Köpenick enchants the Bundesliga: why the BVB is tearing open a gaping wound at Union

Julian Ryerson transfers from Union Berlin to Borussia Dortmund for five million euros. The Norwegian is set to replace the injured Thomas Meunier and breathe new life into the mentally-hungry club. BVB is crazy about things that inspire the people of Köpenick. They are not alone in this.

In the Bundesliga it is like anywhere else in capitalism. There is always someone who does it well and gets punished for it. Because he can’t keep up with the finances, but he did bring something special to the market. Something competitors crave, something they absolutely want. When that happens, the dreams collapse and the clubs return to the place the system gave them.

Werder Bremen collapsed as the era of midfield icons came to an end following the departure of Mesut Ozil, the end of Schalke Knabenschmidhe’s heyday marked the end of Schalke’s wedding, and Borussia Dortmund has yet to recover from Jurgen Klopp’s departure. And now Dortmunds are trying to enrich themselves with the transfer of Norwegian Julian Ryerson to another club. They not only care about the player, but also the ‘mindset’ that was instilled in the 25-year-old at Union Berlin. This greed is currently the hottest commodity in the Bundesliga market. The BVB is not alone in craving this.

Because Ryerson is not the first player to leave a deep wound by leaving Köpenick. So far, the union has brilliantly succeeded in replacing each departure, filling the wound and emerging stronger from the situation. When disappointed in the transfer market, fans of other clubs are quick to follow on with all their might or, as in the case of new BVB club Ryerson, rarely take players to heart out of sheer fear of the end.

Ryerson’s change excites Al Ittihad fans

“Over the years I have seen so many players come and go. Many of them have understood what it means to be a member of an association. They have shown us the commitment, the will, the feeling of being part of the family and they get the unconditional support that no player advisor in the world can negotiate your contract with.” says Sven König, whose “Wumme sound adjuster” with his selection of songs before games in the Alte Försterei is an essential part of the Union family. Ryerson is now leaving to join football club Borussia from Dortmund, who have been craving a similar atmosphere for years.

The problem: This feeling can’t be bought. It’s something the Irons have worked hard for for many years, it’s part of their DNA and something they haven’t given up yet through all the bumps on the football field. But that is precisely why this resilient club from Berlin’s Köpenick district has been targeted by the rest of the league. The Bundesliga longs for the federation’s DNA. It’s the drug that’s supposed to make the clubs happy. For Dortmund, who have been stuck in an emotional hole for years, as well as for their small local rivals VfL Bochum, who, along with Marc Lettau, brought in assistant Oliver Rohnert, Irons’ transfer chief, this winter.

Schalke 04 were also looking for it, but failed when trying to lure Tim Skarke into Gelsenkirchen’s struggle for survival. They have been reaching for it for years, satisfying their addictions in Hoffenheim (with Grischa Prömel), in Leverkusen (with Robert Andrich, who was also in discussion with the BVB), in Gladbach (where Marvin Friedrich was not happy) and Augsburg (where Rafael Jiekiewicz stays club above the relegation line). But the player change to Westfalenstadion worries Unioner more than anything before. This puts them on the top club map forever. Despite the excellent lap, they still do not count themselves among them until the end of the World Cup, but of course they would like to stay there. Success always awakens the longing for eternal success. This longing cannot be satisfied.

The magic number is 26 in the BVB

Giants Borussia Dortmund have had to painfully experience this in recent years. The transfer policy of club legend Michael Zorc, which was on hold, not only brought the club a lot of admiration for its star prospects, but also the absolutely exorbitant salary costs of recent years. These are decent salaries to trick players into thinking their sporting ambitions are gone. This is usually punished on the field with a drop in performance and outside it with paralyzed expectations of the players, who have repeatedly failed to answer the mental question, which is so important for the Ruhr area.

The list of players who failed due to Dortmund’s ambitions is now full of ham. With, for example, Emre Can, Thorgan Hazard, Donyell Malen and of course Nico Schulz, who has disappeared from the scene, salary giants and dwarfs are contracted to perform at Borsigplatz. A huge task for the new sports director, Sebastian Kehl, who is supposed to preserve the Champions League in the European Champions League on the one hand and relieve them of the burden of crippling salaries on the other hand. It is largely unclear whether it will be successful and whether BVB is willing and able to handle it financially. So are you ready to accept relegation to the second tier of the Europa League for a change that might renew the old foundation that will soon be unsustainable?

But with Ryerson they now had a player who could put BVB on the right track. Not necessarily just because of its performance, but as a signal to embark on new paths. The fact that the Norwegian received the number 26 and thus the number of Lukasz Piszczek, which is still a cult in the BVB, can certainly be understood as exactly this reference. The Pole came from Hertha Berlin in 2010 and no one could have dreamed that he, the trained striker, would mark an era as a right-back.

Ryerson’s Rise at Union Berlin

Too big footsteps for the 25-year-old to follow. The variable-back has already proven he can make a deep impression at the club. His departure from Alte Försterei was accompanied by those insults towards Dortmund that football fans only reserved for very private moments. In a great article, Union fan magazine Sat Textile crime The club is from the capital of Al-Bireh and accused it of destroying the Bundesliga more systematically than Bayern Munich achieved.

While textile crime raged, they turned themselves in to the BVB counterpart on the other side schwatzgelb.de Largely unaware. “Who the hell is Julian Ryerson?” They asked themselves at Bursigplatz, to the dismay of the Berlin fans. Because the Norwegian was everything to them. One of the club’s most iconic figures. The 25-year-old was one of those who helped write the story of rise from the lowlands of the Second Division to a club that has also garnered plenty of attention in Europe – first as a substitute in promotion and then increasingly. Closer to the starting eleven.

In this season, which has been very successful so far, it would not have been possible to imagine it without the Iron Heroes. Because he threw himself and the body of the club onto the field like everyone else. A few seasons passed before this happened. Ryerson has grown with the club and only this season has established himself firmly in the team. Until then, the man behind club legend was Christopher Tremmel.

This season was different: in the match against Bayern Munich, Kingsley Coman brought him to the brink of despair. Whenever the Bayern Munich player thought he had finally found a way past him, Ryerson appeared before him again and ruined his run. The humiliation was so great that at one point the Frenchman dragged the rest of his body off the field. “The defense was good at the end,” the Norwegian said of his performance. “That’s the way it should be.” He made 21 appearances in the first half of the season. Once, in the cup against Heidenheim, he captained the Irons as captain of Alte Försterei. He created forever.

Departure as a turning point?

“He was someone who had all the makings to stay in the Federation for ten years,” says Sebastien Febrig, one of the brains behind the Textile Crimes. “Leaving him hurt mathematically, but the emotional gap hurt even more, because Julian was one of us.” Comet not only chase fever. Fiebrig lists the moments that will remain. Ryerson remembers sitting on a box at a European Cup match in Israel and absorbing the federation’s cheers.

The Norwegian had made it 1-0 in the win over Maccabi Haifa and he is very happy now. “Sometimes a player develops faster than a club. Despite the rapid development of the federation, Julian Ryerson was faster.” It’s an exit that marks a turning point in the Bundesliga. For the first time, Union Berlin was robbed by a really big club. At Alte Försterei, this transmission should not be the beginning of wear. All good will eventually come to an end (unless it’s Bayern Munich). These are the painful lessons of the recent Bundesliga decades. Everything comes and goes in waves. The Ryerson brand move could be the trigger. The union must prevent this. Also, so that the Bundesliga can continue to crave a sense of union.