Hastily Written Summer Recap

In order to recap Union's 2018 summer business, you need to examine it in the context of the 2017/18 season and, to be honest, to examine last season, you need to examine it in the context of the season before it. So really, we need to start with the spring of 2017.

When Union went second on March 3, their supporters section unfurled a banner that read “Scheiße, wir steigen auf” or “Shit, we're going up” (the club has never played in Germany's top flight.) As the calendar turned to April, Union had won six straight and were unbeaten in nine. They had gone top of the 2. Bundesliga table after a home win over Nürnberg on matchday 25, going into the March international break.

Their first match back from the break was away to Hannover, who sat fourth at the time. Niclas Füllkrug scored in the 54th minute, then a Damir Kreilach own goal in the 67th gave Hannover a 2-0 win and Union fell to third.

Four days later in midweek, Union lost 1-0 at home to 15th place Erzebirge Aue.

After sitting top on April 1, Union won only three of their final nine matches and finished fourth. It was still their best season since reunification. Oh, but what might have been...

As a result, Union went through their summer 2017 business reluctant to sell any of their pieces so they could make a push for promotion in what turned out to be a wide-open 2. Bundesliga in 2017/18. They retained Toni Leistner and Sebastian Polter and Steven Skrzybski. They brought in Akaki Gogia from Dresden, Marcel Hartel from Köln, Grischa Prömel from relegated Karlsruher, and Marc Torrejón from Freiburg. The club looked poised to challenge for promotion again.

Then, they couldn't hold a lead. By the start of November, Union had already dropped nine points from winning positions and, after conceding an 87th minute equalizer at Duisburg to draw 1-1, sat fourth in the table. That midweek, center back Fabian Schönheim was injured in training; he needed knee surgery and his season was over. Union snatched a dramatic late win at home against St. Pauli to head into the November international break in third place.

Then, not only could they not hold a lead, but they couldn't win a game either. In fact, they didn't win again until February, a string of eight matches winless, including five losses and three draws. It cost Jens Keller his job as manager just three games into that run, but caretaker André Hofschneider couldn't stop the bleeding either.

Yet, when Union beat top of the table Düsseldorf at Alte Försterei to end the winless run, things still looked like they might be okay; they had climbed back in the table from tenth to eighth and were still in striking distance of third and the promotion playoff. But, on a snowy Friday night at last place Kaiserslautern the first weekend in March, Sebastian Polter was injured in warm-ups, his season declared over with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Still, Union couldn't win games, settling for draws at home against Aue, Jahn Regensburg, and Duisburg. They lost on the road to relegation threatened Greuther Fürth and suddenly it looked like they themselves were in danger of relegation. A gutsy win with 10-men at St. Pauli made things seem safer, but a home draw with Heidenheim and a drubbing at Darmstadt set off alarm bells. Suddenly the relegation threat was real, until a home win over Bochum in the season's penultimate weekend finally secured Klassenerhalt for the side whose promotion dreams felt so long ago. An academic road win at Dresden in the season's final week saw Union secure an eighth place finish, just one point out of fourth.

So, that brings us to this summer of moderate upheaval. Hofschneider was not retained as manager, with Union hiring Urs Fischer, previously of Basel, a man with Champions and Europa League experience.

But, before this even happened, the departures list grew quickly. Goalkeeper Daniel Mesenhöler, midfielders Stephen Fürstner and Dennis Daube, and defender Toni Leistner were all allowed to depart on free transfers with their contracts expired. Steven Skrzybski was sold for 3.5 million Euros to Schalke, Kristian Pedersen made a move to Birmingham City for 2.5 million. Philipp Hosiner was sold back to his native Austria and Sturm Graz more recently, as well.

But, with Fischer in, Union started making some clever moves to rebuild and challenge for promotion once more. Sebastian Andersson, who scored 12 goals for relegated Kaiserslautern last season, was brought in to sure up the offense, especially while Polter continues to recover. Manuel Schmiedebach was brought into the midfield on loan from Hannover. Joshua Mees was brought in from Hoffenheim to replace Skrzybski directly; he spent last year on loan at Regensburg. Rafal Gikiewicz has come in from Freiburg to challenge Jakob Busk in goal and to replace the departed Mesenhöler. Florian Hübner was purchased from Hannover to play center back. Leistner's been replaced by Ken Reichel, former captain of relegated Braunschweig, as well as Christopher Lenz, who is returning from a loan spell at Holstein Kiel.