Switzerland's Most Succesful Club Gearing Up For LIfe Outside The Top Flight For The First Time In Almost Seven Decades

They have a record 27 Swiss league titles to their name, and last season was their 68th straight in the top tier of Swiss football, but when the new Super League campaign starts later this month Grasshopper Club Zürich will be missing. For the first time in almost seven decades, Grasshoppers will be plying their trade outside the top flight.

Since winning their last league title in 2003, Grasshoppers have been beset by financial mismanagement, alleged fraud, constant changes in the boardroom, and the instability of thirteen different managers in sixteen years, not to mention the demolition of their historic Hardturm stadium which has left them homeless and groundsharing with city rivals FC Zurich. The above combined with a decline TV revenue and sponsorship income across Swiss football which has arguably seen Grasshoppers hit harder than most, has also helped bring about an eventual relegation that's seen the club crash out of the top division and face life in the second tier Challenge League for the first time since 1951.

That aforementioned stadium issue came about when plans to build a 30,700-seat stadium on the site of their old Hardturm home had to be shelved. Originally planned to be built in the time for Euro 2008, the project was delayed and then later scrapped in 2009 when the main backers Credit Suisse pulled out citing the banking crisis. By this point, the Hardturm had already been knocked down and what was meant to be a temporary stay at the home of their arch rivals suddenly looked like it would become a more long term affair.

In 2018 a referendum saw locals vote in favour of a new planned stadium for Grasshoppers, but at the minute they are still playing their matches at FC Zurich's Stadion Letzigrund. Before last seasons relegation, their league form at Letzigrund had been rather mixed, several second placed finishes have been combined with stints lower down the table, finishing as low as third bottom 2011-12 and second bottom just above the relegation spot the season before last. There was, however, a Swiss Cup triumph in 2013 when they beat FC Basel on penalties in the final.

For all the recent troubles, it wasn't till last season that Grasshoppers actually hit rock bottom. Summing up their plight, local daily newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung recently described the club as being 'terminally ill', and after events earlier this year that phrase does not seem too far off being accurate. 2018-19 saw Grasshoppers in a 36 game season end up with just five victories to their name and finishing some twelve points behind second bottom Neuchâtel Xamax. But that was only half the story... 

On 16 March Grasshoppers' match away at Sion was abandoned after 56 minutes when visiting fans started throwing fireworks onto the pitch. The home side who were 2-0 up at the time were awarded a 3-0 victory. Things got even worse when the club saw a second match of theirs abandoned less than two months later. The game away at FC Luzern on 12 May saw visiting Grasshopper supporters threaten to invade the pitch and reportedly demand the team's players hand over their shirts stating they were not fit to wear them, or as the Daily Mail claimed, told them: 'Hand over your shirts and socks and crawl back to the dressing room like dogs'. With attempts to calm supporters down unsuccessful, the players unbelievably did eventually hand their shirts over. The bottom of the league club were 4-0 down when the match was stopped. The result if allowed to stand would relegate Grasshoppers but whilst a disciplinary panel took its time in awarding Luzern the 4-0 win, relegation was in the meantime officially confirmed anyway when four days later Grasshoppers lost 6-1 to champions Young Boys. A sorry end for one of Switzerland's grandest names. 

For a club that had not won a league game since last November, it had for quite a while felt like a case when not if, but that did not make the inevitable any easier when it finally happened as the reaction from supporters showed. But now the dust has settled and the club is moving on, preparing for life outside a top flight they had graced for so long. In less than a weeks time Grasshoppers kick off a new league campaign when they entertain FC Baden in the opening round of second tier Challenge League fixtures and will be hoping for a return to the top flight with help of several familiar names. Coach Uli Forte returned to the club last season, whilst former club captain Veroljub Salatic re signed for the club last month, shortly followed by fellow ex Grasshoppers player Nassim Ben Khalifa. Forte who says he wants an 'immediate resurgence' had previously been in charge when the club won the cup in 2013 and he returned as to replace Tomislav Stipic who was fired after just six games in charge having taken over from Thorsten Fink who left in March. 33-year-old midfielder Salatic meanwhile had played under Forte when the club won the Swiss Cup six years ago, whilst 27-year-old attacker Khalifa was also part of that cup winning side.

