# 2015–16 1. FC Union Berlin season

The 2015–16 1. FC Union Berlin season was the 50th season in the football club's history. For the 6th consecutive season, Union Berlin played in the 2. Bundesliga, where they finished 6th. They also participated in this season's edition of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal, where they were eliminated in the first round by Viktoria Köln. The season covers a period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

## Season summary

Union started the season poorly, picking up just four points from their first five games, and as a result, manager Norbert Düwel was sacked on 31 August 2015. Sascha Lewandowski was appointed as his replacement on 2 September 2015, and the club saw a gradual improvement in results, with the club in 13th place with 23 points from 19 games at the time of the winter break. However, due to health problems, Lewandowski stepped down as manager in March 2016, with André Hofschneider appointed as his replacement on a temporary basis. Union finished the season in 6th place on 49 points.

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2015 | LW | Maximilian Thiel | 1. FC Köln | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2015 | LM | Kenny Prince Redondo | SpVgg Unterhaching | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Collin Quaner | VfR Aalen | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | RM | Adrian Nikçi | 1. FC Nürnberg | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | RB | Benjamin Kessel | Eintracht Braunschweig | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | RM | Raffael Korte | Eintracht Braunschweig | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | DM | Stephan Fürstner | SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Free |
| 1 July 2015 | CM | Dennis Daube | FC St. Pauli | Free |
| 2 July 2015 | CB | Denis Prychynenko | CSKA Sofia | Free |
| 6 July 2015 | CF | Bobby Wood | TSV 1860 Munich | Undisclosed |
| 5 January 2016 | CB | Emanuel Pogatetz | Columbus Crew | Free |
| 15 January 2016 | GK | Jakob Busk | F.C. Copenhagen | Undisclosed |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 30 June 2015 | CB | Mario Eggimann | Retired | Retired |
| 30 June 2015 | DM | David Hollwitz | Viktoria Berlin | Released |
| 30 June 2015 | CM | Björn Jopek | Arminia Bielefeld | Released |
| 30 June 2015 | RB | Björn Kopplin | Preußen Münster | Released |
| 30 June 2015 | RM | Ahmed Waseem Razeek | 1. FC Magdeburg | Released |
| 11 August 2015 | CB | Oliver Oschkenat | Hamburger SV | Released |
| 1 January 2016 | CF | Bajram Nebihi | Stuttgarter Kickers | Released |
| 12 January 2016 | CB | Denis Prychynenko | R.W.S. Bruxelles | Released |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until | Ref. |
| 28 January 2016 | CM | Felix Kroos | SV Werder Bremen | 30 June 2016 | |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until | Ref. |
| 17 July 2015 | CF | Nils Stettin | Viktoria Berlin | 30 June 2016 | |

## Friendly matches

Pre-season match details :
| Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 23 June 2015 | 18:00 | SV Falkensee-Finkenkrug | Away | 8–1 | Brandy 2', Korte 4', Parensen 10', Skrzybski 14', 83', Kreilach 33', Thiel 37', Daube 81' | 2,000 |
| 27 June 2015 | 17:00 | MSV Neuruppin | Away | 10–1 | Schönheim 12', Nebihi 17', Quaner 29', 52', Quiring 64', Kreilach 76', Brandy 77', 83', 90', Skrzybski 86' | 1,200 |
| 4 July 2015 | 17:30 | Austria Klagenfurt | Away | 1–2 | Kreilach 63' | 800 |
| 9 July 2015 | 18:00 | FK Austria Wien | | 0–1 | | 600 |
| 13 July 2015 | 18:30 | Hallescher FC | Away | 3–0 | Kessel 15', Schönheim 53', Quaner 60' | 2,582 |
| 15 July 2015 | 18:30 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | Home | 2–0 | Quaner 25', Skrzybski 53' | 3,180 |
| 18 July 2015 | 14:00 | Crystal Palace | Home | 2–0 | Skrzybski 57', 89' | 8,628 |
| 1 September 2015 | 18:00 | SV Lichtenberg 47 | Away | 5–0 | Nikçi 54', Brandy 68', Korte 83', 86', Nebihi 90' | 1,100 |
| 2 September 2015 | 19:00 | SV Babelsberg 03 | Away | 4–1 | Korte 17', Quaner 22', 25', Brandy 46' | 2,006 |
| 8 October 2015 | 19:30 | FC Fredericia | Home | 2–0 | Quiring 60', Prychynenko 70' | 318 |
| 13 January 2016 | 12:00 | Villarreal CF B | Home | 0–1 | | 350 |
| 17 January 2016 | 11:00 | Videoton | Home | 0–1 | | 250 |
| 17 January 2016 | 15:00 | Spain XI | Home | 4–0 | Skrzybski 20', Kahraman 67', Köhler 76', Redondo 86' | 270 |
| 24 January 2016 | 17:00 | Borussia Dortmund | Home | 1–3 | Skrzybski 20' | 22,012 |
| 27 January 2016 | 14:00 | SV Babelsberg 03 | Home | 3–1 | Quaner 43', 86', Korte 48' | 350 |
| 30 January 2016 | 17:00 | Austria Salzburg | Home | 5–0 | Skrzybski 4', Kroos 5', Wood 8', 51', Kreilach 47' | 9,601 |
| 24 March 2016 | 18:30 | Hertha Zehlendorf | Away | 5–2 | Collin Quaner 41', Redondo 64', 74', Kreilach 66', Brandy 82' | 500 |
| 16 May 2016 | 13:30 | Preussen Eberswalde | Away | 4–1 | Haas 33', 43', Quaner 36', Koch 80' | 1,187 |
| 19 May 2016 | 18:30 | VSG Altglienicke | Away | 0–4 | | 709 |
| 21 May 2016 | 17:00 | Hansa Rostock | Away | 3–1 | Skrzybski 20', Quiring 67', 86' | 8,500 |

