year-old Jude Bellingham in midfield. They got well and truly dominated and found themselves 4-0 down after an hour but a Milosevic strike then a Michael Storskov gave them a little hope before conceding a late fifth.

Next was the final game at home to a ridiculously strong Chelsea team that topped the league and had a player worth £316m! But an impressive effort by goalkeeper Lee Kwang-Sun kept Chelsea out and Milosevic nicked an unlikely win with a 79th-minute penalty. That secured a pretty respectable 13th place that took Union into the playoff stage.

In the playoff round, they drew AC Milan, who’d signed former Union winger Jakub Silny after 18 months at Barcelona. Union edged the first leg in Italy but couldn’t finish their chances and were punished by a goal by old man Charles De Ketelaere. They were much the better team back in Germany but were wasteful yet again in a poor first half. Prusseit increased the intensity and they got level as Leandro collected the ball out wide, cut inside and smashed it past the keeper. But it finished 1-0 to go to extra time. Prusseit pushed his team up the pitch and increased the pressing on an old Milan team and it eventually made their dominance count as Leandro again popped up with a tidy finish. Milan offered nothing and Union deservedly progressed 2-1 on aggregate. Bizarrely, the home leg was played at Hertha’s Olympiastadion and nearly trebled Union’s record attendance and gate receipts as 62,816 people showed up. Yet the board don’t see the need for a new stadium?

However, Union’s race was probably now run as they drew nine-time winners Liverpool in the last 16. It was pretty much over after a 3-1 home defeat as Liverpool’s ridiculous striker scored a hat-trick and Union “broke their home attendance” again with 70,860 showing up. So Prusseit went defensive, rotated the team and they somehow only lost 1-0 at Anfield. But an exciting first Champions League adventure came to an end.

Tough Bundesliga Run-In

Heading into the final eight games of the season, Union found themselves top of Bundesliga with a four-point advantage over Bayern. However, for the second season in a row, their run-in was pretty brutal with six games against teams in the top eight.

Game 1 – Köln (12th, home): One of the easier games in the run-in saw Union dominate by 14 shots to five. But Milosevic popped up with the only goal two minutes before half-time. Later that day, Bayern lost 2-0 at Freiburg so Union moved seven points clear!

Game 2 – Wolfsburg (4th, away): However, Union lost both centre-backs Mikulas Mraz and Vogt, their replacement Papel and right-back Mathias Nilsson Morsing to training injuries in the following week. So Abdelkarim Belkacem dropped into defence for the first time at Wolfsburg and they fell to a pretty terrible 3-0 defeat. Bayern won 3-0 the next day to close the gap back to four points.

Game 3 – Leipzig (3rd, away): It didn’t get much easier with a trip to fellow OstDeutscher side Leipzig. But they first had to navigate an international break in which Prusseit was expecting more injuries and, really helpfully, Adolfo Ferreira bizarrely stayed on international duty past the weekend. Bayern played first and beat St. Pauli to pile the pressure on and it showed as Union’s battered squad lost 3-2, which dragged Leipzig up into the title battle.

Game 4 – Werder Bremen (18th, home): A week later, a must-win game saw a visit from Werder, who only had seven points. Mraz returned and they looked much more solid, racing into an early 2-0 lead thanks to a seven-minute Milosevic double. Centre-back Cláudio Borborema added a third and Union eased to a 3-1 win. Bayern edged a 1-0 win at Schalke to stay one point back.

Game 5 – Bayern München (2nd, away): Bayern had only lost one game at home in six seasons, so that seemed unlikely based on Union’s recent away days. Their quality showed as they battered Union in the first half but couldn’t find a way through. They finally struck in the 87th minute to a goal that looked offside but, against all the odds, Union countered to equalise through a rare goal from the out-of-form Storskov. However, scummy Bayern – who apparently were immune to tiredness after their Champions League game – struck again in the 92nd minute to go top. And Prusseit was furious because that was probably the title gone again.

Game 6 – Stuttgart (7th, home): Union got back on track thanks to two more out-of-form players. Bruno Rodríguez scored a double either side of opposite winger Grga Picak’s first goal in six months. Bayern won 2-0 at Köln the day before.

Game 7 – Hamburg (8th, away): Union ensured the title fight would at least go to the final day as Rodríguez and Picak scored again in a dominant 3-1 win at Hamburg. The next day, Bayern hosted 3rd-place Leipzig and hammered them 4-2 (despite another Champions League semi-final in midweek) to stay two points clear.

Game 8 – Dortmund (4th, home): Union’s brutal run-in concluded at home to Dortmund while Bayern had an easy three points at relegated Werder. Union started terribly, conceding a goal that looked miles offside and Bayern scored in first-half injury time. So Prusseit made five changes just after the break, which worked as Fossdal scored his first goal then Storskov and Belkacem missed sitters. And they couldn’t find another goal so drew 1-1, while Bayern won 3-0 anyway to wrap up yet another title.

So Union finished 2nd for a second season, winning £95m in the meantime. But Prusseit was a little frustrated about their end-of-season form, taking 10 points from their last eight games while Bayern won all of their last seven, and a host of his players going through a poor conclusion to the campaign.

Reflecting On Another Solid Season

Union impressed for long periods this season but ultimately their inability to beat the other teams at the top of Bundesliga and, ultimately, Bayern’s irritating ruthlessness, remains their downfall. However, Prusseit had to remind himself of the massive potential at the club despite the disappointment of missing out on the title again.

Milosevic topped the goalscoring charts with 21 in 47 followed by Sepúlveda with 20 in 41, but both tailed off hugely at the end of the season. While Storskov was poor this season, only scoring 11 in 38. Picak led the way with 16 assists, which won him fans’ player of the season, followed by Rodríguez’s 14, but the latter only got two after Christmas.