"Grasshopper Zurich is an institution and belongs in the Swiss Super League," said Forte after relegation was confirmed, and a name as big as Grasshoppers were always going to favourites for the second tier title, something that would mean an immediate return to the Super League. But whether or not the crisis hit club returns at the first attempt remains to be seen, after all this is alien territory for a club who had been in the top tier as long as Grasshoppers had.

Odense BK and the Miracle in Madrid

It was a tale that even Hans Christian Andersen himself could not have dreamt up. Michael Schjønberg hit the ball across the box where Jesper Hjorth left it for Morten Bisgaard to slot home, leaving Real Madrid absolutely stunned. In second half injury time Danish minnows Odense Boldklub (OB) had scored a goal that was to send the Spaniards crashing out of the UEFA Cup. One of Europe's most famous clubs had fallen foul to one of the great upsets of European club football history.

They called it 'Miraklet i Madrid', the Miracle in Madrid, 6 December 1994, a team who had never been past the first round of a European competition before from a country whose clubs had had little in the way of European success over the years came back from a home first leg deficit to knock out the most successful club in European football history.

OB at that time were one of the more successful teams in Danish football, league champions in 1977, they won two more league titles in the 1980s and had finished as high as second only two seasons previously. Domestic club football in Denmark, however, had been completely amateur until 1978 and only in recent years had it became fully professional. Real Madrid, on the other hand, were six times European Cup winners and had twice won the UEFA Cup itself, whilst playing in what was one of the strongest domestic competitions in Europe they had been league champions five times in the previous ten seasons and would go on to win the league crown again that campaign. Real Madrid's squad included big names stars such as centre back Fernando Hierro, Luis Enrique who would later join arch rivals FC Barcelona, Dane Michael Laudrup, signed from arch rivals FC Barcelona, a young Raúl who would go on to score 71 Champions League goals over the course of his career, and Chilean star Iván Zamorano. Almost all of OB's players, however, were completely unknown outside of Denmark. It truly was a mismatch of enormous proportions, and if you needed more proof of the gulf between the two teams well they had actually met in the first round of the same competition in 1990 and Real Madrid prevailed 10-1 on aggregate!

OB would meet Real Madrid in the third round of the 1994-95 UEFA Cup but their campaign started in the preliminary round where they eased past Estonian side Flora Tallinn 6-0 on aggregate, whilst a 6-1 aggregate victory over Northern Ireland's Belfast based Linfield in the first round followed. Real Madrid entered in round one and Sporting Clube de Portugal were defeated thanks to the away goals rule after a 2-2 aggregate scoreline. In the second round, Real Madrid dispatched of Dynamo Moscow 6-2 over the two legs to set up a tie with either German side 1. FC Kaiserslautern or of course Odense BK in round three.

Nevermind Real Madrid, beating Kaiserslautern would in itself be a tall order for OB. Kaiserslautern had finished second in the German Bundesliga the previous season, just one point behind champions FC Bayern München, and their squad included players such as Stefan Kuntz who would go on to play a key role in the Germany side that was to win the European Championships two years later, and an ageing Andreas Brehme who had been part of Germany's 1990 World Cup winning side.

In the first leg away in Germany OB more than held their own and with the match poised at 0-0 heading into the final 20 minutes took a shock lead. A thunderbolt long range strike from Carsten Hemmingsen, brother of club captain Michael, found the net from comfortably more than 30 yards out. Cue crazy celebrations from the men in blue and white. OB's lead only lasted two minutes, however, as a Ciriaco Sforza corner flew past everyone and into the net. A 1-1 final score meant it could be a fascinating second leg in Denmark's third largest city. OB's away goal gave them the advantage going into the second leg, and despite all the excitement promised the game actually finished goalless. Nonetheless, it was a massive result for OB, they had knocked out one of the bigger names in the competition and set up a dream last sixteen tie with the mighty Real Madrid.

The first leg of that last sixteen tie took place in front of a bumper crowd at OB's Odense Stadion and was a five goal thriller. A swerving effort from outside the box saw Michael Schjønberg give OB the lead on the stroke of half time and the locals couldn't believe it, little OB were 1-0 up against one of the biggest clubs world football. 22 minutes into the second half, however, Real Madrid found themselves level when a ball across the box saw Iván Zamorano slot home. José Amavisca fired the visitors in front two minutes later but OB were level eleven minutes from time when a thunderbolt strike from Hjorth found the back of the net. 2-2, unbelievable. That, however, was not the end of it though. Real Madrid's Danish international Laudrup along with his brother Brian was one of the country's star players, and far too good for the substandard Danish Superliga had made a name for himself abroad, most recently in Madrid. That night he was to hand the visitors victory. His low drive from just outside the box in the 90th minute settled the match and left OB with a mammoth task ahead in the second leg.

