1. FC Union Berlin (Germany)

1. FC Union Berlin

Ground: Stadion An der Alten Försterei

Capacity: 22,012

Club Founded: 1906

League: Bundesliga (current level)

1. FC Union Berlin is renowned for its passionate fan culture and strong community spirit. Nicknamed "Die Eisernen" (The Iron Ones), the club has risen from East German football roots to become a regular competitor in the Bundesliga and European competitions.

Club Origins

Some sources state that 1. FC Union Berlin was founded in 1966. However, its origins can be traced to 1906 when youngsters in the Oberschöneweider district formed FC Olympia. They were joined by other local clubs, Excelsior, Preußen, Lichtenberger SC and Vorwarts, forming Olympia Oberschöneweide at a meeting at Großkopf restaurant on Luisenstraße.

A further merger took place with BT.u.F.C. Helgoland, before Union 92 Berlin, who had been crowned as champions of Germany in 1905 and invited the new club into their ranks. After a takeover in 1909, the club became known as Union 06 Oberschöneweide, based in an industrial suburb of Berlin, moving into a new venue on Wattstraße.

Berlin Champions and a Move to Alten Försterei

By 1913, the club had risen to the top tier in local football, winning the Berlin championship seven years later. Competing in the VBB-Oberliga, Union required a new home. Some land was found near Köpenick, near the hunting lodge at Alten Försterei. 

7,000 fans attended the opening game against the reigning German champions 1. FC Nürnberg. The 1922-23 season saw Union reach the final of the German championships, losing 3-0 to Hamburger SV at the Grunewald-Stadion in Berlin. The Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg title was won under the Third Reich.

DDR Years

Following the War, all sports clubs were dissolved. The club changed its title to SG (Sportgruppe) Oberschöneweide. They were champions of Berlin in 1946-47 before the club's name was slightly changed to SG Union Oberschöneweide. These were difficult times for the club and the city as East Germany (DDR) had come into being. 

Union qualified for the German championship and required special permission to travel to Kiel to play Hamburger SV. Several of Union’s players and officials left Oberschöneweide in East Berlin to form SC Union 06 Berlin in West Berlin in June 1950. Those left behind would play in the DDR Oberliga.

East German Cup Winners

In 1951, the club was taken over by the motor company Motor Oberschöneweide, becoming known as BSG Motor Oberschöneweide. The lower grades at the club continued under their old title. The team were relegated and went down a further level with several name changes occurring at the same time. 

Union were known as SC Motor Berlin, Klub in Turn-und Sportclub, TSC Oberschöneweide, SC Einheit Berlin and then TSC Berlin in 1963, before a new set-up was formed as 1. FC Union Berlin was created in 1966. They won promotion back to the top-flight Oberliga. In 1968, the FDGB-Pokal (East German Cup) was lifted with a 2-1 win against FC Carl Zeiss Jena.

German Reunification

Union were relegated from the Oberliga in 1971-72, before returning to the top flight four years later. Their spell lasted the same length of time before they went down, but then returned to the top level in 1985-86. The team lost 5-1 to Lokomotive Leipzig in the final of the FDGB-Pokal in the same season at Berlin’s Stadion der Weltjugend.

Union were relegated once more before German reunification. They were placed in NOFV-Oberliga Mitte, one of several third-tier divisions around the country. The goals of Matthias Zimmerling and Jacek Mencel helped the team to two league titles, but the club was denied promotion because of their financial state.

Finding Feet

Goran Markov would become the new goalscoring hero at Stadion an der Alten Försterei as Union made it three league titles on the bounce. After league restructuring and healthier financial returns, the team was promoted as Regionalliga Nord champions in 2000-01 with Daniel Teixeira leading the scoring charts. They returned to that league four years later.

Worse was to follow for Union as they suffered a second successive demotion to find themselves in the fourth-tier NOFV-Oberliga Nord. The returning Teixeira scored the goals as Union went back up at the first attempt under chief trainer Uwe Neuhaus. In 2008-09, Regionalliga Nord became 3. Liga, with Union being awarded a place.

Fans Action

They won the inaugural championship before consolidating as a 2. Bundesliga club. In 2013, over 2,300 Union fans volunteered to help carry out the redevelopment work at Stadion an der Alten Försterei, making it a stadium fit for a club of such status, with three covered terrace sides and a large main stand. Finances were raised by fans giving blood for cash.

Norbert Düwel, Sascha Lewandowski and André Hofschneider all had short spells in charge of the team before Jens Keller took over in April 2016. A returning Hofschneider took charge of the team, which later reached the playoffs in 2018-19 after Urs Fischer was appointed as chief trainer.

Recent Seasons

VfB Stuttgart were defeated on away goals over two legs after Suleiman Abdullahi and Marvin Friedrich scored the goals to take Die Eisernen up to the top flight. Taiwo Awoniyi scored the goals in 2021-22 as Union finished fifth in the league. They improved on that by one place a season later when Sheraldo Becker top-scored to reach the UEFA Champions League.

Marco Grote was in charge of the side by the end of the 2023-24 campaign before he was replaced by Steffen Baumgart. Mauro Lustrinelli was given the job in May 2026.

