In May 2019, 1. FC Union Berlin managed to advance to the Bundesliga for the first time in the soccer club’s history. For the first time in a decade, a club with an East German background was back in the highest German league. More intimately than any journalist in Germany before him, Christoph Biermann followed this absolute outsider team through a season – which ended up taking a very unusual turn when the coronavirus crisis hit.
He took part in team meetings, travelled with the team to away games and training camps, and had to sing in front of the players. Biermann celebrated sensational victories with the team in the locker room and experienced not only the excitement of match days, but also the dead time after games, hardships of competition, and misery of injuries. This gave him profound insight into the lives of professional soccer players today and into how the coaching team succeeded in leading the team to sensational victories despite severe financial disadvantages. But Biermann also travelled with fans, experiencing a bond between the club, team, and its supporters that is rare in professional soccer today. The coronavirus pandemic forced Union Berlin to confront completely new challenges, and Christoph Biermann witnessed first hand in board meetings how the club is run and how it tackled the crisis. And, through all of this, he discovered a model of success influenced considerably by East German history. A work of reporting that not only presents an extraordinary club, but also soccer as it is today – in these unusual times.
“[Biermann’s] well-written and thoughtful reporting takes us on a tour of some of Europe’s most innovative football thinkers.“ - Financial Times on “Football Hackers”
