Preliminary and main round of the DFB Youth League

The first task for the U19's team was to find their feet in the DFB's new league system. But, starting in Group B of the DFB Youth League preliminary round, the Union side immediately showed what they were capable of in their first two matches, winning convincingly against Hansa Rostock and Hamburger SV. After 14 games against teams from the north-east, they qualified for the stronger League A in second place with 27 points. The young Unioners had won eight and lost only three games. They also had the second-best defence in the league.

After the winter break, they faced some big names in the DFB Youth League main round League A, including Borussia Dortmund and Karlsruher SC. Having lost their first game in Mainz, they were unable to recover their form. After ten games, the Berliners had seven points to their name from the two wins in the home and away games against SpVgg Unterhaching and the draw in Leipzig. Unfortunately, their efforts had all been in vain and the season was over before it had really begun, as the team failed to qualify for the German championship.

Record season in the DFB Pokal

It had been three years since 1. FC Union Berlin's U19 team last participated in the DFB Pokal, when they lost in Wiesbaden. This season, SV Elversberg were first up, and a superb performance saw the hosts winning 4-1 and securing a place in the round of 16 for the first time. Now Union had to travel to play 1. FC Köln. Against the strong favourites, Union's youngsters put in a solid team performance and deservedly beat the team from the Rhine, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time. Unfortunately, this was where their cup run ended, as Karlsruhe SC narrowly defeated Union 2-1 in Berlin.

Berlin Pokal – Last hopes for the title ended prematurely

In the Berlin Pokal, Union put in some solid performances in the first three rounds, winning their games with a goal difference of 16-0. In the round of 16, they then faced SV Empor Berlin in Prenzlauer Berg, where the Köpenick side also won without conceding a goal. In the quarter-finals, the favourites travelled to BFC Preussen. After the young Unioners took a 2-0 lead, the home side turned the game around and won 4-3. The final not reached, the season was over.

Representation in the national team

Once again, several young Union players established themselves in their national teams this season. Ion Ciobanu travelled to Moldova in September and March to play for the U19's. Elias Ali and Ahmad Badran represented the Palestinian U20's in the qualifying matches for the Asian Cup. Tom Wisbereit, Union's goalkeeper, was nominated for the German U18 national team and made his debut straight away.

The views on the season

NLZ head coach André Hofschneider remains largely satisfied with the A-Juniors' this year, saying: "The U19 season can be rated very positively, as we made it to the DFB Pokal quarter-finals. Reaching the second group stage of the DFB Youth League is a great team achievement. The only downside is our elimination from the Berlin Cup.

Individually, we have continued to improve. Some players have made the step up to professional training and Julien Piet Friedrich has played his way into the first team of a Regionalliga club. These are partial successes that must be viewed as more than positive, and we want to build on them in the coming weeks and months to continue this trend."