1. FC Union Berlin - club history

From F.C. Olympia to Union 06 Oberschöneweide

In 1906, a group of young footballers and friends of Excelsior FC came together to form FC Olympia behind a school on today's Plönzeile, around four kilometres from the Stadion An der Alte Försterei. The original club colours were black and yellow. But after only a short time, the club was disbanded.

Soon afterwards, a bunch of close friends founded Lichtenberger S.C as a third club in the region which was divided. It was not sustainable for all three clubs to exist, so members of Olympia, Exelcisor and Lichtenberger joined forces on 17 June 1906 at the “Großkopf” restaurant on Luisenstrasse to form Olympia Oberschöneweide.

About a month later, the club was connected with B.T.U. FC Helgoland 1897, a youth club nearby. From July 22^nd 1906, it was renamed “Klub B.T. und F.C. Helgoland / Abteilung Oberschöneweide.” On February 10 1907, representatives of B.T. and F.C. Union – German champions of 1905 - agreed to merge the two clubs.

The result of these discussions with the blue-whites from the south of Berlin is the formation as B.T. And F.C. Union 92 / Division Oberschöneweide, the troop takes part as an IV team at the Spielbetrieb.

At the beginning of 1909, the team from the parent club, on February 20, the VBB - Verband Brandenburgischer Ballspielvereine - takes over the new club. To thank the mother union Union 1892 the colors blue and white are maintained, in the new association names the word Union is taken: Union 06 Oberschöneweide.

Official renaming of the club to SC Union-Oberschöneweide and the venue on Kunheimstrasse in a publication to mark the anniversary of the club in 1931 © Archiv des SC Union 06 Berlin

The first stadium and considerable success

Meanwhile, the old playing grounds, which sat on the banks of the River Spree, were given away to become industrial facilities. The expansion of the industrial suburb Oberschöneweide forced the club to find a new home on the expanded Wattstrasse in Schöneweide. This was the club's fixed home ground for a decade until 1920 Today, a small colony of garden allotments are on the site.

In the 20s, the club house used by miners was located on today's Fritz-Kirsch-Zeile, at the corner of Wattstrasse.

Union achieved considerable success in the league, winning consecutive promotions in 1910/11 and 1911/12 to reach the first division. A second-placed finish was followed up with a league win in the first division, which saw the club promoted to the VBB-Verbandsliga, the highest tier of the pre-Bundesligs pyramid in the region.

Union finished second in 1916/17, but three years later the club was crowned champions of the east region. The top team in Berlin lost 3-2 to Sportfreunden Breslau in the quarterfinals of the German championship play-off system. With new league changes on the horizon, Union Oberschöneweide's third-place finish was enough to qualify for the VBB-Oberliga

Move to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei

Further expansion of industrial plants and the population growth in Oberschöneweide forced Union to relocate from Wattstrasse and look for a new stadium. It was found in Sadowa – today called Wuhlheide – near the entrance to Köpenick, close to the royal hunting grounds at the old forest warden's office.

On March 7^th 1920, the facility was officially opened with a league game against Viktoria 89. However, work on the stadium wasn't complete and it wasn't until August 7^th that the Unioners celebrated the stadium's opening. 1.FC Nürnberg, then German champions and the country's preeminent force, met the Berlin champions SC Union Öberschweide and won 2-1 in front of around 7,000 supporters.

In season 1922/23, the team from Oberschöneweide finished first in the Oberliga Division A and took on Division B champions Vorwärts 1890 in the regional final. Union won 3-1 in the first leg, and drew 1-1 in Sadowa to prove they were on par with the best in Germany.

In the pan-German playoff system for the national championship, Union met west champions Arminia Bielefeld – first a 0-0 draw in Bochum before the Berliners won 2-1 in the second leg. Greuther Fürth, the southern champions, were dispatched 2-1 in Halle to set up a final against Hamburger Sport-Verein from the north. The Hanseatic champions Hamburg ran out 3-0 winners on June 10 1923 at the Grünwalder Stadion in Berlin.

© Archiv des Vereinsregisters beim Amtsgericht Charlottenburg

Announcement of first-ever match at the Sportpark Sadowa against reigning German champions 1.FC Nürnberg in 1920 © Der Rasensport | Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

Final of the German Championship in 1923 against Hamburg in Berlin © Archiv des 1. FC Union Berlin

Quarter-Final of the German Championship

In 1933, the VBB was replaced by the football association of Berlin-Brandenburg, the highest division becoming the Gauliga. Following the dissolution of the German Reich Committee for Physical Education in 1933, Union Oberschöneweide became a structure unit through the German FA.

