On Saturday, 10 August 2024, the women's team of 1. FC Union Berlin will play the final game of their pre-season preparations. One and a half weeks before the DFB Pokal opener, they will travel to Bundesliga club SGS Essen. Kick-off at the Helmut-Rahn-Sportanlage is at 14:00.

The opponents

SGS Essen have been a permanent fixture in the Bundesliga since 2004, making a name for themselves primarily through their excellent promotion of young talent. The current German Olympic squad includes Stina Johannes, Nicole Anyomi and Lea Schüller, three players who either came through the SGS youth ranks or took their first steps in professional football there. They are joined by midfielder Lena Oberdorf, who played for Essen from 2018 to 2020 but missed the Games due to a knee injury. Linda Dallmann and Jana Feldkamp - part of the extended national team squad - also come from the Essen talent factory. Thanks to the training and transfer of numerous talented players, SGS are one of the few clubs to be able to compete successfully in the Bundesliga without the backing of a strong men's club.

Last season, were 4th , their best Bundesliga finish since they finished in the same position in the 2018/19 season. The team in Purple & White also reached the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal, having been in the 2014 and 2020 finals. Markus Högner has been on the sidelines as head coach for five years, having previously worked in Essen from 2010 to 2016.

In midfielder Katharina Piljic, who moved to Leverkusen, SGS had to let go of another young talent this summer. However, the club also strengthened its squad with talented players such as 17-year-old Leonie Köpp from Borussia Mönchengladbach and the 18-year-old Paulina Plattner from Eintracht Frankfurt II, both of whom are already youth internationals. The average age of the Essen team is around 22. Meanwhile, experienced players such as record appearance holder Jacqueline Meißner (30) and Lena Ostermeier (27) also come from their own youth ranks.

SGS Essen began their pre-season in mid-June and have played four games so far, the victories against Dutch representatives AZ Alkmaar (2-1), PEC Zwolle (3-2) and PSV Eindhoven (5-1), as well as last weekend's 4-0 win over newly promoted Bundesliga side VfL Bochum. After the game against Union, two more, against FC Twente and FC Utrecht, are scheduled before the Bundesliga season begins on 1 September with a home game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

The reunion

New signing Eleni Markou laced up her boots for SGS Essen in the 2020/21 season, scoring two goals in 19 Bundesliga appearances. A year earlier, Maria Cristina Lange had moved to Essen, where she also played until 2021, scoring once in 23 Bundesliga matches.

The Personnel

Head coach Ailien Poese will be without Maria Cristina Lange, Celine Frank and Katja Orschmann on Saturday.

The coach's view ahead of the match

"We're looking forward to facing another top-class opponent in our final friendly, one who will demand everything from us," said Union head coach, Ailien Poese, ahead of Saturday's game. "Our focus is on working through what we learnt from the game against Werder Bremen in order to take another step forward in defence and then start the training week for the DFB Pokal." 

Service information

Kick off is at 14:00 at the Helmut-Rahn-Sportanlage in Essen. Admission is free.