Devastated: 1. FC Union Berlin is the big loser of the 32nd matchday.
Photo: imago/Jan Huebner
The captain was speechless: “I have no explanation for it,” said Rani Khedira about the debacle against VfL Bochum. An old motto was intended to give the footballers of 1. FC Union new strength on Sunday: “With all force: stay in the league!” As was the case ten years ago, it was the title of the stadium magazine and was used by the club and fans in many places in the run-up to the relegation duel channels spread. Khedira was at a loss as to why the motivation – reinforced “by the great support of the fans even before kick-off”, as Khedira reported – gave way to complete paralysis with the kick-off.
The game turned into a debacle because the Berliners defended themselves against their opponents and the threat of relegation with football violence for just 45 minutes. After being 0-3 at half-time, Union finally lost 3-4 against their neighbors in the bottom of the table who had previously had the same number of points – and are now fourth from bottom and only one point ahead of the relegation place, the big loser of the 32nd Bundesliga matchday in the relegation battle.
Pressure and uncertainty
The duel in the An der Alten Försterei stadium, which was of course sold out with 22,000 spectators, was a reflection of the past few weeks. Union, with just three goals from their last eight games, failed to put their opponents under pressure. The Berliners only came dangerously in front of the opponent’s goal once in the first half: defender Diogo Leite’s header after a free kick from Josip Juranović in the 34th minute was easy prey for guest goalkeeper Manuel Riemann.
Even Union’s strength, defense, suffered from the visibly great insecurity caused by a lack of success. The news that spread in the media during the week that the Köpenickers want to part ways with coach Nenad Bjelica after the season certainly doesn’t make the situation any easier. And there is also the pressure from victories by competitors in the relegation battle. One of them: Bochum. After the change of coach, VfL with Heiko Butscher had at least four points from the last three games.
Red and white calm
The Bochum team brought this regained self-confidence onto the pitch in Berlin right from the start – and deservedly took the lead after a dominant opening quarter of an hour. By winning the ball after a goal kick from Union and two passes, VfL easily exposed Berlin’s left side of the defense, with Maximilian Wittek making it 0-1 in the 16th minute. Another quarter of an hour later, Wittek silenced all the red and whites completely: unchallenged, the midfielder completed an individual action in Union’s penalty area with a well-placed shot into the short right corner to make it 0-2.
“Wake up” and “fight” – that’s what Union’s fans now demanded of their team. It remained unheard of, a shot from Kevin Volland over the Bochum goal and Leite’s header were all they managed offensively. Only VfL continued to play and Keven Schlotterbeck’s 3-0 lead in the 37th minute caused sheer horror on the Berlin bench. Stunned, Bjelica and his coaching team asked the players to do something, at least to defend themselves. However, nothing more happened until the half-time whistle.
Mental Problems
After all: 1. FC Union won the second half of this wild game. But that is the only thing that can give hope for the two remaining games against the penultimate 1. FC Köln and then against SC Freiburg. Captain Khedria and coach Bjelica later referred to this in equal measure. But: Only when everything was already lost were the Köpenickers free enough to fight to stay in the league. This mental problem also had to be solved with mental work, said Bjelica – without giving the impression that he knew how.
The Berliners scored three goals after the restart: Substitutes Yorbe Vertessen and Chris Bedia tied the score with goals in the 59th and 62nd minutes. Union’s next goal celebrations weren’t cries of salvation either: because Bochum’s Philipp Hofmann had scored in the 71st minute, Benedict Hollerbach was only able to reduce the score to 3-4 four minutes later. While VfL celebrated their second win in a row with their fans just as wildly after a wild second half, the Unioners certainly need some time to process this defeat.
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