Fischer emphasizes the goal of staying up
“Leaders, leaders, hey, hey” – that’s what echoed on Sunday evening from Union Berlin’s away block in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. With the 1-0 (0-0) win at VfB Stuttgart, the “iron” defended their lead in the Bundesliga for the fourth day in a row and extended the lead over SC Freiburg, who had previously equaled the points. The fact that both Union and the sports club have exceeded their own expectations this year is no longer a new finding. A look at the Transfermarkt statistics “squad value vs. league rank” clarifies this and also shows that with Werder Bremen another club falls into the category of surprise teams since this weekend at the latest.
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The Bundesliga squad values before and after the updatesTo overview
With a squad value of 89.3 million euros, Union Berlin was 14th out of 18 in the Bundesliga comparison after the transfer phase. Despite the strong previous season, this was mainly due to the fact that top performers such as Taiwo Awoniyi (market value: 20 million euros) or Grischa Prömel (€7.5 million) had to be given up and the team from Köpenick have the third-oldest squad in the Bundesliga. In the most recent market value update, Union overtook FC Augsburg and Hertha BSC in twelfth place with a plus of EUR 104.3 million and is only eleven places behind the table in the squad value ranking.
“It’s always fun when you’re up there and looking at the table. But I remain true to myself there too: I look at the table especially on the 34th matchday because that’s the only thing that counts,” said coach Urs Fischer on Sunday after the game in Stuttgart and once again emphasized the 40-point mark as the goal for the season. After nine games, half of these points have already been reached, so the third European Cup participation in a row seems more realistic. If the capital club succeeds in this, the difference to the positioning in the squad value ranking should have further reduced. Even in the complete update of the Bundesliga before the start of the World Cup, many Union professionals will continue to grow.
Werder among the best climbers – Bayer 04 and RB Leipzig disappoint
The same applies to some Werder Bremen players. The promoted team improved to fifth place after beating TSG Hoffenheim on Friday evening (2-1) and, like Union, is eleven places higher than the squad comparison (16th with €62.2 million). After nine matchdays, the green-whites are among the ten best promoted teams in Bundesliga history, with RB Leipzig starting better in 2016/17.
With SC Freiburg (2nd place vs. 9th place), 1. FC Köln (9th place vs. 15th place) and FC Augsburg (10th place vs. 14th place), three other clubs, in addition to Union and Werder, have more than one place Put the difference between the positions in the Bundesliga and squad value ranking – at least upwards. On the other side, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and RB Leipzig stand out negatively. The “Werkself” is only 15th with the fourth most valuable squad, the Leipzig team is eleventh as the second most valuable club.
With BVB and Leipzig: The most valuable squads in the world
VfL Wolfsburg (6th place vs. 13th place) and VfB Stuttgart are each seven positions behind in the squad value comparison. With 128.7 million euros, the Swabians even have a higher squad value than leaders Union, but with five points and 17th place in the table they have to fear another season with fears of relegation. Similar to the Berliners, the large difference can at least partly be explained by the age structure. Stuttgart has by far the youngest squad in the league (22.8 years on average), which is why the high squad value should also be understood as a promise for the future and not necessarily as a guarantee for strong performances this season. However, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo had to resign on Monday.
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