OB were only one goal down after the first leg but with Real Madrid having three away goals to their name OB would need to win the second leg by two clear goals if they wanted to progress to the quarter finals, a seemingly impossible task.

OB were inspired that night, and none more so than local lad goalkeeper Lars Høgh. Høgh's heroic performance prevented what would have a Real Madrid rampage as time and time again he made important saves to stop a truly dominant home side further their advantage from the first leg. Laudrup had a chance saved at close range, Alfonso saw a drive blocked, then Emilio Butragueño forced Høgh to make a brilliant save, Laudrup had another effort saved in the second-half, and Høgh was also on hand to save from a free-kick. For Høgh it really was the game of his life.

All those saves were all fine and well but OB actually needed goals if they wanted to progress, they'd hit the crossbar in the first half but finally got the breakthrough on 71 minutes. Hjorth played the ball through to Ulrik Pedersen who raced into the box and slotted home. A real sense of nervousness suddenly swept through the Bernabéu, the home side were still ahead in the tie but only just. 

Whilst Real Madrid continued to create chances they failed to find an equaliser, and it was in injury time that the inconceivable happened. Bisgaard had first entered the pitch thanks to a substitution less than ten minutes earlier and when he put the visitors 2-0 up right at the death it was one of those classic European away goal scenes where you could almost hear a pin drop. Of the 58 goals Morten Bisgaard scored across a career that included 101 appearances for Derby County, none was more dramatic than the stoppage time goal in Madrid. The OB players went wild pilling on top of each other, others were going crazy in the away team dugout, and those commentating on the match for Denmark's TV2 were getting more than a little excited, but almost all the rest of the stadium was in complete silence, they could not believe what they had just seen.

A small club from Denmark whom many Real Madrid supporters might not have even heard of before the pair were drawn together had dumped them out of the UEFA Cup in the most dramatic of fashion. Yes, the white half of Madrid would be crowned Spanish league champions at the end of the season, but it would always be the campaign in which they lost to little Odense Boldklub.

OB would ultimately suffer a 1-0 aggregate loss to Italian side Parma in the next round, which still stands as their most successful European campaign to date. 

Having made his senior debut for his hometown side in 1977, one club man Lars Høgh would in total make 817 appearances for OB in a career that spanned over twenty years, and now runs coaching courses in Denmark. Ulrik Pedersen retired from football in 2011 having played for several clubs in Denmark and now works as an environmental consultant. Randers born midfielder Bisgaard returned to OB in 2007 before retiring two years later, he'd originally left the club in 1998 and had spells with Udinese, FC København, and of course Derby. He now works as a TV commentator back home in Denmark.  

Almost 25 years on and OB's achievement seems just as incredible as ever, whilst in the current Champions League era where the continent's biggest clubs seemingly get richer and richer year by and year, and even more dominant season after season, it is a shock of which we may struggle to ever see the like of again. That night in Madrid, it really was the stuff of miracles. 

A version of this was publish on Pundit Freed and can be viewed here

Kevin Keegan: The Hamburg Years

"The mongrel who made it to Crufts" was how Kevin Keegan once described his two European Footballer of the Year awards in 1978 and 79, but although Keegan did not consider himself to have the same natural ability as some of the names who had won the coveted prize previously, he was as the seventies ended and a new decade began, possibly the biggest footballing name on the planet. Already a star in his own right, when England captain Keegan moved to West Germany in 1977 he took his career to the next level. After an inconspicuous start, Keegan soon set the Bundesliga alight and followed around the country by his band adoring supporters he became not just a superstar on the field but also a big time celebrity off it. 

Fresh from winning the European Cup with Liverpool, Kevin Keegan was on the move. Keegan had insisted on having a £500,000 release clause in his contract and as the 1976-77 season got underway talk was it would be his last with the Reds. Rumour had it he wanted to move to the continent, Juventus were apparently interested, Barcelona and Real Madrid too, there was also keen interest from West Germany with the likes of Bayern München and Borussia Mönchengladbach supposedly keen on signing the number one forward in England. But as Keegan entered the pitch when the 1977-78 season got underway he was actually wearing the colours of Hamburger SV (HSV).

