Yes, that’s how it works in Köpenick. An evening during the week, half of Berlin’s district in red and white, the small stadium at the Alte Försterei full to the brim – and the scoreboard shows a goal more for the local 1. FC Union than for the opponent. The players of that opponent, on Tuesday it was VfL Wolfsburg, look crippled through the freezing sleet after the final whistle and can’t quite explain it all. Because the game – this time it ended 1:2 from the point of view of the visiting team – was one that you don’t necessarily have to win, but you don’t have to lose either. And then you lose it, because in the end 1. FC Union always scores one more goal.
Yes, that’s how it works in Köpenick. Or in the words of the Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac, who was able to convince himself of the truthfulness of the new law in football: This DFB Cup duel was an “intensive game”, said Kovac, but “in purely playful terms” it was rather poor. Instead, the native of Berlin saw “a lot of struggle” in his homeland and a Union team that once again played on “standard situations and many crosses”.
In theory, the Wolfsburg team knew how 1. FC Union could have been prevented from reaching the quarter-finals. In practice, according to Kovac, his team “didn’t pay enough attention twice and that ultimately gave us the defeat”. Robin Knoche (12th) and Kevin Behrens (79th) each scored a header for the Berliners – and brave Wolfsburg were out of the trophy.
Isco was the dominant topic of the day in Berlin
With this game analysis, the fabulous season of the Köpenickers and the resulting suffering of the opponents would have been summarized precisely, but Tuesday evening was still a bit different. Because the small 1. FC Union was involved in a medium-sized transfer posse for the first time immediately before kick-off, which from the audience’s point of view was apparently so exciting that the live ticker on the so-called “Deadline Day” became an almost monothematic affair. Isco landed in Berlin! Isco at the medical check! Medical check passed! Isco at the evening cup game as a spectator in the stands! When everything seemed to be sealed, the spiral of excitement turned a bit wilder: Transfer burst!! Isco does not change to Union!
The Spaniard Francisco Román Alarcón Suárez, known as Isco, was the dominant theme at the Alte Försterei despite the Union victory. It would indeed have been an amazing deal: As a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, the playmaker was not exactly attributed to the collar size of the Köpenickers, who are known to love nothing more than to play classic underdog football and to annoy supposedly bigger ones. Isco would therefore have been a kind of statement to the league, but the failure of the transfer was also one thing: Union would have been an interesting career goal for Isco, otherwise he would not have headed for Berlin. With the “Iron” it is forbidden to bend for anyone – and this unofficial rule also applies to a 30-year-old Isco, who in recent years has lived more from the big name than from great achievements.
“It doesn’t work that way,” complained Union manager Oliver Ruhnert about the failed Isco transfer
Union manager Oliver Ruhnert reconstructed the story as part of the cup game on Tuesday as follows: Shortly after Isco had canceled his contract with Sevilla FC a few weeks ago, the idea arose in Köpenick that the playmaker might be one to do it to add a new element to the Union’s rigorous on-the-ball football. More control and initiative, also a little more esprit.
Shortly before the end of the winter transfer window, this vague idea took on concrete form: “Everything was discussed, everything was exchanged,” said Ruhnert, but “then changes were requested again in the contract”. The manager did not reveal whether the player party was interested in more salary or other contract content such as term or bonus payments. In the end, the Unioners might have been a bit concerned with the principle. “It doesn’t work that way,” Ruhnert complained, “and we certainly won’t do anything that doesn’t suit us.”
The probably interesting what-if of the club’s history was therefore good as an exemplary case study for why the Köpenicker are where they are (second place in the league, in the DFB Cup quarter-finals, in the intermediate round of the Europa League): Union takes adversity with a coolness that, as a club that is still small, you first have to dare. And the topic on the outside, which has an influence on the inside, has yet to be invented. Or in the words of Union midfielder Rani Khedira: “It’s a shame he didn’t come. But we still have a great squad.” Isco out, Isco out.