1. FC Union Berlin – Steffen Baumgart: The “football god” is also only human

Football fans usually have a good sense of their team’s situation. Also the supporters of 1. FC Union: Rarely has it been as quiet in the Alte Försterei in the last minutes of a game and after the final whistle as it was on Wednesday evening. The Berliners have learned to live with defeats in the Bundesliga in recent months. The 2-0 loss against FC Augsburg was more than just a lost game, the silence was an expression of disappointed hope and painful insight.

Superior guests

The opponent’s story alone tells a lot about Union. “Finally,” said Augsburg coach Jess Thorup, “we managed our first away win.” And the Dane was rightly impressed “by the way” his team scored their first three points away from home this season. After half an hour and three good attacks, the guests led 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexis Claude-Maurice. The league’s second-worst away team to date achieved this result confidently over time – and was superior in terms of play at all times.

Ten games without a win in a row, after 17 games with only 14 goals in 13th place: These numbers show frightening weakness, but they don’t scare Union fans. Last season it was available Bundesliga half time even worse for the Berliners. She is shocked by the realization that a “football god” is also only human. And fall silent.

Unpolished original Unioner

Steffen Baumgart was enthusiastically greeted as a “football god” at his first home game on Wednesday evening. An original Unioner on the sidelines, in a positive sense as unpolished as many in the stands themselves. Quite a few people believed in the sporting turnaround announced by the club shortly before the year with the change of coach. The defeat last weekend in Heidenheim apparently didn’t change that. Although they lost 2-0 to the team that, despite Union’s winless streak between the end of October and the end of December, was the only one worse than the Berliners themselves, winning just one point.

The club’s desire for change was primarily related to the offensive. And Horst Heldt claims to have already seen good approaches in Heidenheim. This assessment by Union’s sports director sounded more than justification for the dismissal of Bo Svensson. Because there was no visible plan of attack either at the weekend or on Wednesday evening: the zero is at the front. However, a trend change for the worse can be observed. With Baumgart’s system change to a four-man chain, Berlin’s previously stable defense appears more indisposed than it has been for a long time. In the duel with relegation candidate Augsburg, Union looked overwhelmed, like a relegated team. The team showed signs of disintegration as early as the end of the first half.

Sobering restart

Judgment should not be made too early. But Baumgart doesn’t have the time that a new coach needs. This Sunday the Mainz team comes to Köpenick, after which Union goes to FC St. Pauli. The change of coach was also made in view of the important games at the start of the year, three of which were against direct competitors in the relegation battle. The restart couldn’t have gone much worse than two such sobering defeats.

When the misery on Wednesday evening was almost unbearable, the fans turned away from all the players and towards their great passion, the club: “Union Berlin football club in white and red, we stand by you even in the greatest need, player “Coaches come and they go, but my love for you remains.” This song was sung again and again and for an unusually long time. It wasn’t so much encouragement, but rather the musically formulated insight that Baumgart might not be the great bearer of hope after all and that the path leads even further down.

The coach was as determined after the game as he was on the sidelines, where Baumgart always plays for 90 minutes as Rumpelstiltskin. He declared the relegation battle in the dressing room, he said in a tone that brooked no contradiction. More surprising than the by no means new realization that Union is playing for survival in the first division was his announcement that he didn’t actually come to Köpenick for that. Relegation battle in the Bundesliga – a dream for years and now really not enough? Whoever may overestimate themselves here, club, sports director, coach, you can rely on the fans’ instincts.