Anyone who wants to correctly classify the miracle of Köpenick only had to look at the strange constellation before this Saturday. No, not just the table, it only reflects what has developed in Berlin. Second place after eighteen matchdays, a chance to lead the table, at least for a day. But before this game, and this is such a special situation for someone second in the table, no one saw the Berliners as obvious favourites. Not because the opponent is particularly strong, on the contrary. Mainz was eleventh, far from the top, recently noticed with a robust appearance, “very combative with many duels,” as Union coach Urs Fischer said. Union have often looked their worst against such teams this season.
Fischer’s warning was more than a pose. He knows his team has to keep their line in every game with great discipline in order to be successful, and what the table says doesn’t matter. The Köpenicker recipe, freshly touched by the Swiss trainer week after week, lies in the combination of demonstrative humility and extremely self-confident aggressiveness. It never looks easy, not even on this icy February day in the 2-1 (1-0) win against Mainz. But it’s not a coincidence.
Union Berlin’s game follows a clear pattern. Very calmly, downright relaxed, the Köpenicker controlled the ball in the first few minutes, as if they had all the time in the Bundesliga world to perhaps score a goal if the opponent should reveal a gap. Or not. Wait, let it come, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is control. It went like this: Defense chief Robin Knoche plays to Diogo Leite, that to Rani Khedira, that to Knoche. There was a lot of security there after the victories of the past few weeks. And the certainty of not having to take any risks at first, at some point there would be the opportunity to switch from peace of mind to maximum speed and break out to the front – the Union principle.
The Berliners are once again demonstrating the high art of being ahead in an uneventful game
Just like in the 32nd minute, almost for the first time this Saturday, the ball came from the middle to the right to Berlin’s Paul Seguin, who was able to cross freely. Some missed in the middle. In the end, striker Kevin Behrens straddled the ball over the line. Nice? No. A goal forced with direct play and determination, executed wisely. There had been a number of duels and bad passes. In terms of play, not much had happened up until then, but Mainz were still behind. At half-time, just four shots on goal had been counted for Union and two for Mainz. The Berliners had once again demonstrated the high art of being ahead in an uneventful game.
The pattern continued in the second half, only the game became even more robust because Mainz invested more. There were “many duels, many fouls,” said coach Fischer. And a lot of high balls, which did not exactly testify to a tendency towards fine play structure on the part of either team. In the 78th minute, Mainz were rewarded for their effort in that peculiar way that can now make watching a football game in the stadium a little cloudy. In the penalty area, the ball fell on the Berliner’s arm. The VAR got in touch, many had probably not seen it otherwise, referee Florian Badstübner gave a penalty, although nobody could complain about an intentional handball. Marcus Ingvartsen didn’t care, he converted coolly.
His coach Bo Svensson thought that Mainz deserved a draw in the “expected tight game with a lot of tackling and few chances for either side.” And his Berlin colleague Urs Fischer even agreed after the game: “We probably wouldn’t have been able to say anything if the game had ended in a draw.” Nur, his side followed up after the equaliser, suddenly attacked from further up and took the lead in the 84th minute through a combination of newly-substituted players that Jordan Siebatcheu completed. Something like that is easier to do when a team has been successful for weeks.
Feelings of happiness after an actually unsuccessful second half: Jordan Siebatcheu (right) scores the winning goal against Mainz 05.
(Photo: Annegret Hilse /Reuters)
Union “I want to go to the limit on every match day,” said Fischer of this success. “She spends, tirelessly.” That speaks for their morality, for their mentality. “You don’t get luck in the game for free.” The Berliners then had to play again, that’s the constellation, defend robustly. Frederik Rönnow parried a well-placed shot by Karim Onisiwo immediately after the 2-1. And in six minutes of stoppage time, the Berliners defended themselves against the attacks from Mainz with liberating strikes, they held back in the duels. It was tight, as almost always in the stadium at the old forester’s house. The spectators felt it. They sang “our team, our pride, our love, Union Berlin”, louder and louder, as if they wanted to force the final whistle from the referee with their choirs.
And when the time came, the singing changed to a very fast staccato: “Front runner, front runner, hey, hey”. They’re ahead, at least for a day, and according to the Eisern Union Berlin principle, they won’t be favorites next time either. It’s fine without.