Before the Bundesliga restart: what plans Urs Fischer has for the second half of the season at Union Berlin

Bundesliga

When a club has just played the most successful season in its history, many fans put on their emotional safety belts as a precaution. Because: The higher you climb, the deeper you will fall, that is almost a certainty in football.

Union Berlin fans are now wearing four emotional safety belts one on top of the other: Since their promotion in 2019, the Irons have also been able to set new records in the Bundesliga every year. Nobody can really believe in which spheres the club is now playing.

Union qualified for the European Cup for the second time in a row in 2022.Image: www.imago-images.de / regios24

In the first half of the season, the iron roller coaster reached its dizzying climax: Union actually led the table for a whole seven days. In the run-up to the second half of the season, Union fans are once again preparing for a hair-raising descent. But that the big crash will finally come in the second half of the season is not at all certain.

Becker wanted in England: This time Union wants to keep its top performer

In the past, Union had to deal with rather serious departures – instead of strengthening itself in winter. Last year both defense chief Marvin Friedrich (Gladbach) and playmaker Max Kruse (Wolfsburg) left the club in January.

Marvin Friedrich (from left), Grisha Prömel and Max Kruse left the FCU in 2022. After all, Prömel stayed until the end of the season.Image: imago / Sven Simon

So far this year, only Tymoteusz Puchacz has been loaned to Panathinaikos Athens, but he was not able to assert himself at Union anyway.

At the same time, the Union supporters can breathe a sigh of relief because Sheraldo Becker will probably stay with them at least in the second half of the season. The winger played like unleashed at the beginning of the season, after seven games he already had six goals and four assists under his belt.

Becker (left) in the European Cup game against Saint-Gilloise.Image: BELGA / Bruno Fahy

Although his goal threat diminished towards the winter, the 27-year-old is still in great demand. Nottingham Forrest, which brought Unions Taiwo Awoniyi for a good 20 million euros in the summer, should now also want to sign Becker. The Dutchman made it clear at the training camp: “I have a contract, I’m staying.”

With Jérôme Roussillon only one newcomer so far

But Union is now used to losing top performers. Whether in defense (Schlotterbeck, Friedrich), in midfield (Andrich, Prömel) or in attack (Anderson, Kruse, Awoniyi): The Berliners have put up with every loss so far.

Somewhere between Urs Fischer’s compact, biting pressing style and Oli Ruhnert’s transfer maxim – only to get players who burn for the club – has emerged a team that is hard to beat, regardless of their players.

Since Urs Fischer became Union coach in 2018, things have only been going uphill for the Irons.Image: dpa / Andreas Gora

Accordingly, there are no clear construction sites at Union after the first half of the season: the defense is solid and was the best in the league until the 5-1 defeat against Leverkusen. The midfield is happy to run and fight, as it should be at the FCU. And in attack one continues to hope that Jordan Siebatcheu will prevail or that Becker’s goal threat will continue for the rest of the season.

As is well known, Union manager Oliver Ruhnert is not particularly keen on buying during the winter break – although he naturally has to have additional players and young hopes on the screen with the regular departures of the Köpenickers.

The only new entry so far was announced on Thursday: The 30-year-old left-back Jérôme Roussillon comes from VfL Wolfsburg. Since it was hardly considered by the wolves this year, it should not have been too expensive. At the same time, he is a seasoned Bundesliga professional, so he fits perfectly into the profile of the Irons.

Roussillon played 128 competitive games for VfL Wolfsburg.Image: dpa / Peter Steffen

“With Jérôme we not only get more breadth in the squad, but at the same time breadth with high quality,” said Union boss Ruhnert happily. It is unclear to what extent he is planning further newcomers.

Triple load in the second half

Ruhnert also knows: “In the second half of the season with a lot of games on the national and international stage, this high quality across the board is essential.”

Oliver Ruhnert has been Managing Director at Union Berlin since May 2018.Image: imago / Martin Hoffmann

In addition to the Bundesliga and the DFB Cup, Union is also represented in the Europa League. In the playoffs before the knockout phase, Ajax Amsterdam (16.2., 23.2.) are waiting for a well-known international opponent.

In the DFB Cup round of 16, Union faces VfL Wolfsburg (31 January). In view of such opponents, it is not particularly likely that Union will suffer from the triple burden for a long time in the second half of the season.

Fischer trains tactical flexibility to prepare for low-lying opponents

Overall, Union sees itself well positioned for the second half of the season. After four years of working on the stability of the team, Urs Fischer now feels comfortable enough to practice tactical flexibility. In addition to the well-known 5-3-2 formation, Union also wants to play in 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 in the future.

This should help especially against low-lying opponents. At the training camp in Campoamor (Spain), the focus was therefore primarily on playing with the ball. However, the Swiss urges patience: “You can’t get a new system in three to four weeks. It just takes time.”

Although Fischer was obviously not one hundred percent satisfied with the implementation of the new system after the training camp, he can go into the second half of the season with confidence: his team is pursuing a clear plan on the pitch, the current fifth in the table will have nothing to do with the fight for relegation – which is still being proclaimed by the Union bosses. Maybe there will even be a European golf course in the end.