Jump to content

1. FC Union Berlin in European football

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1. FC Union Berlin in European football
Club1. FC Union Berlin
Seasons played4
Most appearancesRani Khedira (20)
Top scorerTaiwo Awoniyi (4)
Robin Knoche (4)
First entry1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup[a]
2001–02 UEFA Cup
Latest entry2023–24 UEFA Champions League

1. FC Union Berlin, commonly known as Union Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. The club has competed in UEFA competitions a total of four times in its history – first in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup, and then in three successive seasons between 2021–22 and 2023–24 in all three of UEFA's competitions, the Conference League, the Europa League and the Champions League.

History

[edit]

1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup

[edit]

Although Union Berlin's first European campaign came in 2001–02, the club actually qualified for Europe for the first time in 1968 when, while playing in the East German DDR-Oberliga, they won the FDGB-Pokal, thus qualifying for the 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup. Initially drawn against FK Bor of Yugoslavia, the events of the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia saw UEFA alter the draw to split clubs from Eastern and Western Europe. This led to Union Berlin being drawn against Dynamo Moscow of the Soviet Union. But, anger at UEFA's handling of the situation led to several socialist countries, including East Germany, withdrawing their sides from European competitions that season.[2][b]

2001–02 UEFA Cup

[edit]

Union Berlin's first European foray came as a result of their reaching the 2001 DFB-Pokal final.[2] Although Union lost the final 2–0 against Schalke, they gained a place in the following season's UEFA Cup as a result of Schalke finishing second in the Bundesliga, thus qualifying for the Champions League.[3][4]

Season Competition Round Opposition Home Attendance Away Attendance Aggregate
2001–02 UEFA Cup First round Finland Haka 3–0 12,111 1–1 1,720 4–1
Second round Bulgaria Litex Lovech 0–2 11,255 0–0 3,250 0–2

2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League

[edit]

Union Berlin were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019. Having finished eleventh in their debut season, the club then finished seventh the following year to qualify for the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League. This was the first time they had qualified for Europe by league position, thanks to last minute winner in a final day win over RB Leipzig.[5] Owing to the limitations of their own stadium, the club were forced to play their home games at the Olympiastadion, home to their local rivals Hertha Berlin.[6]

Season Competition Round Opposition Home Attendance Away Attendance Aggregate
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League Play-off round Finland KuPS 0–0 22,159 4–0 5,632 4–0
Group E Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–1 4,380 3–1 15,286 3rd
Israel Maccabi Haifa 3–0 23,342 1–0 22,150
Netherlands Feyenoord 1–2 30,000 1–3 36,100

2022–23 UEFA Europa League

[edit]

Union Berlin continued progression in the Bundesliga by finishing fifth in 2021–22, which gave them a second successive European campaign, this time in the Europa League, the club's first time in the competition since its debut European campaign. This campaign was also the first that saw Union play their European home games at their own stadium, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.[7]

Season Competition Round Opposition Home Attendance Away Attendance Aggregate
2022–23 UEFA Europa League Group D Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise 0–1 21,512 1–0 5,597 2nd
Portugal Braga 1–0 21,082 0–1 17,782
Sweden Malmö FF 1–0 21,800 1–0 16,057
Play-off Netherlands Ajax 3–1 21,800 0–0 54,322 3–1
Round of 16 Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise 3–3 21,605 0–3 15,681 3–6

2023–24 UEFA Champions League

[edit]

Union Berlin's fourth-place finish in the 2022–23 Bundesliga was the club's highest ever league position to date. This allowed them a place in the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League, the first time that the club had played in Europe's premier competition.[8] To maximise the number of supporters that could attend the club's home games in the competition, Union Berlin elected to move their home games to the Olympiastadion, rather than playing at the An der Alten Försterei.[6]

Season Competition Round Opposition Home Attendance Away Attendance Aggregate
2023–24 UEFA Champions League Group C Spain Real Madrid 2–3 73,420 0–1 65,207 4th
Portugal Braga 2–3 73,445 1–1 15,855
Italy Napoli 0–1 72,062 1–1 42,449

Overall record

[edit]

Correct as of match played 12 December 2023, vs Real Madrid[9][10][11]

Record by competition

[edit]
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD Best performance
UEFA Champions League 6024610−4Group stage (2023–24)
UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup 146441413+1Round of 16 (2022–23)
UEFA Europa Conference League 8323129+3Group stage (2021–22)

Record by nation

[edit]
NationPldWDLGFGAGDOpponents
 Belgium411247-3Union Saint-Gilloise
 Bulgaria201102-2Litex Lovech
 Czech Republic201124-2Slavia Prague
 Finland422081+7Haka, KuPS
 Israel220040+4Maccabi Haifa
 Italy201112-1Napoli
 Netherlands411256-1Ajax, Feyenoord
 Portugal411245-1Braga
 Spain200224-2Real Madrid
 Sweden220020+2Malmö FF

