Club Haberleri

1. FC Union Berlin: Wagner – Wildner, Gericke, Scheel (90. Görsdorf), Bach – Wimmer, Kratz, Heiseler – Krauss (66. Reichenbach), Youssef, Reissner

“Last season, Emre developed into the leading player that we always saw in him. We value his hunger, his physicality, his absolute desire to win every game and that’s not only the case at Borussia Dortmund but in the national team too. Emre is a strong, mature character and possesses a wealth of international experience. He will help us to further develop and stabilise this team. We’re really happy to continue our joint path with Emre,” declared BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl.

Year in Review: Strong home performances, Lainer’s recovery and 100,000 members As we look back on...

FCA travelled to SC Freiburg on the first weekend in October. The Fuggerstädter lost 2-0 there and were made to continue to wait for the first points of the season away from home. SV Darmstadt 98 were the visitors on matchday 7 and the newly-promoted side condemned FCA to their first home defeat of the season (2-1 loss). FCA’s revival came too late and Demirović’s consolation goal wasn’t enough to secure the home side their minimum target of a draw. 

The winner of this tilt will have an edge on winning the Bundesliga crown.

Finn Becker has matured into a Bundesliga player at TSG. In his first six months at Hoffenheim, however, the native of northern-Germany hardly got a chance to play. It was a trying time for the former FC St. Pauli player: “I needed a bit of time to find my feet, I spent my whole life at home before that. But I’m self-critical enough to say that it was down to me. I needed some time to get up to speed.” This ended with the start of 2023, a year in which things went steadily uphill. The midfielder has now played 25 Bundesliga matches and also made an appearance at the U21 European Championships. He is not yet a permanent member of the starting XI, but that is the 23-year-old’s next goal: “I want to measure myself against the best. And in the end, football moves fast. You have to be there in the decisive moments.”

“Union against Ajax, it’s a great draw and and one redolent with that European footballing glory,” said Union’s Director of Professional Football, Oliver Ruhnert. “As the reigning Dutch champions, they are of course an ambitious and top-class opponent who have represented the Eredivisie in Europe for many years. The role of favourites here is of course quite clear, but we are looking forward to these two games enormously, and will be looking to take our chance.”

Boris Rupert reporting from Erfurt

Tuchel revealed that the decision came as complete shock at the time. Much like Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern, Tuchel had not realized that he was on the verge of being sacked until it actually happened. Here’s what he had to say: