On Sunday, 29 September 2024, the women’s team of 1. FC Union Berlin will face FC Bayern München II in the 5th matchday of the 2nd Bundesliga. Kick off at the An der Alten Försterei stadium is at 14:00.
The lie of the land
FC Bayern II only played their first 2. Liga game of the season last Sunday. Due to the U20 World Cup in Colombia, which took place from August to September, the first three games for the U23 team were postponed. They finally kicked off last weekend with the game against Hamburger SV, which they lost 1-0.
Union, meanwhile, were securing their third consecutive competitive win, against SG 99 Andernach. In a hard-fought game, Union won 2-0 thanks to goals from Pia Metzker and Korina Janež. After six competitive games, the team from Köpenick remain unbeaten.
The opponents
Bayern II have been playing in the 2. Bundesliga without interruption since 2009. After Eintracht Frankfurt II, who played under the name 1. FFC Frankfurt II from 2004 until the merger in 2020, the Munich team are thus the longest-serving team in the league. During this time, the U23 team have also celebrated some notable successes: they were runners-up in 2015 and 2018, before going on to win the championship in 2019. However, the club has always remained in the second division due to the rule that second teams are not allowed to be promoted to the Bundesliga. In the 2020/21 season, the club once again finished as runners-up.
Last season, however, Bayern finished with the worst result in their 15-year history in the second flight. With only 23 points from 26 games, they finished in 11th place, the last spot above relegation. Consequently, there was a change of coach in the summer. Frenchman Jerome Reisacher, who had previously spent five years as assistant coach of the first women’s team and celebrated three championship titles, took over from Clara Schöne, who remained with the team as assistant coach.
At 18.6 years old, the Bayern team are the youngest in the league, and three of their players were in a German national squad at the U20 World Cup in Colombia that were knocked out in the quarter-finals by the USA. Among them was Sarah Ernst, who was also their top scorer last season. The 20-year-old midfielder scored seven goals, and also found the net in Colombia.
The personnel
On Sunday, Union head coach Ailien Poese will have to do without Maria Cristina Lange, Katja Orschmann and Pia Metzker.
The coaches’ views ahead of the match
‘Bayern II have a number of junior national team players, are very strong in terms of footballing ability and have a clear plan of how they want to play football,” said Union’s head coach, Ailien Poese during her press conference on Thursday afternoon. “They may still be a bit inexperienced, but play with a good level of aggression. They have already shown in their opening game against HSV that they have improved significantly during a game.”
FC Bayern München II head coach Jerome Reisacher said, meanwhile: “We have to show against Union that we have learned from our mistakes against Hamburg. It’s about delivering a good performance and improving individually and as a team. It will certainly be a special game for the team to be able to play in front of such a large crowd.’
Service information
The Stadion An der Alten Försterei will open its gates at 12:30. Tickets for the game are available for purchase at all Union Zeughaus stores and online. There will also be box offices in ticket areas 1 and 2 on match day.
The game will be broadcast live on AFTV+. There will be a live ticker via the club, as well as updates in English and Spanish on Twitter.