## Competitions
### 2. Bundesliga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 4 | FC St. Pauli | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 53 |
| 5 | VfL Bochum | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 51 |
| 6 | Union Berlin | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 49 |
| 7 | Karlsruher SC | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 47 |
| 8 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 46 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source:

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | D | D | D | W | L | L | W | L | D | L | W | D | D | D | L | W | W | D | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | D | W | W | L | W | L | W |
| Position | 7 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 |

#### Matches

2. Bundesliga match details :
| Match | Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Referee |
| 1 | 26 July 2015 | 15:30 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | Home | 1–1 | Kessel 5' | 20,786 | Perl |
| 2 | 2 August 2015 | 15:30 | SV Sandhausen | Away | 3–4 | Brandy 41', Kreilach 55', 71' | 4,753 | Siewer |
| 3 | 16 August 2015 | 13:30 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Home | 2–2 | Thiel 67', Wood 72' | 20,149 | Kempter |
| 4 | 23 August 2015 | 13:30 | 1860 Munich | Away | 0–0 | | 20,300 | Schriever |
| 5 | 28 August 2015 | 18:30 | RB Leipzig | Home | 1–1 | Brandy 25' | 21,283 | Ittrich |
| 6 | 12 September 2015 | 13:00 | Karlsruher SC | Away | 3–0 | Kreilach 12', Wood 49', Quaner 77' | 14,497 | Thomsen |
| 7 | 20 September 2015 | 13:30 | Greuther Fürth | Home | 1–2 | Skrzybski 17' | 19,107 | Jablonski |
| 8 | 23 September 2015 | 17:30 | FSV Frankfurt | Away | 2–3 | Wood 39', Kessel 76' | 5,011 | Siewer |
| 9 | 26 September 2015 | 13:00 | MSV Duisburg | Home | 3–2 | Wood 4', Brandy 31', Kreilach 45+1' | 18,425 | Storks |
| 10 | 4 October 2015 | 13:30 | Eintracht Braunschweig | Away | 1–2 | Kessel 27' (pen.) | 22,590 | Stegemann |
| 11 | 17 October 2015 | 13:00 | FC St. Pauli | Home | 3–3 | Zejnullahu 42', Thiel 45', Kessel 90+4' | 22,012 | Schröder |
| 12 | 24 October 2015 | 13:00 | Paderborn 07 | Home | 0–2 | | 18,521 | Stieler |
| 13 | 31 October 2015 | 13:00 | 1. FC Heidenheim | Away | 2–0 | Kreilach 27', Skrzybski 59' | 12,100 | Storks |
| 14 | 7 November 2015 | 13:00 | 1. FC Nürnberg | Home | 3–3 | Wood 21', Skrzybski 54', Punčec 58' | 21,552 | Kampka |
| 15 | 20 November 2015 | 18:30 | VfL Bochum | Away | 1–1 | Kreilach 37' | 13,590 | Cortus |
| 16 | 28 November 2015 | 13:00 | Arminia Bielefeld | Home | 1–1 | Kessel 32' | 20,314 | Jablonski |
| 17 | 5 December 2015 | 13:00 | SC Freiburg | Away | 0–3 | | 24,000 | Perl |
| 18 | 12 December 2015 | 13:00 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | Away | 3–0 | Wood 13', 69', Schmitz 86' (o.g.) | 23,461 | Brych |
| 19 | 18 December 2015 | 18:30 | SV Sandhausen | Home | 1–0 | Daube 76' | 18,026 | Willenborg |
| 20 | 5 February 2016 | 18:30 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Away | 2–2 | Schönheim 76', Wood 86' | 23,829 | Petersen |
| 21 | 14 February 2016 | 13:30 | 1860 Munich | Home | 3–0 | Kroos 6', Wood 80', Kreilach 88' | 18,332 | Winkmann |
| 22 | 19 February 2016 | 18:30 | RB Leipzig | Away | 0–3 | | 30,964 | Brych |
| 23 | 26 February 2016 | 18:30 | Karlsruher SC | Home | 2–1 | Kroos 45+1', Wood 60' | 18,952 | Osmers |
| 24 | 1 March 2016 | 17:30 | Greuther Fürth | Away | 0–2 | | 7,960 | Schmidt |
| 25 | 5 March 2016 | 13:00 | FSV Frankfurt | Home | 4–0 | Kreilach 23', Wood 29' (pen.), 34', Trimmel 90+2' | 18,173 | Dietz |
| 26 | 12 March 2016 | 13:00 | MSV Duisburg | Away | 1–2 | Wood 61' (pen.) | 12,702 | Heft |
| 27 | 18 March 2016 | 18:30 | Eintracht Braunschweig | Home | 3–1 | Wood 58', Kreilach 69', 84' | 19,026 | Rohde |
| 28 | 1 April 2016 | 18:30 | FC St. Pauli | Away | 0–0 | | 29,546 | Steinhaus |
| 29 | 8 April 2016 | 18:30 | Paderborn 07 | Away | 4–0 | Wood 7', 13', Kreilach 21', Leistner 36' | 9,137 | Dietz |
| 30 | 17 April 2016 | 13:30 | 1. FC Heidenheim | Home | 1–0 | Wood 27' | 19,634 | Heft |
| 31 | 23 April 2016 | 13:00 | 1. FC Nürnberg | Away | 2–6 | Nikçi 3', Kreilach 23' | 30,384 | Thomsen |
| 32 | 29 April 2016 | 18:30 | VfL Bochum | Home | 1–0 | Kessel 79' | 20,036 | Petersen |
| 33 | 8 May 2016 | 15:30 | Arminia Bielefeld | Away | 0–2 | | 19,943 | Steinhaus |
| 34 | 15 May 2016 | 15:30 | SC Freiburg | Home | 2–1 | Nikçi 66', Quiring 78' | 22,012 | Dingert |

