Everything as always at 1. FC Union: Top performers leave and their successors appear after just a few games as if they had never played anywhere else. Oliver Ruhnert has achieved a lot – but still not all goals. A transfer balance.
goalkeeper
The Unioners have been looking for stability in the goalkeeper position for years. With Frederik Rönnow they seem to have found this for the time being. Since Rönnow pushed crowd favorite Andreas Luthe out of goal last season, the Dane has impressed with strong performances. The Köpenicker lost none of the eleven games in which Rönnow kept the goal. In the first four league games this season, he conceded only three goals.
This is bad news for Lennart Grill. The new signing came on loan from Leverkusen and will have trouble ousting Rönnow. Especially since two loan goalkeepers, Moritz Nicholas and Loris Karius, spent a year on the bench before him. Still, the U-21 European champions are a solid replacement. With the ball at his feet he is even superior to Rönnow.
Why the Bayern hunter could actually become the hunted
The top game of the 5th matchday takes place in the stadium at the old forester. 1. FC Union, second in the table, welcomes Bayern Munich. Coach Urs Fischer is full of anticipation – and asks for one quality above all. By Johannes Mooremore
Oliver Ruhnert has secured a purchase option for the 23-year-old, who may well play an even bigger role in the future. The team is completed by Jakob Busk, who knows the club very well as one of the longest-serving players and is also very good friends with Rönnow.
New signing: Lennart Grill (Leverkusen/loan with purchase option)
Departures: Andreas Luthe (Kaiserslautern/free transfer), Lennart Moser (KAS Eupen/400,000 euros)
defense
For a long time, 1. FC Union committed almost exclusively German players in order to have a homogeneous squad that always understood each other, including linguistically. With the increasing sporting success, the Köpenicker have to broaden their view – and are suddenly attractive to completely different calibres: With Danilho Doekhi and Diogo Leite, two central defenders came who were also on many international shopping lists.
Left-footed Leite has been a regular since the league opener and impresses with good duels and strong game opening. Doekhi only made his debut at Schalke, but prepared a goal there after six minutes, dominated the header game and was called up to the eleven of the day by the specialist magazine “Kicker”.
Timo Baumgartl is in rehabilitation training after his chemotherapy, Dominique Heintz and Rick van Drongelen have been awarded. Union also spent a long time looking for a loan position for left-back Tymo Puchacz, who was also unable to convince Urs Fischer in his second summer pre-season. At the same time, there are said to have been attempts to sign another newcomer to this position.
What makes Julian Ryerson so valuable for 1. FC Union
Julian Ryerson has been playing for 1. FC Union since 2018. The Norwegian – behind Captain Christopher Trimmel – didn’t always have it easy. But he worked persistently and now benefits from a special quality. Of John Mohrenmore
But after Julian Ryerson convinced on both flanks in the first few games, Union sees itself well positioned. Rightly so, because Nico Gießelmann and Christopher Trimmel are two more top performers from the previous season.
New signings: Diogo Leite (Porto/loan with option to buy), Danilho Doekhi (Vitesse Arnhem/free transfer)
Departures: Dominique Heintz (loan/Bochum), Rick van Drongelen (loan/Rostock), Bastian Oczipka (free transfer/Bielefeld)
midfield
In midfield there is the biggest crowd at 1. FC Union. Ten players are currently eligible for three positions in the starting XI. With Grischa Prömel, Union lost the strongest running player in the squad and the top scorer of the second half of the season. It seems as if Ruhnert did not want to take any risks with his successor. With Morten Thorsby, Jannik Haberer, Milos Pantovic and former Fürth captain Paul Seguin, there were four players with claims to a regular place. THorsby and Haberer reinforced this with goals in the 6:1 win over Schalke.
Seguin, like Kevin Möhwald and Levin Öztunali, is lagging behind so far. Genki Haraguchi and Andras Schäfer were each allowed to play in the starting eleven, with Rani Khedira in sixth position. In terms of quality, Union is better off in midfield than last season – especially because the players have very different profiles that suit different opponents. It all comes down to how well Fischer can explain to the substitutes why they aren’t playing. Because: “In the end, the boys also define themselves by the minutes played,” says Fischer.
Newcomers: Morten Thorsby (Sampdoria/€3m), Jannik Haberer (Freiburg/free transfer), Milos Pantovic (Bochum/free transfer), Paul Seguin (Fürth/free transfer), Aljoscha Kemlein (own youth)
Departures: Marcus Ingvartsen (€2.3m/Mainz), Leon Dajaku (Sunderland/€870,000), Grischa Prömel (Hoffenheim/free transfer), Pawel Wszolek (Legia Warsaw/free transfer), Laurenz Dehl (Bohemians Dublin/free transfer)
Hertha lends Piatek and Wollschläger, Union temporarily gives up van Drongelen
Hertha striker Krzysztof Piatek moves to Italy again. The 27-year-old is loaned out to US Salernitana. Young professional Luca Wollschläger is also temporarily leaving the club on loan. Meanwhile, 1. FC Union is giving up Rick van Drongelen on loan.
All arrivals and departures of the top clubs in the region in the transfer ticker.more
attack
Record goalscorer and crowd favourite: the departure of such a player can throw teams off balance. But not Urs Fischer’s union. 15-goal striker Taiwo Awoniyi has joined Nottingham but the iron attack works better than ever.
The reason: newcomer Jordan Siebatcheu seems to be just as confusing for his opponents as his reputation for journalists and fans. After discussions whether to be called Pefok or Siebatcheu, he recently clarified that Jordan is his name of choice. Before that, he contributed three goals and two assists in five competitive games to the club’s best start to the season.
Jordan harmonizes particularly well with his strike partner Sheraldo Becker, who seamlessly continues his top form from the previous year. Should he leave the club soon, Jamie Leweling has been the right replacement since this summer, because the German junior international is also quick as an arrow and good at dribbling. He can also play on the flank, adding even more unpredictability to the squad along with another newcomer on the wing, Tim Skarke.
Additions: Jordan Siebatcheu (Bern/€6m), Jamie Leweling (Fürth/€3m), Tim Skarke (Darmstadt/free transfer)
Departures: Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham/€20.5m), Suleiman Abdullahi (Gothenburg/free transfer), Antony Ujah (Brunswick/free transfer) Andreas Voglsammer (Millwall/unknown), Keita Endo (Brunswick/loan)
“There is nothing more beautiful for a footballer than a snapshot like this”
Janik Haberer has been new to 1. FC Union this season and has played a key role in the success of the Bundesliga soccer team. He talks about his quick integration, the reasons for his move to Köpenick – and the potential of the team.more
Conclusion
Overall, the Irons have strengthened. Newcomers like Leite, Haberer and Jordan bring new quality to the squad both at the top and at the bottom, which will also help internationally this season. Despite the excellent start to the season, the performance peak has not yet been reached, because players like Doekhi, Thorsby and Leweling will only really arrive at the Irons in the next few weeks.
Ruhnert was able to strengthen the squad, although with Prömel and Awoniyi absolute top performers were given up and at the same time kept a positive transfer balance of plus 10.5 million euros. Trouble lurks only because of the crowd of players. The squad is clearly too big, Urs Fischer complained in the training camp. Since then, Oliver Ruhnert has gotten rid of a few players, but has not reached his dream of 28 players. Union is particularly overstaffed in the midfield center and will drag dissatisfied players through the season.
Broadcast: rbb24, September 1st, 2022, 9:45 p.m
