1. FC Union Berlin
1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as Union Berlin, is a professional German football club based in Berlin.
The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweide was founded. During the Cold War, Union was based in East Berlin, joining the German league structure upon the reunification of the city and country in 1990. From 2009 until 2019, they competed in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. In 2019, Union won promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in the club's history. In 2021, Union finished seventh in the league to qualify to the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League. In 2022, the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League by finishing fifth. The following season, the club qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, by finishing fourth in the Bundesliga.
The home ground of the club is the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. It is the second-largest in the German capital and has been home to Union Berlin and its forerunners since it opened in 1920. The stadium also hosts concerts and the annual Weihnachtssingen Christmas carols event.
Union Berlin has 70,111 official members. The club has become well known for its enthusiastic and creative fan base and its chant "Eisern Union".
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History
First foundation (1906–1945)
The name 1. FC Union Berlin was used by two football clubs that shared a common origin as FC Olympia Oberschöneweide, founded in 1906 in Oberschöneweide, which at that time was a suburb of Berlin. The side took on the name SC Union 06 Oberschöneweide in 1910. Union was one of Berlin's premier clubs in the interwar period, regularly winning local championships and competing at the national level, including an appearance in the 1923 German championship final which they lost 0–3 to Hamburger SV.Early on, the team was nicknamed "Schlosserjungs" because of their then all blue kit, reminiscent of the typical work clothing worn in the factories of the industrial Oberschöneweide district. The popular cry of Union supporters – "Eisern Union!" – also emerged at this time. Since its foundation the club has had a distinct working-class image, in contrast to other local clubs with more middle-class origins, such as Viktoria 89 Berlin, Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin, BSV 92 Berlin or Tennis Borussia Berlin.
In 1933, German football was reorganized under the Third Reich into 16 top-flight divisions known as Gauligen. Oberschöneweide became part of the Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg, where they generally earned middling, unexceptional results. They were relegated in 1935 and returned to first division play in 1936 after only one season's absence. In 1940, the team finished first in Group B of the division and then defeated Blau-Weiß 90 to win the overall division title. That advanced the club to the national playoffs where they were put out by Rapid Wien in the opening group round. Union resumed its place as an average side. They were relegated again in 1942 and played the final war-shortened Gauliga season in 1944–45.
Dissolution and split (1945–1961)
After World War II, occupying Allied authorities ordered the dissolution of all organizations in Germany, including sports and football associations. A new sport community called SG Oberschöneweide was formed in late 1945 and it played in the City League organized immediately after the war which had four regional departments. The team did not qualify to the newly created Oberliga Berlin in 1946 after a poor season, but was promoted in 1947, won the division title right away and regained club status as SG Union Oberschöneweide during 1948–49.The club finished the 1949–50 season in second place in Berlin and qualified to take part in the national final rounds. However, escalating Cold War tensions led Soviet authorities to refuse the team permission to travel to take part. Two Union teams then emerged as most players and coaches fled to the west to form Sport-Club Union 06 Berlin which took part in the scheduled playoff match in Kiel against Hamburger SV, losing 0–7.
The players remaining in the east carried on as SG Union Oberschöneweide while a number of players who had fled to the west to form SC organized a third side called Berliner Ballspiel-Club Südost. The western team was a strong side until the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, drawing huge crowds to matches in the Olympiastadion. The division of the city led to a change of fortunes for BBC Südost which plays today in the lower divisions before meagre crowds.
Restart as Union Berlin (1961–1990)
The eastern branch of the club went through a number of name changes: Union Oberschöneweide, BSG Motor Oberschöneweide, SC Motor Berlin, TSC Oberschöneweide, TSC Berlin – finally becoming the football club 1. FC Union Berlin in 1966.1. FC Union Berlin was founded during the reorganization of East German football in December 1965 and January 1966, when ten dedicated football clubs were created. However, the football department of TSC Berlin was originally not taken into account. Only two clubs were planned for East Berlin, to be formed from the football departments of ASK Vorwärts Berlin and SC Dynamo Berlin. This was already contrary to the original plan, which had envisioned only one football club per district. And the football department of TSC Berlin was only playing in the second tier DDR-Liga at the time.
