1. FC Union Berlin have signed German international Robin Gosens. The 29-year-old is leaving Internazionale after one and a half years to come to the capital.

An upwardly winding career path

Compared to many of his colleagues, Gosens, who was born in Emmerich am Rhein, had a somewhat different start to his career. Without having gone through a youth training centre, he spent his time as a young player with regional clubs such as Fortuna Elten, 1. FC Bocholt and VfL Rehde.

But his talent was unmissable, and in the summer of 2012 Vitesse Arnhem brought the then 18-year-old into their youth set-up. Although the left-footer did not make any first-team appearances during his 18 months in Arnhem, his performances in the U19 and U21 teams earned him regular invitations to train with the professionals.

It was also the Vitesse coach at the time, Peter Bosz, who envisioned Robin becoming the full-back he is today.

Gosens, who has both German and Dutch citizenship, got more experience on the pitch during an 18-month loan to FC Dordrecht in the Dutch second division. As a regular player, he played a major role in their long-awaited promotion, but was unable to prevent their direct relegation from the Eredivisie.

While Dortrecht returned to the second division, the full-back remained in the top flight and joined Heracles Almelo for the 2015/16 season. In 70 games Gosens showed more and more what he was capable of, scoring twelve goals helping Heracles to sixth place in the league, and tenth place the year later.

...To international player

Still largely unknown in Germany at that time, he ventured abroad again at the age of 23. This time, Serie A beckoned, more precisely to Bergamo’s Atalanta. 26 appearances in the first season were followed by 36, 43 and 44 games in the following years. Especially in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, Gosens was one of the first names on the teamsheet on a left wing. He showed his attacking qualities with 10 goals and eight assists, and 12 goals and eight assists in all competitions respectively.

He was rewarded with his first German international appearance when he played against Spain in September 2020.

These performances for club and country did not go unnoticed by the country’s “big” clubs, and so it was that Gosens moved to Internazionale in January 2022. A loan agreement was later followed by a permanent movehaving established himself in the extended circle of regular players, making 58 appearances in one and a half years.

While he reached the final of the UEFA Champions League with Inter last season, narrowly losing 1-0 to Manchester City, Gosens is now back in European football’s premier club competition. Just in the red and white stripes of the Eisernen.

Three facts about Robin:

Robin founded the "Träumen lohnt sich" foundation, which supports children in particular
In only one of the games in which Robin has scored, 42 in all, has he found himself on the losing team.
At the European Championships in 2021, Robin started in all four games for Germany and was named Man of the Match in the 4-2 win over Portugal
The views on the transfer

"I have always said that it is my dream to play in Germany and the Bundesliga one day,” said a happy Gosens on his move to Berlin. “The last few years at Union have been impressive, and people abroad have noticed that. I felt a lot of appreciation and trust in the talks with the club's officials, so the decision wasn't difficult for me. Now I am looking forward to the new challenge and to an extraordinary and exciting season."

"With Robin, we have been able to sign a player who stands for commitment, mentality and team spirit," said Oliver Ruhnert, director of men's professional football at 1. FC Union Berlin. "We were looking for these qualities and believe that we have gained an important rein forcement for our game with the signing of Robin. On and off the pitch, he should now play a leading role for us."