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'It means everything': Union Berlin Women's rapid rise
The Guardian
|May 07, 2025
Lisa Heiseler, who has been at the German club since she was 13, on an epic promotion to the Frauen-Bundesliga
"I can't describe how I feel," Lisa Heiseler says as she reflects on a momentous weekend for Union Berlin Women. Just three days after her side secured a historic promotion to the Frauen-Bundesliga, the captain is clearly still processing everything that has happened to her and her teammates.
27 April 2025 will be a date for ever etched in the memories of Union Berlin's women's team and their supporters. A 6-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach in front of more than 14,000 jubilant fans at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei saw Ailien Poese's side secure promotion with three games to spare, one that will see them play in the top echelon of German football for the first time.
"There's this video going around of when I was a 14-year-old girl saying my dream was to play in the women's Bundesliga," Heiseler says. "Now I have done it, I can't believe it. I'm so proud of the club that we've been able to take this step together. I've been here my entire life so it is indescribable. This club is in my heart... they have helped me to live my dream so it means everything for me."
The success marks the culmination of Union Berlin's meteoric rise in recent years.
This story is from the May 07, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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