Bundesliga: Union Berlin's long road to the top flight

The celebrations at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei in the German capital's Köpenick district went late into Monday night after Union Berlin played to a scoreless draw at home to Stuttgart in the second leg of the playoff - securing promotion to the Bundesliga.

It's hard to imagine any other club in Germany's top flight letting the supporters invade the pitch to celebrate after a great victory, but Union are a club with a difference. Traveling supporters of other Bundesliga clubs can look forward to a unique experience when they visit the Stadion an der Alten Försterei in the 2019-20 season.

The man who engineered Union's promotion is Urs Fischer, the club's seventh coach in five seasons. After spending his entire playing and coaching career in his native Switzerland, he took over in Köpenick in 2018. At fulltime against Stuttgart, he was drenched in beer by his ecstatic colleagues.

In the first leg in Stuttgart last Thursday, Union Berlin twice came from behind to earn a well-deserved 2-2 draw. Here, Suleiman Abdullahi celebrates the first equalizer with his teammates, just one minute after Stuttgart had taken the lead. The two away goals proved decisive when the return leg in Berlin ended goalless.

Union Berlin's ultras produced an impressive choreography ahead of kick-off in the second leg, featuring two hands holding a surgically-removed heart with the message: "Now the waiting is over, take your heart in your hand." After a decade in the second division, the club has finally made it to the top flight.

Two seaons ago, Union Berlin unexpectedly found themselves top of the league with 10 games to play. With the fans suddenly realizing that promotion was a distinct possibility, doubts emerged as to whether the traditionally-minded club was even ready for the top flight. In the end, they needn't have worried as Union slipped to fourth by the end of the campaign.

German football fans are well known for their active engagement in their clubs, but none more so than at Union Berlin. In the summer of 2008, building work was required at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei to fulfill licensing requirements. With the club struggling financially, supporters volunteered over 140,000 man hours to rebuild the terraces themselves.

"Merry Christmas!" Every year in December, Union Berlin invite fans and local residents to their stadium to sing Christmas carols. As temperatures in the capital plunge, fans keep warm with hats, scarves, candles and, of course, a couple of beers.

In 2001, third-division Union reached the final of the German Cup after sensationally knocking out giants such as Bochum and Borussia Mönchengladbach en route. But the fairy tale came to an end in the Olympic Stadium, where Union were beaten 2-0 by Bundesliga side Schalke. But the journey didn't end there ...

With Schalke having already qualified for the Champions League via the Bundesliga, an extra UEFA Cup spot was freed up for German clubs. And so, as losing cup finalists, Union Berlin became the first – and, so far, only – third-division side to qualify for European competition. Having also been promoted that season, they competed as a second-division club and reached the second round.

Founded in their current form in 1966, Union were one of 11 state-supported "Fussballclubs" in the East German top flight, the Oberliga. Based in the working-class suburb of Köpenick, they represented an alternative to hated city rivals Berliner FC Dynamo, the 10-time GDR champions favored by Stasi boss Erich Mielke. In September 1986, BFC hammered Union 8-1 (pictured above).