HSV had the previous season won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but entrepreneur Dr Peter Krohn who was running the Hitachi electronics backed club had ideas that were much grander and wanted the Hamburg based club to become in the number one team in West Germany. Popular coach Kuno Klotzer was out the door and Rudi Gutendorf was brought in to replace him, whilst along with Gutendorf, Keegan was also brought into the club. He was signed for a British record transfer fee and was reportedly the highest paid player in Germany.

Aside from the usual struggles when moving abroad, such as learning the language and local customs, Keegan also had other more difficult problems at his new club. Although things would get better and eventually he'd be a massive hit in Germany, to begin with, life was tough for Keegan. The HSV squad did not initially take to Keegan, and Gutendorf would later claim that a large group of players advised him they did not want to play with “this Englishman”. Keegan's performances to begin with meanwhile were at best average.

In Keegan's first league game for HSV, they suffered a 5-2 home defeat against MSV Duisburg at the clubs Volksparkstadion ground, whilst Keegan scored his first goal for his new club in a 3-1 win at home to 1. FC Kaiserslautern at the end of August. An overall fairly poor start to the season saw the club got rid of manager Gutendorf in October and replaced him with ex player Ozcan Arkoc, a Turkish former goalkeeper, and for Keegan especially things only got worse when in November HSV faced Liverpool in the European Super Cup.

In those days the Super Cup was a two legged affair and after a 1-1 draw in Hamburg, HSV were hammered 6-0 away at Anfield. Terry McDermott scored a hat-trick and the Kop chanted ‘We all agree - Dalglish is better than Keegan’ and ‘You should have stayed at Anfield’. It had at best been a tough start for Keegan at his new club, in fact, he would later describe the first six months as a "nightmare".

Come the winter break Keegan had only scored four league goals, and in a winter friendly, he punched an opponent, something that resulted in not just a sending off but also a 9 game suspension. By the end of the season, the club had finished tenth and Keegan had scored 12 goals in 33 league and cup appearances. Keegan's first season in West Germany had not been one of his greatest but it was certainly not a disaster either as the players slowly began to see him as an asset and changed their negative attitude towards him. In his second campaign, things would only get better, much better.

New General manager Gunter Netzer appointed Branko Zebec as head coach for the 1978-79 season. Zebec installed a strict training regime that Keegan claims was the toughest he’d ever experienced in his career. In the opening match of the 1978-79 season, HSV beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0 at home. Mönchengladbach had been Bundesliga champions 3 of the previous 4 seasons, only missing out on goal difference in the last campaign, and in the previous meeting between the two sides, HSV had lost 6-2 making their win all the more impressive. HSV found themselves just one point behind leaders Kaiserslautern going into the winter break and although Keegan's first goal of the campaign did not come until Round 12 when he scored in a 5-0 demolition of Borussia Dortmund, he scored twice against Schalke 04 in mid November and a hat-trick against Armenia Bielefeld in December.

Whilst the team were beginning to come to together and perform well on the pitch, there was also individual success for Keegan when at the end of December he was voted European Footballer of the Year, winning the coveted Ballon d'Or trophy. The previous season he'd finished second behind Allan Simonsen. The players and the fans were certainly now behind the new European Footballer of the Year, though to be fair most supporters had been from day one and had soon nicknamed him 'Mighty Mouse' after a famous cartoon character from that era. Keegan was loved by the clubs supporters and mobbed wherever he went, and when in one interview discussing life in Germany said he missed his favourite British breakfast cereals that he could not find in Germany, he was inundated with packages from fans that included boxes of his favoured cereals and lists of local suppliers. Whilst fans helped Keegan feel most welcome, Keegan himself was also trying hard to integrate into the local community and was becoming more and more fluent in the German language, something he had been working hard to master.

HSV failed to win any of their first three games after the winter break but then beat Hertha BSC 3-1 with Keegan scoring twice, and this was the first match of a thirteen match unbeaten run. In April Keegan was on the scoresheet again as league leaders Kaiserslautern were beaten 3-1, this left HSV third in the table with a game in hand. HSV soon found themselves up to second when league leaders Kaiserslautern started to drop points and fell to third.

