Nico “Patsche” Patschinski: the East Berliner spent his youth at both BFC Dynamo and Union before moving into Union’s professional side in 1994. As a striker with a good scoring rate he became a fan favourite, and after spells with St. Pauli and Trier he returned in 2006. The second parting was far from peaceful. In March 2009 Patschinski was handed immediate dismissal because of an irretrievably broken relationship of trust.
He had fallen out repeatedly with the board, which eventually pulled the plug. Patschinski then went to labour court, won and received 130,000 euros in severance. Union did not appeal.
Peace in the club mattered more to the cash-strapped club than the money.