Next Sunday, 13.08.2023, the women's team of 1. FC Union Berlin have their last pre-season friendly. One week before the Regionalliga Nordost kicks off with a derby against Hertha BSC, Union will play against Bundesliga side SV Werder Bremen. Kick off at the A-Platz in Ostereistedt is at 14:00

The opponents  

Bremen, who were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2015, have been playing in the top flight since 2020. After finishing 9th in their first two years, head coach Thomas Horsch's team had their best season in Germany's top flight last season, finishing in 8th place. Horsch has been on the touchlines for Werder since April 2021, and has been able to add a certain stability to a club which oscillated between first and second divisions, in the Bundesliga over the past couple of seasons. 

Bremen have been particularly active during this closed season and have already signed a number of well-known players on the transfer market. Juliane Wirtz, sister of national player Florian, is a talented midfielder who arrived from Bayer 04 Leverkusen who, at the age of 21, has already played 90 Bundesliga games. Attacker Sophie Weidauer from relegated 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam also promises a lot of quality and experience. Their regular keeper, Anneke Borbe, meanwhile, has left the club for VfL Wolfsburg. The Swiss national keeper Livia Peng will be between the posts in her place. 

While the women professionals from Köpenick are approaching the start of the season - Sunday's match will be their last action before it starts in earnest - SV Werder Bremen are still in the middle of their pre-season preparations. Indeed, they have only been back in training since the end of July and have played just two friendlies so far, beating third-division team SV Henstedt-Ulzburg 1-0 and the 2. Liga’s Borussia Mönchengladbach, 4-2. Their Bundesliga opener against 1. FC Nürnberg will not take place until mid-September.

Happy memories of the last meeting

Last season, too, saw the sides meet  as Union’s final test before the season opener. Then, Ailien Poese's team put up a great fight in Elsdorf, Lower Saxony, drawing 0-0 draw against a side who had dispatched Union 11-1 on Women's Football Day 2022, just three and a half months earlier.