1. FC Union Berlin
German football team.
Union Berlin is a professional football club based in Köpenick, Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1906 and currently competes in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. Union Berlin plays its home games at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, which has a capacity of 22,012 spectators. The stadium is known for its unique atmosphere, with three standing terraces and only one seating stand.
The club's colors are red and white, and they are nicknamed "Die Eisernen" (The Iron Ones), reflecting the working-class roots of the Köpenick district. Union Berlin has a rich history, deeply intertwined with the political and social changes in Germany, particularly during the Cold War era when the club was based in East Berlin.
Union Berlin's rise to prominence in German football has been relatively recent. The club spent much of its history in the lower divisions of German football, only reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019. This promotion marked a significant milestone for the club, as they became the first team from the former East Berlin to play in the Bundesliga since the German reunification.
Since their promotion, Union Berlin has defied expectations and established themselves as a competitive force in the Bundesliga. In the 2020-21 season, they achieved a remarkable seventh-place finish, qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League. This marked their first-ever qualification for European competition. The following season, they went one better, finishing fifth and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.
The 2022-23 season saw Union Berlin achieve their greatest success to date, finishing fourth in the Bundesliga and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. In 2004, when the club was facing financial difficulties, fans launched the "Bleed for Union" campaign, where supporters donated blood and gave the money they received to the club. Under the management of Urs Fischer since 2018, Union Berlin has developed a reputation for being well-organized, hard to beat, and capable of upsetting more established teams.