Keegan scored goal number 10 of the season against Eintracht Braunschweig and number 11 came when HSV beat Duisburg. Defending champions 1. FC Köln now languishing in 9th position were next up and a stunning display from Keegan and the team saw Keegan score twice and HSV win 6-0. That win put HSV top of the table. Several matches later and HSV were two points clear with just two to play. Keegan had scored twice against Schalke on a day that their two nearest challengers both dropped points, he then scored against Eintracht Frankfurt to make it six goals in his last four games.

HSV travelled to relegation threatened Armenia Bielefeld in their penultimate match and the 0-0 draw played out might on another day have seen the title race go to the wire, but defeats for rivals Kaiserslautern and Stuttgart saw HSV crowned champions for the first time in 19 years. Keegan had scored seventeen goals across the course of the season, that difficult start to life in Germany the previous season seemed a world away, and the European Footballer of the Year had proved why he was exactly that!

As mentioned, Keegan as a footballer was loved by his supporters in Germany, but he was also as big an icon off the pitch as he was a star on it. After being named European Footballer of the Year Keegan soon found himself appearing on tv chat shows, starring tv commercials on road safety, putting his name to brands of football boots, and even releasing a hit pop single. When that title winning season was over he turned his hand to the music business and that summer released a single called “Head Over Heels in Love”, written by Chris Norman and Peter Spencer it reached Number 31 over in the UK charts and as high as number 10 in Germany. 

After winning the Bundesliga Keegan's initial two year contract with HSV was up but he agreed to sign on for another year, there had been offers to move elsewhere but for now Keegan was staying put for in Germany. Before Keegan's second season in Germany got underway he had spent the summer back in England working as a pundit giving his opinions on the World Cup in Argentina from ITV's London TV studio. Working alongside Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough, Keegan claims he was asked if he fancied playing for Clough's newly crowned English champions but turned down the offer feeling their personalities would clash if the pair worked together. 

An excellent start to the 1979/80 season saw HSV top the table after four games and their good form continued throughout the first half of their Bundesliga campaign as they went into the winter break in second place with Keegan for the second successive year being voted European Footballer of the Year. Last season's Bundesliga triumph also meant European Cup football for Keegan and HSV with Icelandic champions Valur defeated in the first round before a tie with Soviet side Dinamo Tbilisi. 

Dinamo Tbilisi faced HSV having just beaten Keegan's former club Liverpool in round one and in the first leg in Hamburg Keegan scored HSV's second as they came from behind to win 3-1, he also scored in Tbilisi as HSV progressed 6-3 on aggregate. In the next round HSV faced Yugoslavian side Hajduk Split and a 1-0 win at home came ahead of a second leg in Yugoslavia that saw HSV leading 2-1 before Hajduk scored twice late on to make it a nervy ending for the visitors who in the end held on to qualify for the next round thanks to the away goal rule. Next HSV would face Real Madrid in the semi finals.

An excellent run of form saw HSV back top of the table before the semi final clash, although fourteen goals and three wins in the run up to the first leg of the Real Madrid tie saw Keegan only score once. The first leg of the semi final took place at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid and Carlos Santillana scored twice to give Real a crucial 2-0 lead to take to West Germany. HSV were really up against it now. HSV found themselves 2-0 up after 17 minutes in their semi final second leg but Real Madrid soon scored a vital away goal before HSV scored two more to take a 4-1 lead into the break. In the second half HSV held Real Madrid at bay and scored a fifth in the 90th minute, they had reached the European Cup final. A stunning turnaround after the first leg.

In the European Cup final, Keegan would face Forest and Clough who were aiming for a second successive European Cup final triumph. Back in the Bundesliga, there had been a 6-0  win for HSV over 1860 München where Felix Magath bagged a hat-trick and Keegan was also on the scoresheet. In the race for the title, however, FC Bayern were also firing on all cylinders and put seven past Werder Bremen. HSV won their next two but then out of the blue lost 3-1 at Bayer Leverkusen in their final match before heading off to play in the European Cup final.

That defeat against Leverkusen had handed FC Bayern advantage in the title race, and it was a title Bayern would go on to win a few games later when the league campaign ended and Keegan departed. As with Liverpool, at HSV Keegan also had a £500,000 release clause in his contract and in February of 1980 announced his intention leave when the season was over. 'Welcome home Kevin!' would be the headline in World Soccer magazine with his destination Southampton, but first, there was the matter of Nottingham Forest and another trip to the Bernabéu, the venue for the 1980 European Cup final.