1. FC Union Berlin was founded on the initiative of the powerful Herbert Warnke. Herbert Warnke was the chairman of the state-controlled national trade union FDGB and a member of the SED Politburo. Another SED politician and Politburo member who pushed for the founding of 1. FC Union Berlin was the SED First Secretary in East Berlin Paul Verner. Both ASK Vorwärts Berlin and SC Dynamo Berlin were associated with the armed organs. Warnke therefore argued for the creation of a third "civilian club" for the working people in East Berlin. He would become a passionate fan of 1. FC Union Berlin and a sponsoring member of the club.
1. FC Union Berlin was established in the middle of one of the largest industrial centers in East Germany. 1. FC Union Berlin was initially supported by the FDGB. The intention of the SED to win the support from FDGB for 1. FC Union Berlin was likely well thought out. The FDGB unified all workers in East Germany and therefore was most likely to carry the proper identity for a club of the working people. The club was founded in a ceremony in the clubhouse of VEB Transformatorenwerk Oberschöneheide "Karl Liebknecht" in Oberschöneweide on 20 January 1966. The founding of the club was organized by the then-SED First Secretary in Köpenick, Hans Modrow. Like Herbert Warnke, Hans Modrow would be a sponsoring member of the club. SED Politburo member Paul Verner held a speech at the inaugural meeting. SED Politburo member Verner would be a very strong sympathizer of the club.
1. FC Union Berlin was the only football club not playing in the DDR-Oberliga at the time of its founding. As a dedicated football club, it was elevated into the upper tier of privileged elite clubs. The official sponsor of 1. FC Union Berlin was the state-owned combine VVB Hochspannungsgeräte und Kabel, which implemented its support through VEB Kabelwerk Oberspree, VEB Transformatorenwerk Oberschöneweide and other local state-owned enterprises. The first club president was the general director of VVB Hochspannungsgeräte und Kabel, Werner Otto, and his deputy was the SED Second Secretary in East Berlin, Hans Wagner. Even as a "civilian club", 1. FC Union Berlin was part of the state sports political system. The most important positions on the board of 1. FC Union Berlin would exclusively be held by directors of state-owned factories or SED representatives. 1. FC Union Berlin was state-funded and all club decisions had to be reported to the all-powerful central sports agency DTSB. In turn, the DTSB stood under direct control of the SED Central Committee.
The support from the FDGB ended when Herbert Warnke was replaced by Harry Tisch as the chairman of the FDGB in 1975. Tisch had begun his political career in Rostock and instead gave his support to FC Hansa Rostock. This event was remarkable, as it revealed the large influence that high-ranking politicians exerted on football in East Germany. 1. FC Union Berlin would then have to rely on support from the regional district management of the ruling SED party in East Berlin and local state-owned enterprises. The main sponsors would be VEB Kabelwerk Oberspree, VEB Transformatorenwerk Oberschöneweide and VEB Werk für Fernsehelektronik. 1. FC Union Berlin developed a bitter rivalry with BFC Dynamo, which was supported by the Stasi. While their arch rivals won 10 titles in a row, Union yo-yoed between the DDR-Oberliga and the DDR-Liga with very little success. Union managed to win the East German Cup in 1968 when they defeated FC Carl Zeiss Jena 2–1 although they lost in their second cup appearance in 1986 to 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig by a score of 1–5.
The East German state-owned film studio DEFA produced a documentary about the supporters of 1. FC Union Berlin in 1989. The documentary is called And Fridays at the Green Hell and follows a group of supporters of 1. FC Union Berlin to both home and away matches during the 1987–88 season.
