Union Berlin faces a difficult task in Frankfurt on Sunday. However, it will not be decided until Saturday whether two players will be traveling with the team.
This weekend could see several firsts in the world of 1. FC Union Berlin. One will actually take place on Friday evening at the Altstadttheater Köpenick, where the romantic comedy “Eisern verschossen 2 – Bis das Tor uns scheidet” will have its official premiere. In addition, the Union women’s team will be looking to win their first Bundesliga match on Sunday evening (12 p.m.) in their home game against SGS Essen.
And on Sunday evening (3:30 p.m.), the men could see Diogo Leite’s first competitive appearance of the season in their away game at Eintracht Frankfurt.
No clean slate for Leite
The field seems to be set for defender Leite. His plans to transfer have been dashed. He has been training fully again for ten days. And Tom Rothe, who had replaced Leite for weeks after retraining as a left center back, has been suspended for one match after being sent off in the home game against TSG Hoffenheim (2-4).
However, coach Steffen Baumgart did not want to give Leite a clean bill of health at the press conference on Friday afternoon. As with midfielder Andras Schäfer, who was recently unable to play for the Hungarian national team and against Hoffenheim due to illness, a decision on Leite’s nomination for the trip will not be made until Sunday evening. “Andras and Diogo have been training. We will decide tomorrow whether they will be in the squad,” Baumgart explained. “If so, they are of course very good options, including for the starting eleven. We are keeping our options open. There are also one or two other possibilities that we have in mind.”
Leite played his last competitive game on April 27, 2025, in a 1-1 draw at VfL Bochum. That was almost five months ago. He doesn’t really have any playing practice. Baumgart does not yet believe that young talent Oluwaseun Ogbemudia is ready for a starting spot.
Juranovic, Markgraf, Nsoki, and Burcu still out
Without Leite, there could be changes in defense. “Then Alex Kral would be the first option in the back three in the center. Leopold Querfeld would go to the left side,” Baumgart said. The head coach also mentioned the possibility of a back four. But that was actually mothballed in Köpenick in the spring. Around 3,000 Union fans are traveling to Hesse. They will not get to see the injured players Josip Juranovic, Andrik Markgraf, Stanley Nsoki, and Livan Burcu.
