Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Not one for Sir Alex Ferguson, this, but Union Berlin have unveiled their new Grey Camo 21/22 away shirt from adidas. The look has been designed to be reminiscent of the club's early years, when young industrial workers from Oberschöneweide took up playing football for the first time. Set to be worn for the first time today in the preseason friendly with Dynamo Kiev, 1. FC Union Berlin and Adidas have launched the club’s new away shirt for the 21/22 season, with a striking grey camo design. The colours and designs of the shirt represent the uniforms of the young industrial workers from Oberschöneweide, which would normally be covered in dirt after a hard day's work before the players went to play football.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by 1. FC Union Berlin (@1.fcunion) The shirt is finished with some nice additions — "UNVEU!" is lettered on the neck, while the sleeves and collar are dark grey. The kit is complete with the grey shorts and socks. Sustainability plays a key role in the shirt, which is made up of 100 percent recycled polyester and carries the adidas PrimeGreen label. PrimeGreen avoids waste and conserves natural resources, while offering full functionality in sports. View this post on Instagram A post shared by adidas Deutschland (@adidas_de) The Union Berlin 21/22 away shirt is available at union-zeughaus.de kit supplier adidas and streetwear label Iriedaily have joined forces for a limited edition Fourth Kit collection to support sports and youth culture in the district of Köpenick The kit will be worn in this Saturday’s home match against Bayer Leverkusen and by the women's team as part of the annual Women's Football Day on 1 May for their friendly against 1 Continuing its connection with German football clubs through its footwear adidas link up with Union Berlin for a ZX8000 limited to 1,966 pairs as a nod to the club's founding year Offering up a fresh perspective on some of the biggest matches from around the world our Framed series recently took in the Europa League clash between Union Berlin and Ajax for its latest instalment With all home and away shirts for the 21/22 season in Europe now revealed we move exclusively into the more unpredictable world of Third kit launches Next up are Olympique Lyon with an alternative design by adidas Getting an insight into the unique processes behind Philadelphia Union's new secondary shirt for the 2021 campaign which was designed start-to-finish by a group of fans Philadelphia Union unveil their new primary jersey for the 2022 season The design sees the return of a prominent vertical stripe reminiscent of the club’s inaugural jersey Philadelphia Union today unveiled the new 2021 secondary kit featuring a never-before-seen style and colour template in the team’s ten-year history The “BY|U” kit is a first for many reasons the lightning pattern and bold blue and yellow this jersey was designed start-to-finish by a group of fans You'll do well to find a sharper looking kit in MLS this season that Philadelphia Union's new home shirt Complete with updated club crest for the upcoming 2018 campaign the primary jersey is unveiled with a bold design and an even bolder club slogan Sign up to our newsletter and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the world of Creative Soccer Culture Sports Gazette The sports magazine brought to you by the next generation of sport writers Built on working-class foundations and once embracing the nickname ‘Schlosserjungs’ (Metalworker boys in English),its that core working class mentality which has guided 1 FC Union Berlin to play in football most privileged European club tournament then under the name FC Olympia Oberschöneweide this football club represented a small suburb of Berlin and were one of five teams already in Berlin During the 1920’s Oberschöneweide  were a local powerhouse often winning local championships these  wins resulted in them making numerous appearances in Germany’s national championship.Their working-class mentality was ever present throughout this period which attracted large crowds the turn of a new decade brought on catastrophic events not just for the football club but for Germany as a whole Under Third Reich regime German football was split into 16 divisions in 1933 The split burst Oberschöneweide footballing bubble Berlin were now a team that looked uninterested and uninspired being relegated just two years later in ‘35 and once more in ‘42 Post-war the club went through a lot of rebranding Going through 5 name changes in the space of 16 years the name 1 The club was rebranded with the ideology of East German Trade unionist and politician Herbert Warnke being at the forefront of the club’s vision Warnke argued for the creation of a “civilian club” for the working people in East Berlin Throughout the late 90s and for most of the  2000s 1 FC Union Berlin played their football out of Germany’s second division having reasonable success despite encountering financial difficulties on numerous occasions Reaching the top flight of German football for the first time in the club’s modern history The club also became the first club to reach the Bundesliga from the original East Germany with only five other teams before them originating out of East Germany alone The club finished a respectable 11th in their first season back in the top flight With their first ever win at this level coming against German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund which represented Unions spirit and expressed their intent to ensure their survival at the top level With their first season being disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic in their second season Union finished an astonishing 7th