Scheisse! We're Going Up!: The Unexpected Rise of Berlin's Rebel Football Club

A very good and informative read about 1 FC Union Berlin, the most successful former East German soccer club in the Bundesliga since the reunification, by Kit Holden. During the years of the German Democratic Republic, the GDR soccer league was heavily dominated by BFC Dynamo Berlin, the Stasi (State Security) sponsored club. Due to its top brass backing, BFC Dynamo won many championships as they were able to recruit top players and influence the decisions of officials in more ways than one. Union Berlin was the underdog team of the city.After the unification of the two Germanys in 1989/1990, clubs from the former East Germany have struggled and failed to establish a footing in the Bundesliga. However, this has changed since 2019 when Union Berlin qualified for the first time, a club historically based out of East Berlin. The story of Eisern Union (Iron Union, their nickname) is one of the ultimate underdog with a very strong and supportive fan culture and membership. Union Berlin has struggled financially over the years. To assist their team, fans donated blood, raised funds, and fan volunteers renovated the club's stadium to make it fit for big league games.And look at the team now... They managed to qualify for the Europa League and are at present in third place and well positioned to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time next year. If you are looking for a true underdog to possibly even challenge FC Bayern, look no further. Eisern Union is a truly unique franchise with a unique, loyal and passionate following.

Simply one of the best non fiction books I've ever read. As someone who is very new to the world of soccer, I loved learning about the teams history through the lens of the fans. Instead of a stale retelling of the past, it brought the community aspect through and showed the personality amongst the fans. Bought several copies to give out to my friends who are soccer fans

Engaging book about the story and heart of this successful East German club. Really gets to the heart of the culture and vision of the club. Hard to put down! Well done.

This book looks excellent and I am going to enjoy it very much!

A brilliant read

Arrived early and looks perfect for my husband 😊

This is the first English language exploration of the former East Berlin football and social phenomenon. It is very timely. Incredibly, Union currently top the Bundesliga in only their 3rd season in it.Holden writes well basing his narrative on the views of a group of Union supporters and employees. Words like "community", " identity" and" involvement" crop up regularly to explain the club's appeal for natives of Kopenick,the local area and for newer , outside fans.Holden blends nicely the club's history, character, fortunes and challenges with the wider issues facing Berlin and especially the former communist East Berlin.This is not myopic virtue signalling about a left leaning club like Hamburg 's St. Pauli. Instead Holden conveys a more complex, sometimes contradictory, but always fascinating insight into an attractive different way of doing things. Highly recommended.