Key Figures — Union Berlin
Uwe Neuhaus: as of December 2019, Uwe Neuhaus was Union’s record coach.
Key Figures
Uwe Neuhaus: as of December 2019, Uwe Neuhaus was Union’s record coach.
Uwe Neuhaus: as of December 2019, Uwe Neuhaus
Uwe Neuhaus: as of December 2019, Uwe Neuhaus was Union’s record coach.
Uwe Neuhaus: as of December 2019, Uwe Neuhaus was Union’s record coach. The West German sat on the touchline in Köpenick for seven years, from 2007 to 2014. No head coach in the 53-year history of the club had lasted longer in one uninterrupted spell. He led Union into the third division and in 2009 made them the very first champions of the newly created 3. Liga. He also managed to establish the club in the second Bundesliga, allowing Union to focus on rebuilding the stadium while football remained stable. The club no longer believed he could lead them to the Bundesliga, but even after his dismissal in 2014 he remained a sought-after second-division coach. He would never forget his Union years, not least because he married former Union bookkeeper Britta Calmus in 2013.
Frank Pagelsdorf: the Hanover-born coach steered Union for
Frank Pagelsdorf: the Hanover-born coach steered Union for two years.
Frank Pagelsdorf: the Hanover-born coach steered Union for two years. He was hired for 1992/93, when the later “Unpromotables” still played in the NOFV-Oberliga Mitte. To the fans, the dream of the second Bundesliga seemed much closer with him in charge. At the end of the season Union thought they had made it when they beat Bischofswerda 1–0 in the decisive playoff match. Fifteen thousand spectators witnessed the long-awaited sporting promotion – which never became reality because of the guarantee scandal. Union had to stay in the third tier and were denied the licence again in the following season. Pagelsdorf did what he could, won the all-Berlin cup and reached the German amateur championship, but none of that could hide the catastrophic financial condition of the club. He would have loved to fulfil his promise and take Union up. The bank guarantee got in the way.
Torsten Mattuschka: an absolute crowd favourite and one
Torsten Mattuschka: an absolute crowd favourite and one of the club’s great figures of identification.
Torsten Mattuschka: an absolute crowd favourite and one of the club’s great figures of identification. The Union fans would strike up the Torsten-Mattuschka song whenever there was a free kick or penalty for Union. The Cottbus-born midfielder wore the red-and-white shirt 299 times and scored 70 goals. Tusche arrived in 2005, helped bring promotion to the Regionalliga a year later, qualified for the 3. Liga in 2008 and went up to the second Bundesliga in 2009. With ten goals he was Union’s top scorer in their first second-division season. Even after his departure, fans remembered him as the promotion hero who had led the team from the third division back into the second.
Dirk Zingler: club president since 1 July 2004,
Dirk Zingler: club president since 1 July 2004, Dirk Zingler led Union Berlin all the way to the Bundesliga, setbacks included.
Dirk Zingler: club president since 1 July 2004, Dirk Zingler led Union Berlin all the way to the Bundesliga, setbacks included. The logistics entrepreneur fought stubbornly for the football site at the Alte Försterei. The standing terraces were modernised in 2008/09 and a new main stand followed in 2012/13. Membership and fan involvement shot upward under his watch, helped by ideas like the stadium share and the requirement to be a member for ticket access. Sporting success plus strong community culture pushed the number of members from around 6,000 to more than 32,000 within a decade. In the search for coaches, Zingler was never afraid of experiments or big names.
Urs Fischer: the Swiss success coach fully earned
Urs Fischer: the Swiss success coach fully earned every beer shower and every wave of celebration.
Urs Fischer: the Swiss success coach fully earned every beer shower and every wave of celebration. Under him, Union’s fans experienced the greatest success in the club’s 53-year history in May 2019: promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time ever. When Fischer arrived in June 2018, Union had just finished 2017/18 in a merely middling eighth place in the second division. In his first season, the Berliners went 17 matches unbeaten from the start and for that period became the longest-unbeaten professional team in Germany. They finished third and then faced Stuttgart in the playoff. Fischer held his nerve, took the pressure off his players and guided them through a 2–2 away draw and then a priceless 0–0 at home.
Werner Schwenzfeier: “Schwenne” had played for the Union
Werner Schwenzfeier: “Schwenne” had played for the Union predecessor BSG Motor Oberschöneweide from 1954 to 1959 and coached Union Berlin from 1965 to 1969.
Werner Schwenzfeier: “Schwenne” had played for the Union predecessor BSG Motor Oberschöneweide from 1954 to 1959 and coached Union Berlin from 1965 to 1969. Under him, Union won promotion to the DDR-Oberliga and then the FDGB-Pokal in 1968 against Carl Zeiss Jena. Werner Schwenzfeier died on 30 December 1995 at the age of 70.
Key Figures — Update 2020–2026
Urs Fischer is the most important coach in the history of 1.
Urs Fischer is the most important coach in
Urs Fischer is the most important coach in the history of 1.
Urs Fischer is the most important coach in the history of 1. FC Union Berlin. The Swiss took over in the 2. Bundesliga in 2018, led the club into the Bundesliga, established it there and eventually reached the Champions League. His pragmatism, calm and tactical intelligence turned a team without superstars into a European side. His dismissal in November 2023, when Union slipped into the relegation battle after the Champions League debacle, marked the end of an era.
As sporting director, Oliver Ruhnert is the architect
As sporting director, Oliver Ruhnert is the architect in the background.
As sporting director, Oliver Ruhnert is the architect in the background. His transfer policy — buy cheaply, develop, then sell for significantly more — made Union’s rise into Europe possible. Players such as Sheraldo Becker, Taiwo Awoniyi and Danilho Doekhi became Union stars under Ruhnert.
As president, Dirk Zingler is the face of
As president, Dirk Zingler is the face of the “Union way.” His credo: no debt, organic growth, preserve identity.
As president, Dirk Zingler is the face of the “Union way.” His credo: no debt, organic growth, preserve identity. The stadium expansion, the sporting development and the club’s economic stability all bear his imprint.