The Bundesliga squad of 1. FC Union Berlin have little time to dust themselves down following their brave, but narrow defeat against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening. Because the next challenge awaits Nenad Bjelica’s team tomorrow, Saturday, when they play VfL Bochum 1848. Kick off at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion at is at 15.30.
The lie of the land
Having had to wait until the tenth game of the season for their first win, Thomas Letsch’s team stabilised in the following weeks and have only lost once since mid-November. As a result, the Traditionsverein from the Ruhr region are now in 14th place with 13 points, three points ahead of Union in 15th. If the guests win on Saturday, the sides will swap places due to Union’s superior goal difference.
The opponents
While Bochum played almost continuously in the Bundesliga in the 80s and 90s and were considered “un-relegatable” until this perception changed to that of them being a so-called yo-yo club, flitting between the top two flights. This, however, couldn’t last forever and in 2011 they began a stretch of eleven long years in the second tier. Their long-awaited return to the top tier of German football was finally achieved in the 2020/21 season. Although starting each season among the outsiders, they have been able to ensure their safety with 13th and 14th place finishes.
The recipe for success under coach Letsch, who worked as a sports and maths teacher before his new career, can be described in two words, passion and experience. Bochum have the oldest team in the Bundesliga (average age of players 28.2), have won the most headers so far (379) and are extremely strong in duels (second place with 1,418 won). However, VfL’s players have also picked up the most yellow cards (42) and have the worst passing rate in the top flight with 74.8%.
The reunion
Midfielder Janik Haberer played for Bochum in the 2015/16 season, making 33 appearances in the 2. Liga, scoring two goals. Ex-Union player Keven Schlotterbeck (2019-2020), who is actually under contract with SC Freiburg, has also been wearing the VfL shirt on loan since January 2023. In addition, Marc Lettau, who served as assistant to the managing director of professional football at Union between May 2018 and December 2022, now works as sports director in Bochum.
The Ruhrstadion is also a special place for Union legend Torsten Mattuschka. In August 2014, the former midfielder and current club ambassador played his last competitive match for Union there. The match on matchday three of the 14/15 second division season ended 1-1.
The head to head
Union have won 13 of their 25 matches. Union last won away in Bochum in December 2021, when Max Kruse scored the golden goal of the day in a 1-0 win.
The personnel
Danilho Doekhi and Robin Gosens will not be available on Saturday afternoon due to injury.
The coaches’ views ahead of the game
“Every game is important, but when you’re playing against a direct rival, it’s even more so,” said Union’s head coach, nenad Bjelica during his press conference on Friday afternoon. “We’ll have to adapt to Bochum’s style of play tomorrow in order to take something away with us. If we do that, we have a good chance of winning. VfL are an aggressive opponent, play with a lot of pressing and always have their fans behind them. We have to adapt to that.”
“I last saw Union in the Champions League against Real Madrid,” said his opposite number, Thomas Letsch, meanwhile. “That alone says a lot. The quality at Union is high. We’re currently ahead of them in the table and that’s what we want to be after the next matchday.”
Service information
Around 1,900 Union fans will support their team in Bochum, tickets for the guest block are no longer available. Important information about visiting the stadium in Bochum can be found here (German).
The match will be broadcast live on Sky, and there will also be an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and at rbb24.de. As usual, Union will also provide information about the match in the club’s own live ticker as well as in English and Spanish on twitter.