2. Bundesliga era (1990–2019)
After German reunification in 1990, the team continued to perform well on the field, but almost collapsed financially. They managed to hang on and find sponsorship, but only after winning their division in both 1993 and 1994 and each time being denied a license to play in the 2. Bundesliga due to their financial problems. The club had another close brush with financial failure in 1997.Union again came close to advancing to the 2. Bundesliga in 1998–99 and 1999–2000, but were disappointed. They were finally successful in 2000–01, under Bulgarian manager Georgi Vasilev, easily winning the Regionalliga Nord and moving up a division to become the city's second most popular side. That same year they appeared in the final of the German Cup where they lost 0–2 to FC Schalke 04, and advanced as far as the second round in UEFA Cup before being put out by Bulgarian side PFC Litex Lovech. The club slipped to the Regionalliga Nord in 2004–05 and then to the NOFV-Oberliga Nord in 2005–06, but returned to third division play after capturing the Oberliga title. In 2008–09, Union became one of the founding clubs of the new 3. Liga, and its inaugural champion, securing first place and promotion to the 2. Bundesliga on 10 May.
A controversy occurred in 2011 when it became publicly known that club president Dirk Zingler had been a member of the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment for three years during his military service. Only two years before, Zingler had cancelled a sponsorship deal with the company International Sport Promotion because the head of the board at the company had been a Stasi officer. The Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment was the paramilitary wing of the Stasi. Zingler explained that he had sought to spend his military service in Berlin and that he was unaware beforehand that the regiment belonged to the Stasi. However, the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment was an elite formation; it was not possible to simply apply for the regiment. The Stasi selected who it thought were best fit to serve with the regiment, only accepting recruits who were "loyal to the line". Zingler had also been a member of the Socialist Unity Party and leader in the Free German Youth at the time. Speaking about the reports on Zingler in 2011, Union Press spokesman Christian Arbeit said: "We do have a very unique history, compared to other clubs. But it wasn't us that always claimed we were this big anti-Stasi club. These are stories that get simplified in the media."
On 1 June 2018, Swiss coach Urs Fischer was announced as new head coach of the club. The team remained in the second tier until the 2018–19 season, when they secured a first promotion to the Bundesliga after defeating VfB Stuttgart in the relegation play-offs. The club's supporters invaded the pitch after the victory, but no one was harmed.
Bundesliga era and European football (2019–present)
Union Berlin became the first Bundesliga club from the former East Berlin and the sixth from the former East Germany, after Dynamo Dresden, Hansa Rostock, VfB Leipzig, Energie Cottbus, and RB Leipzig. The team is the sixth to win promotion from the 2. Bundesliga by beating the 16th-placed Bundesliga team in the playoff – since it began in the 1981–82 season, the others being Bayer Uerdingen, 1. FC Saarbrücken, Stuttgarter Kickers, 1. FC Nürnberg and Fortuna Düsseldorf. Ahead of Union Berlin's debut season in the Bundesliga, the club signed Neven Subotić, Anthony Ujah and Christian Gentner, as well as re-signing Marvin Friedrich, who had scored a decisive goal against Stuttgart in the play-offs in the previous season to secure promotion for the club. Their first ever Bundesliga goal was scored by Sebastian Andersson in a 1–1 draw against Augsburg. On 31 August 2019, the club beat Borussia Dortmund 3–1 in a home game, a result that secured its first win in a Bundesliga game. The team finished the season in 11th place, with Sebastian Andersson scoring 12 goals.On 22 May 2021, in Union Berlin's second Bundesliga season, the club qualified for the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League after finishing seventh, following a 2–1 home win against RB Leipzig, with Max Kruse confirming Union Berlin's first European campaign in twenty years, with a 92nd-minute winner. In the following season, the club finished fifth in the league to qualify to the Europa League, where they reached the round of 16. In the 2022–23 season, Union Berlin qualified for the Champions League group stage for the first time in its history, after a 1–0 home win against Werder Bremen on the final matchday.
In the 2023–24 season, the club experienced a bad start including 14 winless competitive matches in a row, hence they decided to separate with coach Urs Fischer by "mutual agreement". Following two consecutive defeats against relegation rivals Bochum and 1. FC Köln in the late stages of the season, Union dropped to the 16th place. On the final matchday, they clinched a 2–1 win over Freiburg in the stoppage-time, securing their continued presence in the Bundesliga.