### DFB-Pokal

DFB-Pokal match details :
| Round | Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Referee | Ref. |
| First round | 8 August 2015 | 15:30 | Viktoria Köln | Away | 1–2 | Quaner 41' | 4,540 | Timo Gerach | |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | 2. Bundesliga | 2. Bundesliga | DFB-Pokal | DFB-Pokal |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | GER | Daniel Haas | 21 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | GER | Christopher Quiring | 17 | 1 | 6+11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | AUT | Emanuel Pogatetz | 11 | 0 | 9+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | CRO | Roberto Punčec | 23 | 1 | 19+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | GER | Benjamin Kessel | 30 | 6 | 28+1 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | GER | Benjamin Köhler | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | GER | Stephan Fürstner | 22 | 0 | 14+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | GER | Sören Brandy | 31 | 3 | 23+7 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | GER | Dennis Daube | 23 | 1 | 17+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | GER | Maximilian Thiel | 16 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | DEN | Jakob Busk | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | GER | Raffael Korte | 9 | 0 | 4+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | SUI | Adrian Nikçi | 9 | 2 | 4+5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | USA | Bobby Wood | 32 | 17 | 30+1 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | GER | Kenny Prince Redondo | 20 | 0 | 5+14 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | CRO | Damir Kreilach | 33 | 12 | 32 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | GER | Steve Kroll | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | GER | Collin Quaner | 16 | 2 | 3+12 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | MF | GER | Felix Kroos | 12 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | GER | Steven Skrzybski | 22 | 3 | 16+5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | GER | Eroll Zejnullahu | 26 | 1 | 23+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | AUT | Christopher Trimmel | 27 | 1 | 20+6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | GER | Michael Parensen | 30 | 0 | 28+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | MAR | Mohamed Amsif | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | GER | Cihan Kahraman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | GER | Fabian Schönheim | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | TUR | Leonard Koch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | GER | Toni Leistner | 26 | 1 | 24+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | GER | Lukas Lämmel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: