On Saturday, 17 August, the Bundesliga team of 1. FC Union Berlin will face the Regionalliga’s Greifswalder FC in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Kick-off in the Volksstadion – in what will be Union’s first competitive match of the season – is at 15:30.
The lie of the land
The season has long started for a Greifswald side who have already played three Regionalliga Nordost fixtures in 2024/25, losing 1-0 to Hertha BSC U23s, then winning 2-0 against FSV Zwickau before suffering another 3-1 defeat, this time against FC Carl Zeiss Jena.
Union, meanwhile, have played five friendlies this summer: two wins, two draws and one defeat. In the last game before the season starts proper, last Friday evening, they drew 1-1 with Real Sociedad at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
The opponents
Greifswald have a long footballing history that dates back to 1912, but one that includes a number of bankruptcies and reorganisations. They started when a football team was set up and founded by the Greifswald Gymnastics Association before, in 1926, the four football clubs SV Greif Greifswald, Akademischer SC Greifswald, VfB Greifswald and SC Preußen Greifswald merged to form Greifswalder SC von 1912 e.V.
This fusion was inevitably dissolved at the end of the Second World War in 1946. BSG Einheit Greifswald and BSG KKW Greifswald were then formed, from which the traditional club Greifswalder SC was revived in 1990. The club filed for insolvency in 2002 and disbanded in 2003. The following year, the multi-divisional club Greifswalder SV 04 was founded, which was promoted to the Oberliga Nordost in the 2006/07 season under the former Hansa Rostock Bundesliga coach Andreas Zachhuber.
After relegation to the Verbandsliga in 2009/2010, the club was given its current name on 1 July 2015, Greifswalder FC. In the 2017/18 season, the club was promoted back to the Oberliga under coach Roland Kroos, whose sons Toni and Felix started their careers at GFC.
Greifswalder FC’s last appearance in the DFB Pokal was in 2021, when the team lost 4-2 to FC Augsburg. The following year, they narrowly missed out on another appearance, though shortly afterwards they were promoted to the Regionalliga Nordost, the fourth-flight. Last year, the team finished second in the league, just three points behind Energie Cottbus.
The personnel
Union head coach Bo Svensson will still be without Kevin Volland, who is currently in rehabilitation, as well as Josip Juranović and Yannic Stein, who are both out injured.
The reunions
Greifswald players Mike Eglseder, Ali Abu-Alfa and Soufian Benyamina are no strangers to 1. FC Union Berlin, with all three having gained experience in youth teams at the club. Soufian’s brother, Karim, still holds the record as the most successful striker in Union’s history with 85 goals in 207 competitive matches.
The coaches’ views ahead of the game
‘It will be a typical cup battle in which we won’t underestimate Greifswald,” said a cautiously confident Union head coach, Bo Svensson. “They have already played three league games and have shown their qualities, particularly in terms of set pieces and switching of play. However, the focus is on our performance. We’ve had a long, intensive preparation period, established many processes and worked on our athleticism and playing with the ball, particularly. The last game against Real Sociedad gave us the confidence that we are ready for our first competitive match.’
Lars Fuchs, head coach of GFC, is looking forward to the match, meanwhile. ‘It’s a cool draw for the city and for the area. Union are a very strong team who go all out and play very aggressive football. In the end, a lot has to come together for us to have any chance of progressing.’
Service information
The Volksstadion is completely sold out, and there will be no last chance to buy tickets on site. The stadium opens two and a half hours before kick-off and around 1,500 Union fans are expected in the away end.
Union fans travelling by train are advised to get off at Greifswald Süd station. From there it is about a 30-minute walk to the stadium. The Nexö car park ‘Am Theater’ or ‘An der Mühle’ in Eldena are recommended as parking spaces for visiting fans. Further information can be found here (German).
The match will be broadcast live on Sky and on the rbb audio stream. As usual, Union will also provide information about the match via the club’s own live ticker, as well as in English and Spanish on Twitter.