For Keegan, the 25th European Cup final sadly did not end in glory. HSV's attack came up against a disciplined Forest side, and it was Brain Clough's men who came out on top. For all Keegan's running, he was on the losing team as Forest ran out winners by one goal to nil.

With his German sojourn over, Keegan left Hamburg an even bigger superstar than the one who arrived from Liverpool three years earlier. Keegan would go on to have footballing success elsewhere as both a player and a manager, but never would he quite have the celebrity status that he did when he was European Footballer of the Year two seasons running at HSV, a period when he was as big a superstar off the pitch as he was on it. Many years later David Beckham became a global celebrity superstar in Madrid and then Los Angeles, but Kevin Keegan was ahead of his time in that respect. For a brief period, it almost felt like Kevin Keegan ruled the world!

This piece has been featured on Pundit Feed

Eight Times Keeper of the Year: The Man Who Was The Greek Goalkeeping God

Who is the only Greek footballer to have won three consecutive League and Cup doubles with two different clubs? The answer it turns out is Antonios Nikopolidis, remember him? The goalkeeper who had a more than striking resemblance to Hollywood actor George Clooney. Yes, you know who I mean, Antonios Nikopolidis.

Antonios Nikopolidis is the most capped Greek goalkeeper of all-time, and the story of his footballing career is also the story of one of the most successful periods in Greek football history. Nikopolidis made his international debut for Greece in 1999 and went on to be an influential member of a Greek national team that as rank outsiders won 2004 European Championships defeating hosts Portugal in the final. At club level, Nikopolidis was a regular starter in the Greek Superleague for Panathinaikos and then later rivals Olympiacos. Whilst playing for the country's two most successful clubs he regularly participated in European club competitions, and in 2002 was part of Panathinaikos side that reached the quarter-finals of Champions League where they lost 3-2 on aggregate to FC Barcelona, further than Greek teams usually progress amongst Europe's elite. During what was obviously an extremely successful club career with Athens' two biggest clubs Nikopolidis was voted Goalkeeper of the season in the Greek Superleague a record eight times during the 10 campaigns from 1999-00 to 2008-09.

After joining from Anagennisi Artas aged 18 in 1989 Nikopolidis made his debut for Panathinaikos in 1991 but it was 6 years later when he actually became a first time regular in goal, and he eventually went on to have a big impact. With Nikopolidis between the posts, each season between 2000-01 and 2003-04 saw Panathinaikos concede the fewest goals of any team in the league, although they only won the league championship once during that period, winning the title in 2004.

In the 2001-02 Champions League played under the old format with a second group phase, Nikopolidis conceded 11 goals in 12 group games, with 5 of those goals having been conceded against the might of Real Madrid and only 6 coming in those other 11 matches. After passing through both group stages, Panathinaikos were in the Quarter Finals where they faced another Spanish footballing giant in the form of Barcelona. A famous 1-0 home victory was, however, sadly followed by a 3-1 away defeat.

In 2004 after contract negotiations broke down, Nikopolidis left Panathinaikos to join arch rivals Olympiacos much to the dismay of the Panathinaikos supporters who booed him when he lifted the league trophy at the end of the season knowing he had agreed to join their enemy. Having played 189 games for Panathinaikos, he would go on to wear the goalkeeper's jersey a further 180 times for Olympiacos. Having helped Panathinaikos to a league and cup double in his final season, he then completed the same feat in his first two seasons with Olympiacos whilst wearing the number 71 shirt, the year of his birth. Whilst at Olympiacos he also developed a reputation for saving penalties. In the 2007-08 season, Nikopolidis saved four penalties during the Greek Superleague season, equaling a league record. He also saved all three of the penalties he faced in the Champions League for the club. Nikopolidis played at Olympiacos for 7 seasons before retiring, winning 6 league titles in that period whilst most seasons conceding fewer goals than every other keeper in the league and making vital saves when it really mattered. 

