Bundesliga club 1. FC Union Berlin has a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time. Coach Urs Fischer promises his team a hot “crunch time”. He expects a lot of “spiciness” against VfL Bochum.
Urs Fischer still does not explicitly name the Champions League as a goal, but on the way to the premier class his team can only stop themselves from the point of view of the Union coach.
“We have to do our job, that’s what it’s about. We have to push ourselves to the limit in every game, we don’t have to worry about the others,” said Fischer before the Berliners’ home game in the Bundesliga on Sunday (5:30 p.m./ DAZN) against VfL Bochum.
“There are seven games. You should start scoring,” Fischer demanded. Before matchday 28, Union Berlin is third in the table, four points ahead of SC Freiburg in fifth place. The top four qualify for the Champions League. Fischer takes the discussion about the possible historical participation in the most important European Cup calmly.
Union coach Urs Fischer: Preferably internationally again
“Disrupt? No. We have a goal that we have clearly communicated, that we want to qualify again for an international competition. It’s not just the Champions League that’s an issue. We want to reach one of the three competitions at the end,” said the Swiss.
Fischer expects a game with “great sharpness” against Bochum. In terms of personnel, the Union coach has full choice with the exception of convalescent András Schäfer. In the first leg, the Irons, as leaders of the table, lost 2-1 in Bochum at the bottom of the table at the time.
In preparation for Sunday’s game, he showed his team scenes from that game again, reported Fischer. “It wasn’t all bad, but it wasn’t all good either. Let’s hope things will look different on Sunday,” said the 57-year-old.
In the final spurt of the league, his team, unbeaten in 19 league home games, must now deliver. “Crunch time is a good expression. You should score,” said Fischer.