Stadium
In 1920, SC Union Oberschöneweide had to find a new home ground as its former pitch had been built over by developers with residential buildings. The club moved a little further away from the city to the north-western part of the borough of Köpenick. The new stadium was officially opened in August 1920 with a match between Oberschöneweide and the then German champions 1. FC Nürnberg. The inaugural match in at the Alte Försterei had already been played on 17 March, when Union challenged Viktoria 89 Berlin.When Union won promotion to the DDR-Oberliga in 1966, the stadium soon needed to be expanded. The ground was first expanded in 1970 when the Gegengerade terrace was raised, whilst further extensions to the terracing at both ends in the late 1970s and early 1980s increased the capacity furthermore to 22,500. However, the somewhat spartan facilities at Alte Försterei had quickly begun to show their age and went into a serious decline.
After German reunification, when Union were assigned by the German Football Association to play in the third league, the outdated stadium proved only one of a number of factors that hampered the club's push for promotion to higher leagues.
In the middle of 2008, the club decided to finally modernise the stadium, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Money was still tight, and so the fans simply built the ground themselves. More than 2,000 Union supporters invested 140,000 working hours to create what is now regarded as the largest football-specific stadium in Berlin. During the redevelopment, Union played at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. Inside the stadium an array of outside beer kiosks and open air grills serving bratwurst and pork steaks at the back of the stand provide the culinary staples. The official opening on 12 July 2013, was celebrated with a friendly against Scottish Champions Celtic. It holds 22,012 people with 3,617 seats. The rest is terracing.
World Cup living room
In 2014, the club came up with the idea of inviting their fans to take their own sofas to the ground for the whole of the World Cup, to enjoy the televised matches in the company of fellow supporters. More than 800 sofas were placed on the pitch in rows in front of a big screen. The event was later recognized with the Fan Experience Award at The Stadium Business Summit 2015 in Barcelona.Redevelopments of the Försterei and European Games
In 2017, plans were announced to expand the Försterei from 22,012 to 37,000 with the installation of a new tier across the 3 stands that oppose the main stand. It was announced that the plans should start at the end of the 2023/24 season. The President of Union, Dirk Zingler stated that for the 2024/25 Season, Union Berlin will play at the Olympiastadion in the former West Berlin.In 2021/22, Union Berlin played their UEFA Europa Conference League Games at the Olympiastadion due to UEFA's ban of Terracing, which was lifted in the 2022/23 season in favour of Safe Standing. Union was able to play at the Försterei for the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League campaign. Then, in the Wake of their Qualification to the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League, Dirk Zingler confirmed that Union will be again playing at the Olympiastadion, as well as confirming that the Försterei will be used in the UEFA Youth League. This was not done in guidance of UEFA instead was done willingly. This is because of the demand of ticket sale being too much for the Försterei to handle, which was proven to be the case as in the UCL Season ticket sales, they sold out a total 120,000 tickets for all 3 Home Games in one day
Organization
1. FC Union Berlin is led mostly by fans. Dirk Zingler has served as the club's president since 2004. The club had 41,088 registered members in 2022.Sport Management
- Oliver Ruhnert, since 5 May 2018
Sponsorships
1. FC Union Berlin is sponsored by around 300 private and corporate partners.| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| 1998/99 | Nike | Skandia |
| 1999/2000 | Nike | BSR Gruppe |
| 2000/01 | Nike | BSR Gruppe |
| 2001/02 | Nike | BSR Gruppe |
| 2002/03 | Saller | BSR Gruppe |
