analysis
Due to the renewed, fully deserved defeat against VfB Stuttgart, Union Berlin is slipping deeper and deeper into the crisis. The club is looking for its sporting identity.
After the home game against VfB Stuttgart fell 0-1, the social media team continued 1. FC Union on gallows humor. “16′ You know who. | 0:1,” the Iron Men posted briefly on their X account. Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy scored his 13th goal of the season in the eighth game against Union.
“What are you supposed to do?” some will have asked themselves. But to explain the goal solely by the quality of the “difference player,” as Urs Fischer called him before the game, falls short. Because Guirassy’s goal was one of his easiest exercises, the Union defense helped actively. “An individual cannot defend him,” warned Urs Fischer. His players didn’t even try in the 16th minute against Stuttgart.
Union no longer defends
In the last six weeks, 1. FC Union has lost in just about every way imaginable. Sometimes there were late goals conceded, sometimes there were open games with a worse ending for the Iron Men and sometimes the opponents were simply better than Union. What unites almost all of these games? Urs Fischer’s team conceded a lot of goals. This was not only due to the quality of the opponents, but also because Union had previously defended poorly or built up without concentration.
This series continued on Saturday against VfB Stuttgart. All three goals conceded were preceded by at least one blatant mistake. Last season, the Berliners had one of the two best defenses in the Bundesliga. It looks like someone formatted the Union hard drive in the summer.
Guirassy’s goal exposes weaknesses
Anyone who watches the Guirassy goal in the replay will see at least three things that Union are doing significantly worse than last season. Although there were eight Union players behind the ball at the moment of VfB defender Anthony Rouault’s cross, the Stuttgart player was allowed to play it into the penalty area completely unchallenged. The current team completely lacks the aggressiveness that characterized Union for years against the ball.
In this scene, however, that wouldn’t have been a big problem if someone in the defense center had been interested in the league’s most successful striker. Returnee Robin Knoche completely lost sight of Guirassy as he ran straight into the penalty area unmarked on the way to his header. Room layout and communication? Not with Union. The fact that goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow, who was statistically the best goalkeeper in the league in the previous season, wandered haphazardly through his five-yard box once again this season was just the end of a long chain of errors.
A lot of effort for goals against Union? No longer necessary.
The many goals conceded were not “Union-like,” criticized captain Christopher Trimmel after the game. Even if Union had a bad day, in recent years you could always rely on the players bringing certain basics to the pitch. Urs Fischer called it “basics” and meant above all the willingness to run, toughness in duels, defensive discipline and concentration. Anyone who wanted to score goals against Union had to accept pain and put in a lot of effort.
There isn’t much left of it. Especially in the first half on Saturday, the Swabians were able to switch and do as they wanted in midfield. Instead of disrupting the short passing game of Enzo Millot and Angelo Stiller, the Köpenick team just retreated. “We weren’t aggressive enough against the ball and had little access overall,” analyzed Fischer, who responded with a three-way substitution at halftime.
Avert the main problem
By bringing in the nimble wingers David Datro Fofana and Sheraldo Becker, he relieved the pressure on his defense, which was now able to repeatedly bring the ball into the opponent’s half with deep passes to the outside. You could write a separate text about the fact that Union didn’t equalize despite a total of 24 crosses and two chances in front of the goalkeeper. The exploitation of opportunities also distinguishes the current Union season from the last and is one reason for the series of defeats.
However, the poor defense was crucial for the outcome of the game on Saturday. Because in the middle of a phase when Union was pushing for an equalizer with clear chances, the preliminary decision was made in the 81st minute. In front of Silas Katompa Mvumpa’s 0:2, Diogo Leite was duped and Robin Gosens slipped into space. “The second goal shouldn’t happen to us like that,” Trimmel also knew.
Union must stabilize
If you believe Knoche, the crisis is not rooted in the preparation for the games: “If we do what we analyze in advance wrong on the pitch, we can’t win any games.” Still, he’s not worried because he can’t see any resignation in the team. The mood in the stadium was also far from resignation. After the eighth defeat in a row, the fans cheered up their team.
Nevertheless, the situation in Köpenick is serious. In the fall, Union is not only looking in vain for points, but also for its own sporting identity. For Christopher Trimmel it is clear what needs to change at Union first: “We have to become more stable at the back and allow less,” he said. The next opportunity to finally get started is on Tuesday against SSC Napoli.
Broadcast: rbb24, October 21, 2023, 9:45 p.m