Record by match

[edit]
Season Competition Round Opposition Home Away Agg.
2001–02 UEFA Cup 1R Finland Haka 3–0 1–1 4–1
2R Bulgaria Litex Lovech 0–2 0–0 0–2
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League PO Finland KuPS 0–0 4–0 4–0
Group E Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–1 1–3 3rd
Netherlands Feyenoord 1–2 1–3
Israel Maccabi Haifa 3–0 1–0
2022–23 UEFA Europa League Group D Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise 0–1 1–0 2nd
Portugal Braga 1–0 0–1
Sweden Malmö FF 1–0 1–0
KRPO Netherlands Ajax 3–1 0–0 3–1
R16 Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise 3–3 0–3 3–6
2023–24 UEFA Champions League Group C Spain Real Madrid 2–3 0–1 4th
Portugal Braga 2–3 1–1
Italy Napoli 0–1 1–1

UEFA coefficient

[edit]

As of 27 April 2026
Source:[12]

RankTeamPoints
88England Leicester City23.481
89Slovenia Celje23.000
90Germany Union Berlin23.000
91Poland Raków22.250
92Spain Rayo Vallecano22.000

All-time goalscorers in UEFA competitions

[edit]

[13][14][15]

  • Bold indicates player is still with Union Berlin
  • Italics indicates player is currently out on loan
  • Correct as of match played 12 December 2023, vs Spain Real Madrid

The following is a list of Union Berlin's goalscorers in official UEFA competitions:

Rank Player Champions League UEFA Cup / Europa League Conference League Total
=1 Nigeria Taiwo Awoniyi 0 0 4 4
Germany Robin Knoche 0 4 0 4
3 Suriname Sheraldo Becker 2 1 0 3
=4 Germany Max Kruse 0 0 2 2
Germany Andreas Voglsammer 0 0 2 2
Germany Kevin Behrens 0 0 2 2
Croatia Josip Juranović 0 2 0 2
Norway Sven Michel 0 2 0 2
=9 Bulgaria Hristo Koilov 0 1 0 1
Germany Sreto Ristić 0 1 0 1
Cameroon Ferdinand Chi Fon 0 1 0 1
Serbia Božidar Đurković 0 1 0 1
Germany Cedric Teuchert 0 0 1 1
Poland Tymoteusz Puchacz 0 0 1 1
Norway Julian Ryerson 0 0 1 1
Austria Christopher Trimmel 0 0 1 1
Netherlands Danilho Doekhi 0 1 0 1
Czech Republic Alex Král 1 0 0 1
Germany Kevin Volland 1 0 0 1
Germany Robin Gosens 1 0 0 1
Ivory Coast David Fofana 1 0 0 1

Non-UEFA competitions

[edit]

Intertoto Cup

[edit]
Season Competition Round Opposition Home Away Agg.
1967 Intertoto Cup Group B7 Denmark KB 0–3 0–1 3rd place
Poland Katowice 3–0 0–1
Czechoslovakia Union Teplice 0–1 1–1
1986 Intertoto Cup Group 2 West Germany Bayer Uerdingen 3–2 0–3 1st place
Switzerland Lausanne-Sport 1–0 1–1
Belgium Standard Liège 4–1 2–1

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ Union Berlin qualified for the 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup after winning the FDGB-Pokal. Subsequently, the DFV withdrew all of its clubs from UEFA-sanctioned European competition for the 1968–69 season.[1]
  2. ↑ The withdrawal applied to UEFA-sanctioned competitions; in addition to Union Berlin, this also saw Carl Zeiss Jena, having won the DDR-Oberliga title, miss out on their place in the European Cup. However, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was not a UEFA-sanctioned competition, which meant that both Hansa Rostock and Lokomotive Leipzig were able to participate in Europe that season.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "European Competitions 1968-69". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 Tejwani, Karan (11 August 2020). "Union Berlin in the 2001 UEFA Cup: the club that made their European bow before their Bundesliga one". These Football Times. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  3. ↑ "2001: The most dramatic season finale in Bundesliga history". Bundesliga. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  4. ↑ "DFB-Pokal - Spielinfo". Kicker (in German). Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "Union Berlin: 2021/22 season preview". Bundesliga. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  6. 1 2 Desborough, Thomas (7 September 2023). "1. FC Union Berlin: The Stadion An der Alten Försterei". SportsGazette. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "Europa League in the Alte Försterei". Union Berlin. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Union Berlin: From East German also-rans to the UEFA Champions League". Bundesliga. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "2023–24 UEFA Champions League". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "2022–23 UEFA Europa League". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Club Coefficients". UEFA. July 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "1. FC Union Berlin - Champions League". UEFA Champions League. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "1. FC Union Berlin - Europa League". UEFA Europa League. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "1. FC Union Berlin - Conference League". UEFA Conference League. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1._FC_Union_Berlin_in_European_football&oldid=1367491141"