At the end of the 1934/35 season, Union Berlin was relegated from the Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg – the newest top-level of football in the region since the National Socialists came to power. But the club bounced back immediately, finishing 1^st in the Berlin Potsdam-East league, and earning promotion with second-place in the playoff section.

The outbreak of World War II caused much disruption to normal life, but football continued. Competing in Division B, Union Oberschöneweide lost 2-1 in the first leg of the playoff for the regional title against Blau-Weiß 90, but won 3-0 in the return leg to reach the preliminary round of the German Championship.

The first hurdle for Union was a three-team group stage with VfB Königsberg and VfL Stettin, and they came out on top with three wins from four. But SC Union were stopped in their tracks at the quarterfinal stage, losing 6-3 to Rapid Vienna who would eventually go on to become German champions.

Two years later in 1945, Union triumphed in their regional section, but after 13 games were forced to halt their season due to the war.

Report from the German Championship quarter-final meeting with Rapid Vienna in 1940 © Die Fußball-Woche

Cold War & Foundation of SC Union 06

Following the end of the Second World War in Europe, the Allied occupation and controlling powers dissolved all sports clubs and the organization of the game at a municipal level. From the ashes of SC Union Oberschöneweide came SG Oberschöneweide.

Football resumed in September with regular games occurring in Berlin. SG Oberschöneweide picked up from where they left off – winning Division B in Berlin in 1947. In the top-tier of football in Berlin, the newly-formed Stadtliga, SG Oberschönweide remained successful. The club won the regional title in 1947/48, but lost to FC St Pauli 7-0 in the quarterfinals for the German championship.

Success came in the local Berlin Cup, which SG Oberschöneweide won on back-to-back occasions, with a 5-3 aggregate win over SG Charlottenburg in 1948. The same year saw traditional names restored to German football clubs and so, SG Union Oberschöneweide competed again – the abbreviation stands for sports community.

A year later, Union came second in the Berlin league and thus qualified for the finals of the German Championship. It was a familiar foe, though, which stopped them progressing further in the shape of Hamburger Sport-Verein (HSV), who ran out 7-0 winners in the preliminary round.

The tie was significant for other reasons, however, at the height of the cold war. GDR authorities didn't permit the trip to Kiel for the Hamburg clash. Germany was fractured after World War II and since October 1949, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) had existed in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany. Football was organized within the GDR since the establishment of the Oberliga, with the top sides going on to compete the finals of the German championship. But at the time, East Berlin was not politically part of the GDR, so teams were allowed to compete in the overall Berlin city championships.

One of the fall-outs of the many political confrontations that existed between the controlling powers of Germany. Many players and officials left SG Union Oberschöneweide and founded SG Union 06 Berlin in West Berlin. Those who remained in the eastern part of Berlin competed in the Oberliga, the championship of the German Federal Republic.

Certificate of victory in the 1948 Berlin Cup Final © Archiv des 1. FC Union Berlin

Period of Changes

Union Berlin finishes Berlin vice-champion in 1950 and progresses to the nationwide German championship finals. However, the Berlin club was stopped in their tracks by a powerful Hamburg, who won 7-0 in the early rounds.

There was an added twist to that defeat to HSV: the match took place in Kiel due to ongoing disputes around the football structure in Berlin. The Geman Democratic Republic had existed in the Soviet-occupied zone of the capital since October 7, 1949. In the Federal Republic of Germany, terrorities had been administered by Americans, British and French authorities since May 24, 1949.

In the GDR territory, the Oberliga was founded on October 1 1948, as the highest league in the pyramid. But with East Berlin not officially part of GDR politically, clubs in this area were able to continue competing for the Berlin championship. The GDR refused to give permission for Union Oberschöneweide to travel to Kiel for the match in 1950.

Before the start of the 1951/52 season, the SG Union Oberschöneweide is joined by the operating association Motor Oberschöneweide. Only a part of the club decided to compete at the Oberliga level, while the others competed at lower levels.

At the end of the 1952/53 season, the BSG Motor Oberschöneweide was relegated from the Oberliga to the first division. On February 1, 1955, the club was renamed SC Motor Berlin.

After reaching 7th place in the standings, Motor Berlin entered the second division, the third tier, in 1955 as a result of a restructuring of its first-team football operations.

After its foundation on 28 April 1957, the German Gymnastics and Sports Federation took over the tasks held by the German Sports Committee. The German Football Association of the GDR, which emerged from its football section on 18 May 1958, is the corresponding professional organisation on the other side.

