A new start on the sidelines

The team faced 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 just a few days after New Year's Day with new faces on the touchline but returned to Köpenick without any points. Hope and reality once again failed to go hand in hand a few days later, in Steffen Baumgart's first home game as the new head coach, as the team came up short again, losing 2-0 to Augsburg.

The fans finally got the hoped-for breakthrough after ten games without a win on a special anniversary. One day before the club's 59th birthday, 1. FSV Mainz 05 were dealt with courtesy of goals from Benedict Hollerbach and Robert Skov, finally giving Union their first victory in almost three months. A determined team performance should mark the Bundesliga’s new year.

A Struggle for Rhythm

A week later, following the game away at Hamburg's Millerntor Stadium, much of that euphoria had evaporated. The 3-0 defeat fell short of the team’s own expectations and saw them fall to 14th place in the table. However, with the experience of previous years showing that Union never give up, it was almost inevitable that another highlight would follow in Leipzig. Although the score was “only” 0-0 after 90 minutes, Frederik Rönnow and his superb defence kept a courageous clean sheet for the first time since the start of November 2024. This result was topped just one week later when the attacking trio of Ljubicic, Hollerbach, and Ilić gave TSG 1899 Hoffenheim no chance in a 4-0 win, while also scoring the highest number of goals in a single game so far this season.

Troughs and peaks and peaks

Following their victorious trip to Sinsheim, Union's momentum stalled shortly afterwards, however, failing to score in the following games against the Borussias, Mönchengladbach and Dortmund, before losing the crucial game against bottom-of-the-table Kiel. With 24 games played, the team now had 23 points, but with a six-point lead over third from bottom and its Relegation play-off spot, they still had a small cushion of safety.

However, keeping their eyes off the calculations, the team instead refocused on the challenges at hand, picking up three important and, somewhat unexpected points with the 2-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt. What no one knew at the time was that this was the starting signal on a few weeks’ run that saw the fears of relegation fade away day by day. After holding FC Bayern to a draw, Union despatched SC Freiburg and VfL Wolfsburg to go unbeaten in four games, taking ten out of twelve possible points.

A Riot on the Wuhle

A 0-0 draw against a Leverkusen side who were almost certain to be dethroned as champions at that point, would have been a dream result for many clubs, but this was now almost normal for Union at this stage. But that was nothing for drama, indeed it was only the prelude to a game that the Union fans will remember for the rest of their lives.

When Union hosted Stuttgart they just needed a point to preserve Bundesliga status, that it would come after the highest scoring first half in Bundesliga history? Well, few had reckoned with that. But with the scores level at 4-4 at both half, and full time, Union secured their 35th point and with it, early qualification for another year in the top flight.

The team carried the momentum of this renewed security into the weeks that followed, with games in Bochum and at home against Bremen, suddenly finding themselves unbeaten in eight. Though this would end with a 3-0 loss in Heidenheim, this was more than made up for with a 2-1, last game of the season, victory at home against Augsburg.

Summer, sun, sunshine – and a successful start to boot

For many, summertime means a chance to put your feet up, but not for the players of 1. FC Union Berlin. Baumgart and his coaching team called everyone back for the start of the new season at the beginning of July. During a summer training camp at adidas Home Ground, they had several friendlies and trained in optimal conditions to prepare for the 2025/26 season. There was a mixture of intensive training, with a healthy dose of fun and optimism.

A first hurdle in the Cup was mastered in the shape of a confident 5-0 away win over FC Gütersloh. And when they then went on to win their first home game of the new Bundesliga season against the reigning cup holders, Stuttgart, anticipation for what lay ahead could hardly be surpassed.

Dortmund and Hoffenheim put the brakes on – Full steam ahead in Frankfurt

An away game in Dortmund is never easy - Union have now played there nine times so far, are yet to return to Berlin with so much as a point - and this season they carried on this difficult tradition with a 3-0 defeat at Signal Iduna Park. Then came Hoffenheim at home – where former Union player Fisnik Asllani bagged a brace.

Then came another breakthrough away, this one with a high-paced, Scottish dash. Summer signing Oliver Burke stunned the former Waldstadion with a hat trick in the 4-3 win, making hay from the flow of assists from Andrej Ilić, who set up all four Berlin goals in exemplary fashion.

The case for the defence

Soon enough, Union would enter a phase where it was those whose job is usually to prevent goals stepped up. In the 3-1 home win against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Danilho Doekhi scored twice for the first time this season, with Rani Khedira contributing another goal. In the second round of the cup against Bielefeld, Doekhi again decided the game in the 106th minute, after his defensive colleague Leo Querfeld had scored the opener.

Doekhi also scored twice in the 2-2 draw against the record champions, FC Bayern’s first loss of points this season. Against St. Pauli and Heidenheim, Khedira scored two more, if only securing a win against the former.

In the DFB Pokal round of 16, FC Bayern were once again guests at the Alte Försterei. There, Querfeld achieved something that no one else had in 905 games, converting twice from the spot against Manuel Neuer in one match. However, despite a strong second half, his heroics and a superb all-round team performance weren’t enough to advance in the end. Union lost 3-2 to the record cup winners.

The subsequent 3-1 defeat in Wolfsburg didn't exactly lift the mood either, but at least it provided another first with Union's first goal for Stanley Nsoki.

Leipzig at home, Köln away. The best of Christmas gifts

In 2025’s last home game, the team provided a rollercoaster of emotions. Leipzig's RasenBallsport were beaten convincingly, 3-1. To round things off, Tim Skarke celebrated his first goal for the club with almost the last kick of the game.

Then, in the last game of the year, Union continued their excellent form, winning 1-0 away at 1. FC Köln. András Schäfer's goal secured a second win in a row for the first time this season, also sealing points 19, 20, and 21, as well as a strong eighth place in the table before the winter break.

With their return from Köln, the men's team of 1. FC Union Berlin can now look back on an impressive 10,600 kilometres of travel. In 48 Bundesliga, Cup and friendly matches they had scored 73 goals, playing in front of more than 1.1 million spectators. Special credit and thanks are due to the more than 50,000 fans who travelled to away games.