There's no doubt that Union Berlin performed well this season especially during the start of the season and I can remember that they have been at the top of the table and have contested in several ways but it is unfortunate they were not the Champions and it is fortunate that they will appear in the Champions League.
The reason why they fluctuated in their performance was lack of squad depth. I believe they will fix the problem this season by signing more good players and players will likely reciprocate because they are now in European competition.
The achievement Union Berlin had is really big on paper also. I mean just look at the comparison of the total market values of the top 4 teams this season:
- Bayern Munich:
979.70 million euros- Dortmund:
547.70 million euros- Leipzig:
487.30 million euros- Union Berlin:
126.10 million eurosThere is a really huge gap between Union Berlin and the others. But this team managed to even take the lead for a while and maintained a title race for a respectable amount of time. Leverkusen had a really bad season in the league of course which was also a factor that helped. However I wouldn't like to underestimate the work Union Berlin have done.
I also hope to see them adding some good players to make the team more reliable for the Champions League. Of course the board wouldn't have high expectations there but I guess they would like to do their best anyway.