qualifying them for the UEFA Europa Conference League Union reached European heights once more going one better than the season prior and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League Union Berlin competing in footballs most privilege tournament began to arise Union just needed a win to do the unthinkable and qualify for the UEFA Champions league for the first time in the club’s history With just nine minutes to go they snatched the all important goal Rani Khadira’s match winning goal now forever etched into Union Berlin’s history But how would the Union fare mixing it with Europe’s elite With two game-weeks down Union Berlin haven’t had their fairytale moment just yet In game week one Berlin traveled to Madrid to face the club who have won this competition a record breaking 14 times After showing true Union spirit throughout the match keeping the game at 0-0 Jude Bellingham’s 94th minute winner crushed Unions hope of a historic night at the Bernabéu Champions League fever swept Berlin with Union hosting a European side for the first time in the clubs modern history Due to UEFA’s ban of terracing in stadiums Union would have to find a new home for their European campaign Directed just west of the center of Berlin the Olympiastadion which hosted the 1936 summer olympics was the ideal location With a capacity of 100,000 and record levels of ticket demands for this historic game the Olmpiastadion was the fitting location for a match of such magnitude It was Portuguese side S.C Braga who travelled to Germany back and forth with the 73,445 fans in attendance wondering how football could be played in such a basketball type manner 94th minute winner by Brage meant that Union had let their 2-0 advantage slip ultimately costing them The two last minute loses have been devastating for Union with maybe people questioning whether this was a step too far for the Germans.However they’re have captivated Europe’s elite Union were being silenced in Germany’s second division with the club’s legacy becoming just a faded memory something fans of the club will never take for granted With 4 Champions League game days still left Union still have the chance to write more history Madrid and Italian giants Napoli are still to experience the Berlin steel Union Berlin has become the underdog everyone loves to watch and no matter what happens they have stolen the hearts of millions of fans across the world Y"},"category":false,"taxonomy":{"active":false,"name":"category"}},"markup":{"custom_html":true,"wpp-start":"","wpp-end":"<\/ul>","title-start":"","title-end":"<\/h2>","post-html":"{thumb} {title} {stats}<\/span><\/li>"},"theme":{"name":""}} German history is one of Europe’s most complex the country has seen the fallout of one world war a rise to powerhouse status on the continent Germany’s periods of change have made German football history just as intricate Based in the Köpernick district of East Berlin Union has seen the footballing world around them evolve Allied forces ordered the dissolution of all sporting organisations in Germany Union Berlin had been known as SC Union 06 Oberschöneweide since 1910 and had navigated the various rehashes German football had already faced from the Third Reich The division of Berlin in 1949 meant even further change for football clubs in the East SG Oberschöneweide finished second in the Stadt Liga Berlin that year earning them a spot in the National Playoffs rising Cold War tensions led to Soviet officials stopping them from travelling to the West to play the coach and several players moved to West Berlin overnight and founded a new Union club to play in the National competition The Union that emerged in the West became SC 06 Union They played their matches at the Olympiastadion through the 1950s and attracted sizeable crowds But that popularity quickly disappeared in 1961 as the newly built Berlin wall blocked their Eastern support entirely They still play in the club’s original blue and white colours in the amateur divisions of German football A handful of players and club officials stayed in the East in 1949 and continued as Union Oberschöneweide But the loss of crucial components on and off the pitch caused them to drop down the Eastern divisions They underwent numerous name changes before the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 forced another switch up footballing success was sparse in East Germany and the Soviet Authorities were so frustrated that they wanted to restructure football as a whole Football clubs became centres of development There were to be two teams in Berlin for the new structure ASK Vorwärts Berlin became the football club of the army and BFC Dynamo Berlin became the football club of the Secret Police as Union Oberschöneweide and others merged to become 1 the army and the Secret Police battled for control in Germany Vorwärts and Dynamo formed a significant city rivalry on the pitch winning five East German (Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)-Oberliga) league titles But as the Secret Police acquired more power in the country Vorwärts relocated to Frankfurt an der Oder on the German-Polish border The reasons for this have never been 100% ratified But there is the significant suggestion that Dynamo’s club president Erich Meilker convinced the Minister of Defence Heinz Hoffman that Dynamo should be the sole footballing representative of the armed organs of Berlin and that Vorwärts should move Meilker knew that Vörwarts threatened Dynamo’s success in the capital Vörwarts’ move led to a period of uninterrupted dominance for BFC Dynamo the club won ten consecutive DDR-Oberliga Championships But this conquering spell wasn’t without its controversies There was a lot of speculation that because BFC was Erich Meilker’s