Union Berlin is understatement and modesty. Of all things, the club is making its debut in the premier class against Real Madrid, where it’s all about staging and exaggeration. Why the White Ballet is the largest club in the world.
Completely unsorted, these are the oldest memories that I, the author of the text, have of this somehow otherworldly club Real Madrid: oily, slicked-back hair, melancholic looks, beautiful names, a concert of whistles from the Real fans blaring from the television loudspeakers when the opponent had possession of the ball, Being allowed to stay awake for a long time, palpitations. And the knowledge that there is actually nothing to be gained against this team in white.
These impressions were established from TV broadcasts at the end of the 1990s. But these impressions could just as easily come from a childhood in the 70s or, let’s say, the year 2023, when Union Berlin meets Real Madrid in its Champions League premiere. The aura of the club is unchanging. That’s why it has conveyed a similar feeling for generations.
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There are top clubs and there is Real Madrid
If it’s against Real Madrid, the game date is a fixed point in the opponent’s season calendar. Because Real Madrid is the ultimate in football. There are top clubs and there is Real Madrid. A myth in white.
A team that always wants to win and has to win. Sounds a bit like Bayern Munich. Oh well. If you are dissatisfied with the past season in Munich, then you buy Harry Kane. But if they struggle in Madrid, like in 2009 after finishing runner-up, then they bring in Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema. And Kaka. And Xabi Alonso. Within a few weeks. And then you can do some magic.
The fact that Real Madrid consists largely of show is also due to the nature of the fans. For this person, the best is not just good enough, but the best should also be beautiful.
If football is the content, Real Madrid is its form. Nowhere can the beauty of this sport be explored as fully as with the Royals. That’s why football’s greatest geniuses have always strived to come to Real. To put it bluntly: you won’t get a perfectly formed red wine if you let it mature in a paddling pool. Content and form. The sommeliers Puskas and Di Stefano and Netzer and Zidane and Figo and Ronaldo and many more virtuosos also knew this. Real Madrid was her destiny.
Many had a breakthrough against Real
And that’s the best part: Because the entire club appears so theatrical and pretentious, it also makes its opponents bigger. Because suddenly there is a stage. An encounter with the Royals meant a foretaste of future fame for many a future world star. For Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was suddenly substituted for Zinedine Zidane in 2003 by FC Bayern and delighted the football world with his carefree appearance. Robert Lewandowski, whose four goals against disco bouncers Pepe and Sergio Ramos amounted to his final breakthrough as the world’s most sought-after attacker. The 19-year-old Schalke player Leroy Sané, who almost ruined Real Madrid’s seemingly certain progression to the round of 16 with irresistible dribbling in the second leg of the round of 16.
“We play in Madrid during the week and against Meppen at the weekend”
By qualifying for the Champions League, Union Berlin is also taking part in the Youth League this season. Lutz Munack, youth director at Köpenick, is looking forward to attractive opponents and great opportunities for the players.more
Real makes others shine
It’s not just footballers that make Real Madrid shine. After the goal in the Bernabeu Stadium suddenly fell over in 1998, Günther Jauch and Marcel Reif dealt with the unforeseen situation in the run-up to the encounter with Borussia Dortmund with a snappy, spontaneous presentation, for which they were even awarded a TV award. The TV show has long been a legend. The question is whether she would have achieved legendary status if BVB had played against, say, Deportivo La Coruna.
A game against Real Madrid writes the most unlikely stories, is an act, a drama. Although there is actually nothing to be gained against this club anyway. And that’s exactly what Union Berlin can look forward to most.
