A prolific Swede with more goals in 2018/19 than Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the kid brother of Toni Kroos, a goal-scoring keeper, an ex-Queens Park Rangers striker and Germany’s answer to Roberto Carlos. bundesliga.com introduces the motley crew behind Union Berlin’s historic promotion to the top flight…

Sebastian Andersson

Andersson bears no relation to eponymous countryman Patrik, who famously clinched the Bundesliga title for Bayern Munich in 2000/01, but he’s every bit as much a match-winner. The 27-year-old was a veritable smash hit in his debut season in the capital, having joined Union from two-two-time Bundesliga winners Kaiserslautern last summer. The four-time Sweden international played in every single one of Die Eisernen’s domestic assignments, producing a team-leading 12 goals and seven assists, including one in the promotion/relegation play-off first leg in Stuttgart. Talk about talisman.

Sebastian Andersson was overcome with emotion after helping Union edge VfB Stuttgart in the play-offs. - 2019 Getty Images

Felix Kroos

Andersson hadn’t even turned pro while Union were still kicking about in the Third Division when Kroos made his senior debut for Hansa Rostock in January 2009. His career didn’t quite follow the same trajectory as 2014 FIFA World Cup-winning brother, Toni, but that’s not to say Felix doesn’t know a thing or two about playing at the highest level. He made 70 Bundesliga appearances for Werder Bremen between 2010 and 2016, and even turned out in the UEFA Champions League before switching to Union. Fittingly, the now 28-year-old midfielder celebrated a century of games for the club in the promotion-clinching play-off second leg draw with VfB Stuttgart.

Felix Kroos (l.) is set to play in the Bundesliga for the first time in over three years. - imago images / Nordphoto

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Rafal Gikiewicz

Gikiewicz is another member of the Union squad with prior Bundesliga experience. The Polish goalkeeper made two appearances for Freiburg in January 2018, enjoying a winning debut against RB Leipzig and starting the 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund a week later. Previous career highlights include lifting the 2011/12 Polish Ekstraklasa with Slask Wroclaw, but the former Eintracht Braunschweig shot-stopper is best known for his last-minute headed goal - yes, GOAL - against Heidenheim early on in Union’s historic and successful push for the Bundesliga. He’s not too shabby with his hands either: Gikiewicz conceded a league-low 33 goals in 2018/19.

Watch: Relive Rafal Gikiewicz's last-gasp effort

Sebastian Polter

Life at Union is so good that Polter came back for seconds. After spells with Wolfsburg, Nuremberg and Mainz, the 6’4” striker moved to Berlin in summer 2014 for a fruitful season-long stint that yielded 14 goals in 30 appearances. He spent the next three years in England with QPR before returning to the German capital midway through the 2016/17 campaign. Union ended the season in fourth and finished eighth the following campaign, but 29-year-old Polter’s nine goals in 20 appearances helped ensure it was a case of third time lucky in 2018/19.

Sebastian Polter has scored 42 goals in 88 Bundesliga 2 appearances, and seven in 51 in the Bundesliga. - 2018 Getty Images

Ken Reichel

The agony and ecstasy of yo-yoing between the divisions is nothing new to Reichel. Before joining Union in summer 2018, the Berlin-born defender spent 11 years on the books of Eintracht Braunschweig, where he experienced the highs of promotion to the Bundesliga, as well as the lows of relegation to Bundesliga 2 and the third tier. His first season at Union could scarcely have gone any better, but don’t bank on it being the 32-year-old left-back’s final hurrah. Reichel still has time to throw his propane-fuelled left leg into the ring of names vying for Germany head coach Joachim Löw’s affections ahead of UEFA Euro 2020…

Watch: Skip to 0:50 to enjoy a Reichel special

About the clubs

1. FC Union Berlin

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