Our next opponents: Lots of new faces in Köpenick

Position

Union Berlin also needed a short time to get going in the new season. "I said in the run-up that it will be a difficult cup tie," said coach Urs Fischer after the 1-0 win against Türkgücü München in the first round of the DFB Cup. "I think you saw that today. Above all, we needed the first 15 minutes to get into the game." At the end of the day, the Eisernen negotiated the tricky task against the ambitious third division side and Fischer described the performance after the opening phase as "comfortable." The goal from the Olympian Max Kruse in the middle of the first half was enough to secure progress to the next round – job done. Somewhat unusually: Union Berlin played again the day after the cup tie – this time at home at the Alte Försterei. The starting eleven from the encounter with Türkgücü were not in the line-up but some were on the bench. Union won 4-0 against Regional League Hildesheim and Fischer was "very satisfied". There are some exciting weeks ahead for him and the club: After the Bundesliga opener against the Werkself, Union have their first European game in almost 20 years in the qualifier for the newly created UEFA Conference League. The opponents are the Finnish club Kuopion PS.

Personnel

In spite of the successful campaign last term, there have been changes in the Köpenick squad and no other Bundesliga club has been as active as the Eisernen in the transfer window. The list of new signings is long and includes some well-known players: In Rani Khedira (Augsburg), Andreas Voglsammer (Bielefeld), Kevin Behrens (Sandhausen), Timo Baumgartl (Eindhoven, previously Stuttgart) and Genki Haraguchi (Hannover), Union have signed a large number of players established in German professional football and other newcomers are the two young defenders Rick van Drongelen (HSV) and Paul Jaeckel (Fürth), the two Poles Tymoteusz Puchacz (Lech Poznań) and Pawel Wszolek (Legia Warsaw), goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow (Frankfurt) and the former Werkself player Levin Öztunali (most recently at Mainz). In addition, the busy Union management have secured the services of striker Taiwo Awoniyi who was previously on loan from Liverpool – perhaps that is THE coup by CEO Oliver Ruhnert.

In contrast, there have been relatively few departures – even if the loss of experienced players, like Christian Gentner (to Luzern), central defender Niko Schlotterbeck (return to Freiburg after loan deal) left-back Christopher Lenz (to Eintracht Frankfurt) and our Werkself loanee Joel Pohjanpalo, could make itself felt. Other departures from the Eisernen are Marius Bülter (Schalke 04), Florian Hübner (Nürnberg), Akaki Gogia (Zürich) and Loris Karius and Petar Musa (both returning to original clubs after loans).

Nevertheless: The overall quality of the squad has improved both in strength and depth. Union will probably need that given the three competitions the club are involved in.

Performers

Over the past two seasons, Union have always stood out with a well-organised defence. The 43 goals conceded last term was only bettered by Leipzig, Wolfsburg and the Werkself. The key players in the incredibly strong defence are sweeper Robert Andrich, skipper Christopher Trimmel and defensive boss Marvin Friedrich. The last two not only show their quality by preventing goals but they also pose a threat to opponents – above all from set pieces. Trimmel's pinpoint crosses and free kicks plus Friedrich's enormous power in the air are two reliable sources of goals for the Berliners.

Problems

Union have not conceded in the last two matches but coach Fischer is not satisfied with the conversion rate. He was rather critical after the cup victory over Türkgücü: "You have to score the second goal in the second half so we ended up making life a bit difficult for ourselves." And his team missed a large number of decent chances in the friendly against Hildesheim with the four goals coming in the last 15 minutes. "If you create so many chances then something has to happen even in a friendly," declared Fischer.

Prediction

It could be difficult for Union to repeat the dream season of last term – or perhaps not? The club have significantly strengthened their squad and the Köpenick team now have two players for almost every position. At first sight, the team is stronger than last season – and, in comparison to many other teams, they still have the same coach with Fischer able to develop his style of play over the summer. One stumbling block could be the number of fixtures due to the Conference League campaign. If Union deal with that well then it is entirely possible that they could finish in a similar position this season.