Home is the most beautiful place:
Espanyol Barcelona at the test kick-off at the Alte Försterei
After many training sessions away from home, the men’s professional team of 1. FC Union Berlin will host LaLiga representative RCD Espanyol Barcelona tomorrow, Saturday. The first friendly match in their home ground, Stadion An der Alten Försterei, will kick off at 15:30.
The Situation
Even though the start of the new Bundesliga season follows that of the Spanish LaLiga, RCD Espanyol Barcelona is still not as far along in its preparations as the Eisernen. Three Friendlies, including an initial match in Germany against VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday (1-0) and a lost final in the Copa Catalunya against FC Girona, have already allowed head coach Manolo González to draw some conclusions about the condition of his team.
His counterpart on the Union side, head coach Steffen Baumgart, has already gained more impressions after six Friendlies but had to accept another 0-1 defeat recently against SpVgg Greuter Fürth. This time against 1. FC Schweinfurt 05.
The traditionally blue-and-white playing team of Real Club Deportivo Espanyol de Barcelona was a founding member of the first Spanish League in 1929, which at that time and for a long time thereafter was still called Primera División. In the same year, they won the Copa del Rey competition, bringing the first trophy into Espanyol's collection, and three more successes followed by the year 2006. In both 1988 and 2007, the club from northern Barcelona failed twice to bring home more silverware, first when Bayer 04 Leverkusen proved too strong in the two-legged UEFA Cup final, and in the new millennium, they were thwarted by the cup power FC Sevilla.
Currently, the "small club" from the Catalan capital has the reputation of a yo-yo team: After being relegated from LaLiga in the 2019/20 season, they achieved immediate promotion, followed by another relegation two years later and a renewed promotion in the 2023/24 season. In the final sprint of the past season, they improved with a 2-0 victory against UD Las Palmas on the last matchday, securing their place in the league.
Particularly, Roberto Fernández, who was already loaned to Espanyol last season and scored eight goals, is now expected to help strengthen the offense further: He has been permanently acquired from SC Braga. Other important pillars of the "Pericos" are right-back Omar El Hilali, who comes from the club's own youth system and, despite being only 21 years old, has already played 148 matches for various teams of the club, as well as captain Javi Puado. The winger was Espanyol's most prolific player of the 2024/25 season with twelve goals.
Even though 1. FC Union Berlin as a club has never faced the Spaniards before, Alex Král will nevertheless celebrate a reunion. Last season, he was loaned out to the Mediterranean coast and made 39 appearances there.
Union's coaching team must continue to do without Livan Burcu, Oluwaseun Ogbemudia, and Stanley Nsoki.
“We are happy to be back in Berlin and will have a team on the pitch against Espanyol that looks more like it's already started the season. We want to take the next step and gain even more match practice,” said head coach Steffen Baumgart ahead of the match.
The Eisernen can count on the support of around 18,000 Unioner for the first home Friendly of the 2025/26 season. At ticket offices 1-3, day tickets will also be available when the stadium opens at 13:30. All visitors are advised to arrive early, especially due to the construction sites in the surrounding area. Information about the closure of Hämmerlingstraße and the replacement bus service on line S3 can be found here.