On June 6, 1957, representatives of four BSG clubs and SC Motor Berlin founded the Oberschöneweide Gymnastics and Sports Club in the clubhouse of the Oberschöneweide transformer plant. In the 1961/62 season the TSC Oberschöneweide rises to the second highest division. On 18 February 1963, the sports clubs TSC Oberschöneweide, SC Einheit Berlin and SC Rotation Berlin merged to form the Gymnastics and Sports Club Berlin in the building of the Central Council of the youth organisation Freie Deutsche Jugend.

SG Union Oberschöneweide in action in 1950 in Halle © Hanns-Peter Beyer, Halle (Saale)

SC Motor Berlin Team Photo from 1956 © Archiv des 1. FC Union Berlin

Founding of 1. FC Union Berlin

1.FC Union Berlin was founded on January 20, 1966 as the German Democratic Republic aspired to become a force in European football. Red and white were the chosen colours for the Berlin's only club led by civilians.

Union Berlin was the only of 10 newly-formed clubs in the east not to play immediately in the Oberliga, the highest-level. But they were promoted in 1967, ending a 13-year period outside of the top division.

For the first time in the club's history, Union competed in European competition, the 1967 UEFA Intertoto Cup, and finished 3^rd in a group alongside BK Copenhagen, Union Teplice and GKS Katowice.

Board meeting at the foundation of 1.FC Union Berlin © Gert Kilian

Cup Win & No European Participation

1.FC Union celebrated one of the greatest triumphs in the club's history – winning the East German Cup in 1968. In the quarter-finals, Union dispatched of the cup holders Sachsenring Zwickau at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei. Local rivals FC Vorwärts Berlin were beaten 2-1 in the semi-finals before Union won 2-1 against Carl-Zeiss Jena in the final.

However, rising tensions between east and west and the outbreak of the Prague uprising meant UEFA refused to allow eastern teams to compete. Union had initially been paired against FC Bor from Yugoslavia, but were then re-drawn against Dynamo Moscow. The GDR withdrew its cup winner and league champion from competitions in protest at the draw by UEFA's Committee.

1.FC Union Berlin win the East German Cup in 1968 © Hanns-Peter Beyer, Halle (Saale) | dpa picture alliance

Highs & Lows

At the start of the decade, 1.FC Union Berlin stabilised itself in the Oberliga, the highest class of football in the GDR, for three seasons. During this period, the club had to switch homes due to pitch renovations at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. After dropping back to the GDR's second-tier system, the Berlin side would only regain promtion to the Oberliga in 1976. It marked a period of four seasons in the top division, with a brief relegation to the regional leagues, followed by another two in the Oberliga.

In season 1985-86, 1.FC Union Berlin enjoyed an excellent run in the East German Cup, beating Dynamo Dresden in the semi-final. But 1.FC Lokomotiv Leipzig, who lost the European Cup Winners Cup final in 1987, won 5-1 in Berlin to take the trophy.

Simultaneously, Union Berlin finished seventh in East Germany's top division to secure qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup. The Berlin club won their group stage with four wins from six games against Bayer Uerdingen, Lausanne Sports and Belgians Standard Liege.

In the Oberliga, a last-gasp win over FC Karl-Marx-Stadt on the last day of the 1987-88 season preserved Union's top-flight status. A year later, however, Union went down to the second division.

Last-minute goal in 1988 to survive relegation from the GDR Oberliga © Oliver Behrend | Contrast

Ralph Probst scores for 1.FC Union in the East German Cup final of 1968 © Wulf Olm

Union Berlin (left) taking on Hansa Rostock in a crunch promotion six-pointer in 1976 © BArch, Bild 183-R0619-0024 / Rainer Mittelstädt

Promotion again in 1969/70 © Archiv des 1. FC Union Berlin

Success & Withdrawal of Licence

On June 5 1990, Union Berlin adopted statues in accordance with German law to become a registered club (e.V.).

German reunification in 1990 brought another series of structural changes to the national associations. The North-West German FA was formed in November 1990 and was tasked with organising sports outside of the professional leagues in the region.

Union Berlin was striving for a place in the 2.Bundesliga in the early part of the decade. This was achieved only in 1992-93 after finishing first in the Oberliga Nordost Stadt Mitte league. However, despite prevailing in the playoff section against Tennis Borussia and Bischofswerdaer FV, 1.FC Union was refused the necessary license to compete in the second division.

Union once again won the Stadt Mitte title, but the refusal of a license meant the playoff position went to second-placed Energie Cottbus. The club instead was given a spot in the German Amateur Championship, in which Union finished fourth behind Preußen Münster, Alemannia Aachen and VfL Osnabrück. Union did, however, win the regional cup competition and qualified for the first round of the German Cup, where they lost 3-2 to FC St Pauli in August 1994.