After a successful club career, Nikopolidis retired in 2011, but aside from his exploits for Greece's two biggest clubs, he was also a hit on the international stage and his and his country's biggest moment came in 2004. Unfancied Greece, seemingly devoid of big name superstars, shocked the world when they beat hosts Portugal in the opening game of the 2004 European Championships, then unexpectedly made their way to the final where they once more stunned the world! Although Nikopolidis conceded four goals in the three group games, he had kept six clean sheets during qualification matches, and kept three clean sheets in the knockout rounds including a 1-0 victory in the final over Portugal again where Nikopolidis made several important saves. Greece had won a tournament that Nikopolidis and the rest of the squad had never in their wildest dreams thought they'd win! Nikopolidis was also named in the Euro 2004 team of the tournament, I very much doubt he'd seen that coming when the tournament kicked off either, but those clean sheets against France, Czech Republic and Portugal certainly helped!

Now retired from playing, Nikopolidis has been head coach of the Greek u21 national team since 2015, whilst in 2016 it turned out he was also coaching a team of refugees and migrants in his spare time. The team is made up of players from countries such as Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan, most of which have been torn apart by war. Many of these people are stuck in camps waiting for asylum applications to be processed and Nikopolidis says he is trying to "give them a few hours of happiness". 

A 2018 study conducted by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics listed Nikopolidis as the 23rd best goalkeeper in the world between 2001 and 2010 out of a list of 76 goalkeepers and I certainly wouldn't argue against the idea that he was one of the world's top goalkeepers during that decade. I don't know if Nikopolidis ever received any offers to play abroad, but a keeper of his stature would have surely been at home in any of Europe's top leagues and might have made an even bigger name for himself too, their loss, however, was the Greek league's gain. Greece's very own George Clooney of the football field will be remembered throughout Europe for the saves in the Champions League with those two historic Athens clubs, and of course, those three knock-out round clean sheets when Greece stunned everyone to win the European Championships! A real goalkeeping mastermind in a country where the beautiful game has not always produced too many high calibre players.

East Berlin's Team From The Forest Finally Get The Promotion They've Been Craving.

Supporters of 1. FC Union Berlin have probably never before celebrated a 0-0 draw as wildly as they did last Monday night. After a 2-2 draw away at VfB Stuttgart four nights previously, a 0-0 home stalemate saw Union win a promotion/relegation play-off that saw them secure promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history. All hail the away goals rule.

Union Berlin, a team from the German capital's south eastern suburbs had once upon a time been regulars in the DDR Oberliga, what had been the top tier of football in the former state of East Germany, but their post unification story until now has not included top flight football, consisting of years of toughing it out in not just the second tier 2. Bundesliga, but at one point a stint at level four of the German football system.

Nearly thirty years of lower division struggles have now, however, finally been ended with the promotion to the top flight that they've been craving for, and a promotion that also means a derby with city neighbours Hertha BSC will now be on the cards. Whereas once upon a time former East Geman titans turned Regionalliga minnows Dynamo Berlin were the clubs fierce rivals, now they will next season face off against the capitals number one side, bringing together two clubs who since unification have only played each other four times in competitive fixtures when Hertha spent two separate seasons in the second tier some six years ago and eight years ago.

Head out of the centre of Berlin through Alexanderplatz and about 9 miles to the south east you will eventually find the suburb of Köpenick, home to Union Berlin's Stadion An der Alten Försterei where this season the regulars on the terraces have seen their club lose only once in 17 home league games. Situated in the middle of a forest and dating back 1920, much of the stadium was redeveloped during the 2008-09 season and it was the fans who helped complete most of the work with some 2,300 supporters putting in an estimated 140,000 man hours. Crumbling terraces were replaced and new roofs installed as the stadium was modernised to create a suitable venue for second tier football. Further expansion took place in 2013 to leave a 22,012 capacity mostly terraced stadium with only 3,617 seats in place, giving a rather unique experience in the modern day world of professional football. 

In these East Berlin suburbs, the locals have been revelling in the success of their team this season. Under the guidance of manager Urs Fischer, a solid defence has seen Union concede fewer league goals than anyone else in the division, and this is in part down to the clubs formidable centre back pairing of Marvin Friedrich and Florian Hübner. Union were unbeaten in their opening 17 league games, conceding only 12 goals in the process. However, drawing 10 of those 17 games left them in third place and a 3-0 defeat away at Erzgebirge Aue in their final match before the winter break saw them drop to fourth. One other moment of note in that first half of the season was goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz' last gasp equaliser against Heidenheim when he headed the ball home from a free-kick in the dying moments. 

