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.