Union were champions of the Regionalliga Nordost in 1999-00 and faced VfL Osnabrück over two legs for a place in the 2.Bundesliga. But the northern German side won 8-7 on penalites after a 1-1 draw at the Stadion An der Alte Försterei. At the second attempt, Union finished behind Rot-Weiss Ahlen who were promoted.

Mario Maeck sends home from the spot to help Union beat Tennis Borussia 2-1 in 1991 © Ottmar Winter

1993/94 Berlin Cup success © Archiv des 1. FC Union Berlin

DFB Pokal Final & 2.Bundesliga

The 2001-01 season is one which will go down in history for Union, who reached the second division. But the fans will remember the German Cup campaign, which started with wins over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, Greuther Fürth and SSV Ulm 1846. Bundesliga side Bochum were beaten 1-0 in the quarterfinals before Borussia Mönchengladbach were seen off 6-4 after a penalty shootout. In the final, Union Berlin lost 2-0 to Schalke, the Bundesliga runner-up, at the Olympic Stadium.

With Schalke already reaching the Champions League via their league standings, 1.FC Union Berlin qualified for the UEFA Cup. In the first round, Finnish champions FC Haka were beaten 3-0 on home soil after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. The second round, though, was a step too far as Union lost to Bulgaria's Cup winners Litex Lovech 2-0 on aggregate.

Three seasons in the 2nd Bundesliga was followed by the relegation to the regional league - one year later union will enter the fourth division. In the final round of the Regional Cup the club defeated Köpenicker SC with 7-0. Union qualified for their German Cup and lost 4-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the 2007-08 season, 1.FC Union Berlin qualified for the newly-created national third division (3.Liga). The Berlin club secured immediate promotion a year later to the second divison as third-tier champions ahead of Fortuna Düsseldorf and SC Paderborn. Due to the ongoing reconstruction of the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, where more than 2,000 fans and partners helped, the club played at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn Sportpark.

Promotion back to 2.Bundesliga in 2009 © union-foto.de/Hupe

Back in the 2.Bundesliga with promotion in 2001 © Michael Schmidt

Schalke_Union (1).jpg — © Michael Schmidt

Promotion from the Regionalliga in 2006 © Tobias Hänsch

Stability and new targets

On July 12, 2013, 1. FC Union Berlin opened the brand-new main stand against Glasgow Celtic. The stand was the final jigsaw piece in the redevelopment of the stadium, which began several years before.

On the pitch, the Köpenick club became established in the 2.Bundesliga. After finishing mid-table for most of the first half of the decade, Union pushed for promotion in 2016/17 and missed out across the final few matchdays. A fourth-placed finish was our best ranking ever until the 2018/19 campaign.

Promotion to the Top Flight

As the 2018/19 season drew to a close, the team continued to strive towards the ultimate goal they had developed over the course of the season; namely, to be promoted to the first division. A win in the final league match of the season at VfL Bochum would have meant direct promotion, but the game ended in a 2-2 draw. The point shared secured third place in the table, meant that Union would have to face VfB Stuttgart, 16th in the Bundesliga, in a two-legged playoff for the final place in the next season’s top flight.

The referee blew the whistle to end the first leg in Swabia at 2-2. At the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on 27 May 2019, Union fought out a 0-0 draw and achieved their historic first ever promotion to the German Bundesliga.

Union secured their status in the 2019/20 season with a 1-0 win against SC Paderborn at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on 16 June 2020, and finished their first season in the Bundesliga in eleventh place.

16-9

Three Europe Cup Competitions

Union proved to be a consistent presence in the Bundesliga and, having successfully avoided relegation in the promotion season, they finished seventh in the table the next season, entitling them to participate in the UEFA Conference League in 2021/22.

First, Union beat Finland's cup winners and third-placed team from the previous season, Kuopion PS, 4-0 and 0-0 in a preliminary elimination round. Then, they were placed in a group with Maccabi Haifa FC, FK Slavia Prague and Feyenoord in a group from which the top two would qualify. The Union team finished ahead of Haifa in third place.

The fifth position in the Bundesliga table at the end of the 2021/22 season allows 1. FC Union Berlin to participate in the UEFA Europa League. In the 2022/23 season, the team finished second in the group stage behind Royale Union St. Gilloise and ahead of Sporting Braga and Malmö FF. In the following elimination match, the Union team beat Ajax FC from Amsterdam over two legs, 0-0 and 3-1, before Union were ultimately knocked out by Royale Union St. Gilloise, having drawn 3-3 at home, but losing 3-0 in the round of 16.

1. FC Union Berlin finished the 2022/23 Bundesliga season in 4th place in the table, which allows the club to participate in the Champions League. The team finished the group stage in fourth place, behind Real Madrid, SSC Napoli and Sporting Braga.