A 3-2 win away at MSV Duisburg on 16 February saw the club move up to second place, but as the season headed towards the final straight, however, the club never really looked like finishing in one of the two automatic places, and 17 points from a possible 36 in their final 12 games saw them finish in third to claim that place in the promotion/relegation play-off, two points ahead of Heidenheim in fifth.

A lack of firepower up front is arguably one reason why Union missed out on automatic promotion. Sebastian Andersson, a Swedish number 10 signed from Kaiserslautern last summer has played in every single league game during the campaign, but in those 34 league games has only scored 12 goals. Regularly featuring alongside Andersson up front has been Sebastian Polter who Queens Park Rangers fans will know well from a two year spell with the club which ended in 2017 after he'd featured 51 times for the West London outfit. Polter has scored 9 goals this season. Solid statistics from the pair I suppose, but not quite championship winning form.

Despite a few slight failings, a third placed finish in the second tier was still, however, a fantastic achievement, and the club's highest finish since unification and what has been a 28 year period of at times toil and trouble in Germany's lower league hinterlands. Union Berlin's story is one that can be put into two parts, the first part is the tale of an Easter German team who found life difficult in the shadows of their regime backed city rivals, whilst the second is one of that lower league struggle post reunification.

Despite a few cup triumphs and regularly appearing in the East German top flight before the Berlin wall came down, Union Berlin never actually won a league championship and were overshadowed by city rivals Dynamo, the team of the Stasi (secret police) who between 1979 and 1988 won ten consecutive Oberliga titles, albeit with arguably a little helping hand from the state. Union may not have had the success of their city rivals, but because of Dynamo's obvious association with hated Stasi, it was actually Union who were the people's team in East Berlin. Although appearing regularly in the East German top flight Union did, however, have spells in the second tier, including the final two seasons of East German football before reunification. This came after a last place Oberliga finish in the 1988-89 season and meant lower league football after reunification. Losing out in a play-off competition to determine which division they would play in post unification saw them miss out on a place in the second division and have to start life in a unified Germany as a third tier side.

Ten straight seasons in the third tier after reunification included a spell of financial trouble and near extinction, but the club fought back to reach the 2. Bundesliga in 2001, the 2000-01 promotion season also included a fantastic cup run which saw the club reach final of the DFB Pokal where they lost 2-0 to Bundesliga side Schalke after a run that had seen them beat another Bundesliga side in VfL Bochum en route to that final. That final place saw them qualify for the following season's UEFA Cup where they lost in the second round. Although Union's stint in the second tier only lasted three seasons, ending with two consecutive relegations, five years later and they were back in the second division, sitting their for ten long seasons before this week's historic play-off victory and the ensuing promotion it brought. 

When Christian Gentner put VfB Stuttgart 1-0 up in the first leg of this seasons Bundesliga Promotion/Relegation Play-Off, most probably thought the inevitable would happen. Since the Promotion/Relegation Play-Offs had been reintroduced for the 2008-09 season, only twice had the second tier side won the tie and after all, why should this time be any different? But if those watching had come to see a comfortable Stuttgart victory then they were to be sorely disappointed!

Gentner finished off a superb run down the right by Anastasios Donis to put the home side in front on 43 minutes but the visitors were level 2 minutes later when Suleiman Abdullahi beat the keeper after latching onto a Sebastian Andersson flick on. Ex German international Mario Gomez came on at half-time and quickly put the home side back in front when he ran from inside his own half before firing a shot that took a heavy deflection off Marvin Friedrich's foot and then his face to wrong foot the keeper. Stuttgart could not hold on however as Friedrich made it 2-2 in the 68th minute when he smashed home a downward header from a corner.

2-2 was the final score in the first leg and Union took two vital away goals back to East Berlin with them. Needing a goal in the second leg Stuttgart had an effort disallowed for offside early on but try as they might they could not find a way in front during the first half and once again had to turn to Gomez at half time. Union looked the better side in the second half, however, with Abdullahi twice hitting the post, but no one found the net and the game finished 0-0. A goalless draw which meant the tie finished 2-2 on aggregate and Union winning on the away goals rule to secure promotion to the Bundesliga for the very first time in their history. 

Wild celebrations followed and the beer was flowing, 28 long years since unification and 1. FC Union have finally hit the big time. After spending years in the East German shadows of their Stasi ran neighbours, and then many years in the footballing backwaters of a unified Germany, this time in the shadows of West Berlin's Hertha BSC, Union can now stand tall in their own right with a seat at Germany's top table.

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