| 2003/04 | Saller | BSR Gruppe |
| 2004/05 | Saller | BSR Gruppe |
| 2005/06 | Nike | EastWest |
| 2006/07 | Nike | EastWest |
| 2007/08 | Nike | Silicon Sensor |
| 2008/09 | do you football | Silicon Sensor |
| 2009/10 | do you football | kfzteile24 |
| 2010/11 | do you football | kfzteile24 |
| 2011/12 | Uhlsport | kfzteile24 |
| 2012/13 | Uhlsport | f.becker |
| 2013/14 | Uhlsport | f.becker |
| 2014/15 | Uhlsport | kfzteile24 |
| 2015/16 | Macron | kfzteile24 |
| 2016/17 | Macron | Layenberger |
| 2017/18 | Macron | Layenberger |
| 2018/19 | Macron | Layenberger |
| 2019/20 | Macron | Aroundtown SA |
| 2020/21 | Adidas | Aroundtown SA |
| 2021/22 | Adidas | Aroundtown SA |
| 2022/23 | Adidas | Wefox |
Organizational history
The organizational history of 1. FC Union Berlin includes several different clubs and names.| Date | Name | Note |
| 17 June 1906 | FC Olympia Oberschöneweide | Founding of FC Olympia Oberschöneweide. |
| 22 July 1906 | BTuFC Helgoland, department Oberschöneweide | Joined club BTuFC Helgoland as a third team and department in Oberschöneweide. |
| 10 February 1907 | BTuFC Union 1892, department Oberschöneweide | Joined club BTuFC Union 1892 as a fourth team and department in Oberschöneweide. |
| 20 February 1909 | Union Oberschöneweide | Joined the football association Verband Berliner Ballspielvereine as Union Oberschöneweide, or more precisely SC Union Oberschöneweide. |
| 1945 | SG Oberschöneweide | SC Union Oberschöneweide was dissolved by the Allied occupation authorities and the club was refounded as SG Oberschöneweide. |
| December 1948 | SG Union Oberschöneweide | The club was re-admitted under its old club name. |
| 1951 | BSG Motor Oberschöneweide | Joined with enterprise sports community BSG Motor Oberschöneweide. The team colours are changed from the traditional blue and white to today's characteristic red and white. |
| 1 February 1955 | SC Motor Berlin | The first team was joined with the new sports club SC Motor Berlin as a football department. |
| 6 June 1957 | TSC Oberschöneweide | SC Motor Berlin was merged with several enterprise sports communities to form sports club TSC Oberschöneweide. |
| 18 February 1963 | TSC Berlin | Merged with other sports clubs to form TSC Berlin. |
| 20 January 1966 | 1. FC Union Berlin | The football department of TSC Berlin was separated from the sports club and reorganized into a football club. Founding of 1. FC Union Berlin. |
Players
Notable former players
- Jörg Heinrich
- Robert Huth
- Torsten Mattuschka
- Marko Rehmer
- Karim Benyamina
- Sergej Barbarez
- Daniel Teixeira
- Sebastian Polter
- Bobby Wood
- Max Kruse
- Christian Gentner
- Taiwo Awoniyi
- Sebastian Andersson
- Julian Ryerson
- Sheraldo Becker
All-time top scorer
Karim BenyaminaThe number 22 will not be worn on the back of a Union shirt until someone breaks the all-time Union scoring record of Karim Benyamina, who scored 87 goals in 213 appearances for the club. "This is a great gesture by president Dirk Zingler. That is the reward for six successful years," he said in 2016. Over 14,000 fans turned out to give Benyamina his career send-off alongside another legend, Torsten Mattuschka, who is often seen as the face of that particular era for Union.
Reserve team
The club's reserve team, 1. FC Union Berlin II, most recently played in the tier four Regionalliga Nordost, having won promotion to the league in 2012. Previous to this, it spent two seasons in the NOFV-Oberliga Nord. At the end of the 2014–15 season, the club withdrew the team from competition.Women
Union Berlin's women's team was formed in September 1969, becoming the first women's team in Berlin and one of the first in East Germany. The women's team initially competed against Union Berlin's youth teams due to a lack of opponents, playing their first game on 17 January 1970, losing 7–1. In 1971, the team were amalgamated into KWO Berlin's women's team, before KWO merged with Union Berlin in June 1990 following German reunification.Coaching staff
| Role | Name | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach |  European recordOverview
Matches
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