My visit

1. FC Union Berlin 2 VFL Bochum 1 

2. Bundesliga - Friday 27th January 2017

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 19,130 🎟️ €14

While I was no stranger to Berlin or football in the city, I was well aware that Union were considered the real heartbeat of the game in the capital. It was time to find out for myself.

My first impression was very good when my ticket to stand up was only €14, which I bought online before I set off for a weekend that would see me also watching home games of SG Fortuna Köln, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Karlsruher SC, Mainz 05 and Hannover 96.

It had already been a football-packed week as I’d been up north to watch Scarborough Athletic at Stokesley in the North Riding Senior Cup and Hull City take on Manchester United in the semi-final of the League Cup. I arrived at Manchester Airport in good time after spending the night lodging at my mate Fred's.

Ryanair is generally reliable as a budget airline, so I was a bit concerned to find that my flight was delayed. I tried to find out some information, but the staff were pretty vague. I was concerned as I had my large bag with me and I needed to offload it before the game.

Some staff told me not to worry, as I could check it straight in on arrival at Berlin Schönefeld Airport in readiness for my later flight to Bonn/Cologne if I paid for it online. While reluctant, I paid the £14 fee on my App.

Eventually, the plane arrived. I tried to relax on the flight, but I was surrounded by a group who were either drunk or just plain excited. The late teens proceeded to shout insults at each other and generally act like kids. My mood was not fantastic.

It worsened as we arrived ninety minutes late. There was no way I’d see the 6.30pm kick off. The baggage queue was huge, so I sought out a member of staff to help. I was hardly thrilled when he told me that not only could he not help out, but baggage could only be checked in two hours before a flight. In short, I’d been fobbed off back in Manchester.

My bag would have to go with me. My Bahn App suggested that a train was held up, and I may just make it. It wasn’t a short walk from the station to the terminal. There was also a real lack of information regarding departures. I ran up the ramp and got to the train doors just as they closed, and it pulled away.

By now, I was simmering. Eventually, I was on my way fifteen minutes later and heading towards Berlin-Schöneweide, where I alighted to catch the number 60 tram. Just to round things off, it terminated a mile short of the stadium at Freizeit-und Erholungszentrum. After another delay, I eventually arrived.

Next up was the issue of my bag. The young steward started to look inside, but fortunately, he gave up within seconds. At last, I was inside, but then there was the problem of getting onto the terracing. I decided that I’d wait until half-time and watch until then from flat standing next to the Main Stand.

My mood was gradually mellowing as I enjoyed a bratwurst and a glühwein, followed by a local beer. However, the Union fans were less than happy within a few minutes of my arrival.

Peniel Mlapa put the visitors ahead just five minutes before the break. 

He headed home a Marco Stiepermann cross, which went in off the unfortunate home defender Michael Parensen. Simon Hedlund really should have equalised immediately, but he sent his header over. Bochum created a couple more chances before the referee blew his whistle for half-time.

This was the opportunity I was looking for as I went behind the goal and wandered round to the opposite corner where my ticket was for before climbing to the back from the rear. Plenty of fans had left their spots to use the facilities or queue for more sausages and beer. I found a position right at the back, next to a stanchion, where I could place my bag.

Stadion an der Alten Försterei was my kind of football stadium. The Main Stand was completely separate with its large block of seats and hospitality suites at the back. The other three sides were covered with a continuous roof and were all terracing. This really aided the atmosphere.

The second half was ideal for me. The home fans really got behind their side. It certainly seemed to inspire the players. Several crosses were dealt with easily by the visiting keeper, Manuel Riemann. It took a goal of basic simplicity to equal the scores. 

A long ball from Pedersen was aimed towards Sebastian Polster. Bochum defender Felix Bastians slipped in pursuit, Riemann came rushing out, and Polster pushed the ball past him before scoring into an empty net. The place went wild. The singing from the home fans was incessant, even though neither side looked likely to forge a winning goal. 

Then, with ten minutes to go, Riemann punched another cross away, only this time it found Union’s Felix Kroos, who set up Steven Skrzybski to score. The Berliners had another couple of late chances to make the score more emphatic, but they seemed happy enough at full time, as did the passionate home supporters. 

I hung around to watch the celebrations after a win that put Union in fourth place. Eventually, I drifted out down the tunnel and through the park and past the old lodge, before finding my way to the Köpenick station. A train took me towards the city at Karlshorst, where I changed for another non-stop service directly to the airport.

My travel issues continued as the flight to Bonn/Cologne was delayed by forty minutes. I got a bit of a surprise when I looked up from reading in the departure area. As well as a few Bochum supporters, the team had arrived and were sitting in the cafeteria. They returned home on the same flight as us.

On our arrival, I went straight downstairs to find that my train had been cancelled and there would be a thirty-minute wait for the next one. The only shock was that the KFC was still open when I got out at the Frankfurter Straße station. 

I didn’t need much rocking when I hit the sack at the Hotel Ibis Budget Koeln Porz. What a day of travel! Despite all the holdups, I would have done the same the next day.