club they got favourable decisions from the referees this has since been downplayed and is more likely down to BFC’s access to ample financial support which allowed them to buy better players and hire better coaching staff they had facilities that their East German rivals could only dream of BFC’s dominant run at the top ended in 1989 but only to the benefit of another Stasi-invested club in Dynamo Dresden The final DDR season in 1991 ended with Hansa Rostock becoming the last champions as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990 provided the catalyst for all German football clubs to come together the DDR era was a little unsteady for Union Berlin There was hope in the late 60s that the club could start something special the financial boosts from the socialist party were pittance in comparison to the investment given to BFC which left Union unable to compete with the top clubs were quickly snapped up by the powerhouse of BFC The East German international played for Union in the 68 Cup final win and was one of the top young players in the world The gulf between the two clubs was evident in the access each had to youth training centres to recruit their players BFC surveyed 38 training centres across East Germany Union yo-yo’d between the DDR-Oberliga and the DDR-Liga (Division Two) experiencing relegation on three occasions as well as winning nine of the various iterations of the DDR second tier They did reach a second East German Cup Final in 1986 but lost 5-1 to Lokomotiv Leipzig A comparison between Union and BFC at that time is from the final day of the 1987 season where Union needed a 92nd-minute winner to escape relegation while BFC achieved their tenth league title in a row The success of staying up that season was huge for Union and it is a memorable day in their history that is still marked annually Due to BFC’s connections to the Stasi and the Soviet Union Union were the football club for everyone else during the 70s and 80s There is a narrative that Die Eisernen (The Iron Ones) became a club against the state in East Germany which has become overblown because there’s no way the state would allow it To have a football club in the capital city that stood against everything the state stood for would be impossible because Union were the club for everyone who didn’t want to support BFC those who were against the state went to Union games Union would consistently attract a higher attendance than BFC throughout the DDR era Union had just finished first in the East German second tier Reunification in 1990 was a disaster for most football teams from East Germany The Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB) only gave two DDR clubs entry to the Bundesliga (Hansa Rostock & Dynamo Dresden); six went into the regional second divisions while the bottom six went into the regional third tiers as Soviet companies who had previously provided it had since folded Companies left in the East didn’t have the funds that clubs needed to compete with the West and companies in the West had no interest in sponsoring football clubs from former East Germany The teams from the West were much more financially stable in comparison and as BFC had previously done in the East clubs in the West began to hoover up Eastern talent Clubs from the East found it hard to compete at any level in a unified football pyramid Hansa Rostock suffered relegation after one season in the Bundesliga They did return in 1995 and enjoyed a ten-year stay in the top flight The club suffered their final Bundesliga relegation in 2008 Despite surviving in their first three Bundesliga seasons they couldn’t avoid relegation in their fourth They fell as far as the fourth tier by 2000 The new millennium has been a bit brighter and they’ve enjoyed a handful of seasons in the 2 But relegation in 2023 means they will be playing the 2023/24 season in the 3 The unification hurt no East German club more than BFC Dynamo In the years leading up to the Fall of the Wall police trouble and hooliganism marred the club’s start to the early 90s The club had rebranded to FC Berlin in February 1990 to distance itself from its Stasi history Bundesliga at the end of the 1991 DDR-Oberliga campaign accelerating their deterioration even more Without financial backing or stable sponsorship The club have since remained in the amateur leagues and are currently in the fourth tier Their rivalry with Union Berlin is as firm as ever Several BFC fans were invited as guests by Hertha Berlin for the first Berlin derby in the Bundesliga As East German second-tier champions in 1991 Union went straight into the German third tier They would remain there until they gained promotion in 2000 before a near financial collapse saw them drop to the fourth tier in 2005 They returned immediately and got back to the 2 they made history as the first team from East Berlin to reach the Bundesliga Only two football teams from the former East Germany currently play in the Bundesliga Union Berlin are heading into their fourth season in the top flight and are preparing for their first-ever UEFA Champions League appearance The other club is RB Leipzig (formerly SSV Markranstädt) thanks to significant investment from energy drink company Red Bull The impact on East German football clubs that the merging of the German football leagues had is still pungent today It is unlikely that the dominant clubs of the 70s and 80s will rediscover a route back to the top thanks to Union Berlin breaking the mould in 2019 that doesn’t stop the football clubs in the East from dreaming 25 year old Sports Journalist for The Sports Gazette with a lifelong love for Chelsea Football Club at all levels Athletics is my second love and still attempting to be a floundering long distance runner