Who secures the last starting place in the Champions League? The decision will be made on Saturday in a long-distance duel between Union Berlin and SC Freiburg (from 3.30 p.m. live in the audio live stream at sportschau.de). Both teams could thus crown their outstanding seasons.
The battle for European spots is almost a side note this year. The championship has been decided on the last matchday for years and the carousel in the table cellar can still turn. In this shadow, Union Berlin (Saturday at 3.30 p.m. against Bremen) and SC Freiburg (Saturday at 3.30 p.m. against Frankfurt) are fighting in a long-distance duel for fourth place and thus for participation in the premier class. For both clubs it would be the premiere in the Champions League and the greatest success in the club’s history.
It wasn’t until the 32nd match day that both teams faced each other in a direct duel. Since the Union caught the better day. After the 4:2 home win they already had one foot in the Champions League. But after Union’s 2-4 defeat in Hoffenheim and Freiburg’s 2-1 win against Wolfsburg on the penultimate day, everything is open again: Both teams have 59 points, Union has the edge thanks to the better goal difference (+12, Freiburg +8). just ahead.
Another record season for Union
At Union it’s only been uphill since the promotion four years ago: Eleventh, seventh, fifth – and now fourth? With 59 points, last year’s record was broken. “Nobody can take the season away from us. But we can play top class. It’s about taking the last step“, says Union coach Urs Fischer. He wants to find the right mix of tension and anticipation: “There’s a lot at stake, but we need to relax, otherwise you’ll cramp.“
The Berliners will be very happy that the last game will take place in front of their home crowd. Union has not yet lost a home game this season, and there are even 22 games in the Alte Försterei across the seasons. “The home game helps us. Our audience drives us” says Fisher.
Opponents Bremen secured relegation last week, but Werder are arriving with extra motivation: Striker Niclas Füllkrug wants to defend the top scorer list. The national player could play into the cards that Union is running out of air at the end of the season: The Berliners were only able to take eight points from the last seven games. Nevertheless, the Köpenicker ranked in the top four on almost all match days – the fall to fifth place would be all the more bitter.
Streich: “The boys want more”
In that case, Union’s sorrow would be Freiburg’s joy. They are also having an outstanding season: it is the best under coach Christian Streich. Only the 1994/1995 season under Volker Finke was more successful and brought third place, which was not enough for the Champions League qualification at the time. Prank “can live with it“, even if it doesn’t work out this year. But the attitude of his players is different: “The boys want more‘ said Prank.
The Freiburgers are inspired by the last matchday: “That was like a fairy tale“, explained Streich. The victory and goal from record joker Nils Petersen, who ended his career at the end of the season, made for picture book scenes after the final whistle. If Petersen came off the bench again and shot SC into the Champions League, it would be the fairy tale perfect.
With an away game in Frankfurt, the Breisgauer face a nominally heavier task than Union. Frankfurt, who are strong at home, want to stay in rhythm for the DFB Cup final (June 3, 2023) and, ideally, secure seventh place. Accordingly, it is unlikely that Freiburg will overtake Union on goal difference with a smashing victory on their own.
Experience with last minute decisions
Both teams are familiar with tight decisions on the last day of the game. Freiburg also had chances for the Champions League until the end of last season – but lost out to Leipzig. In the last two years, Union secured the European Cup on the last match day: two years ago the Conference League and last year the Europa League.
If successful, Union would be the first German team to qualify for all three European competitions. Regardless of who makes it in the end: Both Union Berlin and SC Freiburg would be the fifteenth German participant in the premier class and would thus make a historic contribution to the club’s history.