1.FC Union Berlin is no ordinary football club. The first East Berlin team in the German top-flight union has a poignant past and a fanatical following that has done incredible things to keep it alive. It's a wonder that the club still exists; many of its fans can't believe Munich in the Bundesliga this weekend, given the hardships it has survived.
Saturday's game in Munich will train the spotlight on the union , which won promotion to the premier division for the first time in the club's history after defeating VIB Stuttgart in the relegation play-offs.
The Berlin outfit and has already felled a giant this season- it stunned Borussia Dortmund 3-1 for its first Bundesliga victory in late August - but the prospects of an encore aren't bright.
Fighting chance
Although union did its best in the preseason, stretching a little money a long way, signing 11 new players to give coach urs Fischer a fighting chance of avoiding relegation, it doesn't exist on the same financial planet - and dies want to - as Bayern
What union does have is players with top-flight experience and a spirited defense that, after shipping four goals in the opening game against RB Leipzig, has shown it can cope at this level
"Is there an easy fixture for us in the Bundesliga ?" Wondered coach Fischer before the Dortmund match. it's a familiar feeling for union and it's fans, who see themselves as underdogs their ground.
" Different, non-Conformist, individual" is how union describes on its website - an identity that can be traced to its anti - established roots. Associated Press reported that the club was immensely proud of " it's resistance to the east german regime, in contrast to its fiercest rival, dynamo Berlin, which was Stasi chief Erich Mielke's club".
Strong bond
Given those circumstances, it's no surprise that union and it's no surprise that union it's fans have forged an exceptionally strong bond, a bond that has helped the club stay afloat after Germany unification and saved it from extinction
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