Deniz Undav has been playing football since he was two years old. When he missed the leap to the pros in the Werder Bremen youth team, the dream of becoming a professional footballer became a distant memory. When we meet him for the interview, he talks about that time and looks thoughtful. “I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, but it was bitter that nobody believed in me. Even my friends didn’t have that at the time.”
From today’s perspective, this sentence is difficult to imagine. Undav has made 37 competitive appearances for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium this season, scoring 26 goals and contributing 13 assists.
“I think more like a playmaker”
“I’m a 10 at heart. A lot of players have told me to be more selfish on the pitch, but I can’t. I don’t think like a traditional striker, more like a playmaker.” That explains the 13 assists. Not only because of them Undav is often compared to Karim Benzema. There are also visual parallels.
Undav has cropped hair and a well-groomed beard, but you won’t find luxury brands and designer clothes on him. He comes to our interview in a hoodie and sweatpants. Maybe he’s still too down-to-earth for the big airs and graces. Which is not surprising, after all, his time in the regional league was not long ago.
Until 2020 in the 3rd division at SV Meppen
From 2015 to 2018 he was in the regional league. First for TSV Havelse, then for Braunschweig II. If he’s not injured, he usually scores like an assembly line. In two seasons he scored almost 40 goals. Then he moves to Meppen in the 3rd division. After a short start-up he has a good hit here too. But an offer from the first or second Bundesliga? none.
In 2020 his current club is calling from Belgium. “I immediately felt a completely different appreciation. I might have had a few kilos too much at the time, but you can change that.” His trainer Felice Mazzu gives him his freedom, but at the same time makes him fitter. Undav almost single-handedly shoots Saint-Gilloise into Division 1A, Belgium’s top flight. Saint-Gilloise has been waiting for this for 50 years.
Undav speaks of “satisfaction” – and seems honest
“I then set myself very clear goals and said: I’ll score at least 14 goals in the first division. A lot of people smiled at me. After the first half of the season I had 16. That was absolute satisfaction for me.“
“Satisfaction” is a word Deniz Undav uses very often. But somehow he manages not to sound bitter, but just honest. Undav, the underestimated. It fits so perfectly with the history of his current club.
Royale Union – as a climber shortly before the championship title
The Royale Union Saint-Gilloise probably had no expert on the list before the season. The Royale Union, the underestimated. “In two and a half years from the second division to the Champions League. That would just be a sick story.”, says Undav and grins. Of course he knows how few teams have ever managed to do that. Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga at the end of the 1990s. He can’t think of any other examples.
However, it is also true that the success of this club is not pure coincidence. English investor Tony Bloom, who has been President of Brighton & Hove Albion is, took over the club in May 2018. However, Bloom is not blindly pumping money into the club.
He relies on statistics. He is very familiar with that. Using programs and algorithms, he determines which players are a good fit for the club. Apparently the numbers don’t lie.
Brighton from the Premier League – Union’s partner club
Brighton and Union are set to become partner clubs and it is no coincidence that Deniz Undav will play for the Premier League-Club comes up. When Undav talks about it, his eyes light up. The word “satisfaction” is used again here: “I did it, even though almost nobody except my advisor believed in me.” A sentence that fits.
Decisive championship game against Brugge
Undav’s shots could also sit next Sunday (May 8th, 2022) in the home game against Bruges. It’s the decisive game in the championship. The Belgian league has been playing the title in a complicated playoff system for a few years.