
<p>For the next season, Borussia Mönchengladbach will be fielding Jordan Pefok, an American international who was formerly playing for Union Berlin.</p>



<p>Due to his lack of playing time at <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/newly-promoted-union-berlin-is-a-model-club-in-germany-20230207-WST-418976.html">Union Berlin</a>, Jordan Pefok has been loaned out to the Bundesliga rival for the duration of the season. The loan deal between Borussia Moenchengladbach and the player was officially confirmed on Thursday.</p>



<p>According to <a href="https://twitter.com/Plettigoal/status/1696912139020058999" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Sky Germany</em></a>, the buy option in his contract is worth around €5 million. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/borussia-monchengladbach-tv-schedule">Mönchengladbach’s</a> first two <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/bundesliga-tv-schedule/">Bundesliga</a> games resulted in a loss and a draw. The club hopes the 27-year-old can turn around its season.</p>



<h2>Jordan Pefok seeks playing time with Borussia Mönchengladbach</h2>



<p>According to Roland Virkus, the head of sports operations at Gladbach, via <a href="https://www.borussia.de/en/news/news/2023-08-31-borussia-sign-jordan-siebatcheu-on-loan-from-union-berlin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Borussia’s official website</a>: “Jordan is your classic number 9. He’s a target man up front, someone who can hold up the ball well, and an experienced Bundesliga player that will really bolster our attack.”</p>



<p>Meanwhile, Oliver Ruhnert, Union Berlin’s director of sports, commented: “Jordan played many games for us and scored important goals. However, the current situation with many offensive players has led us to agree on a loan.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">OFFICIAL: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USMNT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USMNT</a> striker Jordan Pefok has been loaned to Borussia Monchengladbach from Union Berlin. 🇩🇪 <a href="https://t.co/ONiQ4clM5r">pic.twitter.com/ONiQ4clM5r</a></p>— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/1697250566626521424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h5>How did striker fare last season at Union?</h5>



<p>During his 42 games with Union Berlin in the 2022-23 Bundesliga season, the striker scored five goals. Also, he provided three assists. He had a great first half of the season. Afterward, he regularly came off the bench.</p>



<p>Pefok featured for Young Boys in the Swiss Pro League before switching over to Germany. The Swiss club had great success during Pefok’s time there as the American played a key role. In 88 total games with Young Boys, he scored 42 times. That included two goals in the preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League.</p>



<p>Pefok, who also goes by Jordan Siebatcheu featured for French clubs Stade Reims, Rennes and Chateauroux.</p>



<p>He swapped allegiances and is now playing for the USMNT. Previously, he played in the French ranks at the youth level. In 2021, he scored the game-winning goal for the Stars and Striper in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals against Honduras.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Matthias Koch</em></p>


USMNT's Jordan Pefok switches Bundesliga clubs

Due to his lack of playing time at Union Berlin, Jordan Pefok has been loaned out to Bundesliga rival Borussia Mönchengladbach.


<p>Union Berlin continues to rise amongst soccer in Germany at an unbelievable rate. Although the club has roots dating back to the early 20th century, the team was founded with their current name in 1966. Despite this ample history, Union Berlin did not reach the top flight until 2019.</p>



<p>Team officials hoped that their club would essentially just survive relegation. However<em>,</em> the <em>Iron Ones</em>, as they are affectionately known, managed to finish a very respectively 11th in the <a href="https://www.worldsoccertalk.com/bundesliga-tv-schedule">Bundesliga</a> table for 2019/20. A season later the east Berlin team finished seventh, qualifying for the Europa Conference playoffs. Their ascension in the German league wouldn’t stop there. </p>



<p>Union Berlin qualified for the Europa League, finishing just one point out of a Champions League place in the 2021/22 campaign. The club is now just one point behind German giants <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/bayern-munich-tv-schedule/">Bayern Munich</a> for the Bundesliga title. So just how did this relatively new team join the likes of Bayern and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/borussia-dortmund-tv-schedule/">Borussia Dortmund</a> in German soccer? It’s certainly not a billionaire owner. </p>



<h2>Union Berlin reaching unprecedented heights in Germany</h2>



<p>The team is essentially the antithesis of modern soccer. While fans have seen clubs like Paris Saint-German, Chelsea, and Manchester City get to their positions by spending incredible amounts of money, this club hasn’t done that. </p>



<p>Union Berlin is 100% fan member owned. This means that there are no outside investors with the team. These fans previously helped raise money for the club during tough times by <a href="https://www.ironcurtainproject.eu/en/i-have-given-my-blood-for-union" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">donating blood</a>. They even helped <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/story-telling/11095/12723563/inside-union-berlins-miracle-rise-to-the-top-of-the-bundesliga" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rebuild the stadium</a> themselves. </p>



<p>Despite making a dozen additions to the current squad, Union Berlin actually made more money in the transfer market than they spent this season. And the current campaign is not an outlier either. In fact, since the club gained promotion to the Bundesliga in 2019, they actually have earned about $2 million more than they have spent on players.</p>



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<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Union Berlin are just 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 and this is all the proof you need ❤️🤍<br><br>The food. The drink. The stadium. The fans. The culture.<br><br>These are the Iron Ones. Your new favourite club. <a href="https://t.co/T0N9RSd7ut">pic.twitter.com/T0N9RSd7ut</a></p>— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) <a href="https://twitter.com/OptusSport/status/1622852912794968065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>The atmosphere within the stadium is incredible, as well. Despite being the smallest stadium in the Bundesliga, Stadion An der Alten Forsterei has an incredible atmosphere on matchdays. The stadium itself is also positioned inside a forest. Fans walking to the game get a very unique experience. Inside the stadium, negativity and boos are rarely heard.</p>



<h5>Bundesliga needs a new title holder</h5>



<p>Union Berlin’s rise is surely a positive for the Bundesliga. Bayern’s recent domination has made league titles essentially a foregone conclusion in the last decade. However, most fans like competitive leagues to make things more interesting. And Union Berlin could be an astonishing story should they snatch the trophy away from Bayern this season. </p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Matthias Koch</em></p>


Union Berlin is making waves in Germany despite not having a billionaire owner. The club is risen to the Bundesliga in other ways.

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USMNT's Jordan Pefok switches Bundesliga clubs

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Newly promoted Union Berlin is a model club in Germany