Twelve losses in a row! They laughed at their city rivals, and now they're following them into the abyss!

For the second year in a row, the capital city is the epicentre of the Bundesliga's basement battle. Last season it was Hertha BSC that plunged deeper and deeper into crisis and ultimately got relegated.

Now it's Union Berlin, the successful club of recent years, stumbling towards the bottom of the table after suffering TWELVE defeats in a row. The downfall of the club from Berlin's Kopenick neighbourhood shows dangerous parallels to the decline of their city rivals!

Just last Saturday, Union's president Dirk Zingler made it clear that despite the shocking series of twelve defeats, coach Urs Fischer is not on shaky ground. Hertha also held on to former coach Sandro Schwarz for a long time despite lacking results and being stuck at the bottom of the table from the beginning of the season. His passionate style and hard work convinced the club officials. Schwarz even survived the sacking of former director of football Fredi Bobic. It was believed until well into the second half of the season that he could turn things around. He didn't.

When Schwarz was finally relieved of his duties after the 28th matchday, it was already too late, and it's unclear if an earlier change would have had a more lasting impact. Currently, Union seems determined to force a turnaround with Fischer, but the outcome remains uncertain. Schwarz also failed because his players didn't realize the seriousness of the situation for far too long or were unwilling to accept it. Players who had come to Berlin with entirely different sporting goals did not engage in the relegation battle and thus lost it.

This could now threaten Union as well! The Irons signed players for their Champions League adventure, not for basement duels with Bochum and Koln. If they can't make this mental adjustment, it will be very dangerous. Lack of identification is also becoming a problem. Even before Hertha got relegated, some players were already looking for new clubs. Union's sporting management must look closely in the dressing room and quickly identify which players are willing to fight for survival because only with them can they stop the downward slide.

Hertha's decline began in 2019 with a lot of money, big plans, and even bigger dreams – the reality brought the 2nd division. Union lived a part of this dream by reaching the Champions League. But the attempt to transform a surprise team into a permanent top team is currently failing miserably. The closer the abyss approaches, the more it threatens to set the club back by years.

However, there is good news for Union! Many circumstances that exacerbated Hertha's crisis, including relegation, are not apparent at Union. Union has a healthy financial structure, and there is no doubt about the club's unity - especially with their loyal supporters.

The Union bosses are surely aware that relegation must be prevented at all costs, even without looking at the other end of the city.