Preseason (1)

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Union Berlin had agreed to play a total of four preseason matches, including a friendly against Bayern Munich.

Union Berlin's first preseason opponent was FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin, a fourth-division team.

In fact, preseason matches were often played against lower-division teams.

Preseason is mostly spent assessing the abilities of newly appointed managers or newly signed players and polishing tactics. It also gives youth players who seize their chance in preseason an opportunity to showcase their skills.

Union Berlin also decided to promote a few promising youngsters to the first team for testing.

As a result, Manuel Schmitz and Son Hongmin were promoted from Union Berlin's youth team to the first team.

'Schmitz's raw ability is now about on par with the current starting goalkeeper.'

For Manuel Schmitz, if he only gained a decent amount of experience, it wouldn't be strange at all for him to push out the current starter and take the position himself.

[Name: Manuel Schmitz]...