“Once you arrive and walk into the forest leading to the stadium, you experience something completely unusual in modern football.”
Berlin, with its jagged edges and slow, surprising warmth, isn’t a city you visit so much as fall into. For photographer Lucas Mendez, it offered the perfect backdrop—not just for wandering and observing, but for experiencing a different kind of football. Not one driven by commercial gloss or global fandom, but something more rooted. Something like Union Berlin.
“I had been wanting to understand the unique idiosyncrasy of this very special club from the inside for a long time,” Lucas says. “A neighbourhood club on the big stage, in a huge city full of contrasts and steeped in history like Berlin… Union is a big club in many ways, as I saw during my visit.”
The match he chose was no small occasion—Union Berlin vs Bayern Munich, a David-meets-Goliath clash in the Bundesliga. And yet, the experience that stood out wasn’t just what happened on the pitch—it was everything around it.
Forest Stillness, Then Ferocity
On matchday, Lucas headed toward Stadion An der Alten Försterei, Union’s famously atmospheric ground tucked in the southeastern borough of Köpenick. The journey there was a quiet one.
“The truth is, it started off badly—or so I thought!” he says. “In Spain, it’s very common to have a great pre-match atmosphere in the local bars, always outside the stadium. I imagined a big pre-match scene, a festive crowd preparing for the battle against the German giant… and everyone was silent! It was like being literally in the middle of the forest.”
But that stillness, it turned out, was just part of the build-up. “As the minutes passed, that first impression quickly faded: people were simply waiting for the gates to open, where there are areas to grab a beer and something to eat,” he explains. “There I met a Spanish-speaking fan who guided me to the stands… and once I got there, any lingering doubts we had vanished completely.”
Inside, the atmosphere flipped. “The noise was deafening from the warm-up on, and the chanting never stopped, one song after another supporting Union Berlin,” Lucas says. “I’ve experienced some incredible match nights—Derby della Capitale in Rome and the 2017 Europa League semifinals between Manchester United and Celta Vigo at Old Trafford— but this stadium and its fans definitely make it into the top 3 of my personal ranking!”
Loyalty in the Concrete
What sets Union Berlin apart, Lucas noticed, isn’t just their stadium in the woods or their underdog narrative—it’s their fans. “Getting to know them a bit better, I could truly see the sense of belonging they have—their loyalty to the club no matter where it stands,” he says.
“You can see that the vast majority of the stadium has been supporting the team since way back, not just now that they play every weekend against the likes of Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund! You can feel the bond between the fans and it’s truly impressive!”
The experience, from start to finish, left a lasting impression. “The club treated me really well and the match had a bit of everything—it ended on a high note for the Unioners,” he says. “The experience was unbeatable!”
A City with Layers
Away from the stadium, Lucas took in Berlin in his own way—through movement, quiet streets, layered facades. “Berlin is, for sure, one of the cities I most enjoy getting to know,” he says. “I think you can do everything there: soak up history and culture, go out partying, admire different styles of architecture, try every type of food… and now, also experience top-level and authentic football!”
The city doesn’t flaunt its football culture the way other European cities do. But once you head east, that changes. “It’s true that football references aren’t as abundant as in other European cities, but as soon as you hop on the train line toward the stadium, you know you’re entering Union’s neighbourhood,” he says.
“Once you arrive and walk into the forest leading to the stadium, you experience something completely unusual in modern football. Surrounded by nature, you suddenly see the Försterei ground emerge like a spaceship in the middle of the trees.”
It’s not a flashy arrival, and maybe that’s the point.
A Simple Takeaway
So, what was it like, in the end, to photograph Union Berlin against one of Europe’s giants?
“Absolutely spectacular,” Lucas says, “and just as I expected from a Bundesliga match.”
All images by Lucas Mendez.
You can visit his website here: https://lucasmendez.com/
Or follow him on Instagram here: lmenfilm