Robin Gosens admitted to experiencing a “strange feeling” after scoring his first Bundesliga goal for boyhood club Schalke 04 against former Bundesliga employers Union Berlin on Friday evening.
The 32-year-old opened the scoring in Schalke’s 3-1 victory at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, scoring Schalke’s first Bundesliga goal since May 2023 in the process. Gosens declined to celebrate after volleying home against the club with which he experienced one of the most turbulent seasons of his career.
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“I have great respect for Union,” Gosens told Sky Germany afterward. “I had a very intensive time here with the [relegation] rescue on the final day of the [2023/24] season. I had a very valued and positive experience here with Union. So there were different sides to it.
“On the other hand, it was my first Bundesliga goal for Schalke,” Gosens continued. “As a [boyhood] Schalke fan. In the end, it was a strange feeling, but I’m happy we got the three points.”
Gosens’ complicated Union history
Few players arrived at Union with expectations quite like Gosens did in August 2023. Fresh off reaching the Champions League final with Inter Milan, the German international finally returned to his homeland after building his entire professional career in the Netherlands and Italy.
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Playing Bundesliga football had long constituted a personal ambition for the Emmerich native. Union, meanwhile, were preparing for their own historic first Champions League campaign after finishing fourth in the Bundesliga. Gosens represented a statement signing for a club whose rise had previously been built largely on inexpensive and unfashionable acquisitions.
The relationship initially looked perfect.
Gosens scored twice in his first Bundesliga start against Darmstadt and had already netted four league goals after seven matchdays. He also started all six of Union’s Champions League fixtures and scored against Braga.
Then practically everything around him collapsed.
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Urs Fischer’s Champions League participants fell into an extraordinary domestic crisis, losing nine consecutive Bundesliga matches and eventually parting company with the coach who had overseen Union’s rise from the second division into Europe.
Gosens’ own production slowed with the team, but he remained one of Union’s most productive attacking players. He ultimately finished his lone full Bundesliga campaign in Köpenick with six league goals and four assists.
Union entered the final matchday against Freiburg facing the possibility of dropping directly into the relegation play-off only one year after qualifying for the Champions League. Gosens started that afternoon at the Alte Försterei.
The afternoon became appropriately chaotic. Josip Juranovic missed a first-half penalty. Benedict Hollerbach eventually put Union ahead. Ritsu Doan equalized for Freiburg five minutes from time. Kevin Volland struck a stoppage-time penalty against the post before Janik Haberer converted the rebound. The 2-1 victory lifted Union above Bochum and secured Bundesliga survival in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable.
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That was the “rescue on the final day” Gosens specifically recalled upon returning to Köpenick on Friday.
His association with Union ended a few months later in equally unusual fashion.
Gosens left for Fiorentina on the final day of the 2024 summer transfer window despite having initially prepared to start Union’s league match against St. Pauli that evening. He later acknowledged that the abrupt move created an uncomfortable situation for his teammates while explaining that he and his family had ultimately felt more at home in Italy.
The loan subsequently became permanent.
GGFN later chronicled the conclusion of his Union chapter when Fiorentina activated the permanent transfer in May 2025.
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His complete Union record stood at 39 competitive appearances, seven goals and four assists.
Familiar far-post instinct delivers for Schalke
Schalke brought their lifelong supporter back to Germany this summer.
When Gosens was introduced in Gelsenkirchen, he spoke openly about being taken to a Schalke match by his godfather at the age of six and developing his love of football from that experience. GGFN covered Miron Muslic’s belief that the veteran would “elevate” Schalke.
Gosens’ 1-0 finish proved an emblematic representation of his skill set.
Schalke attacked down the right in the 25th minute, with Soufiane El-Faouzi reaching the byline before lifting the ball toward the penalty area. Leopold Querfeld failed to clear cleanly and instead redirected the delivery toward the far side.
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Gosens had already arrived. The left wing-back met the loose ball first-time and drove his volley in off the inside of the far post.
“I had a solid intuition how the ball would fall at the far post,” Gosens explained. “I think that was always one of my major strengths, also in Italy.”
That observation carried particular significance given what Gosens said shortly after joining Schalke.
Following his first preseason appearance, GGFN documented Gosens explaining why he feels most comfortable as a wing-back in a back-three system.
“With a good left back who can supply me with some cover, I can move forward and I consider myself dangerous at the far post,” Gosens said at the time.
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The theory required only three Bundesliga matchdays to produce tangible evidence. Gosens was already affecting Friday’s game before scoring. His vertical pass helped release Kenan Karaman for Schalke’s first serious effort, while one of his overlapping runs later occupied Josip Juranovic and created the space from which Adil Aouchiche tested Frederik Rönnow.
After the opener, Gosens continued supplying width on the left while Schalke’s compact defensive structure forced Union into largely sterile possession during the opening 45 minutes. The former Union player eventually departed after 80 minutes with Schalke leading 2-0.
Gosens helped prepare Schalke for Alte Försterei
His contribution extended beyond his own performance. Gosens was one of the Schalke players uniquely positioned to explain precisely what Muslic’s side should expect in Köpenick.
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“I contributed [to the team preparation this week] the type of atmosphere that was waiting here for us,” Gosens said when asked about his role in preparing the team. “I think we experienced that this evening. An unbelievably lovely stadium with great fans that push their team to the limit and are always positive. Today, when we were leading 2-0, there were no whistles. They eventually scored another goal. There’s a great deal of [home stadium] power here.”
Schalke handled that pressure impressively for long stretches. Union eventually mounted considerable pressure, forcing Loris Karius into several strong saves before former Schalke attacker Tim Skarke finally cut the deficit in stoppage time.
Karius denied Skarke an equalizer moments later before substitute Maximilian Wöber finished a counterattack in the 13th minute of added time. Gosens believed Schalke’s ability to cope with the surroundings had been evident from the beginning.
“I tried to prepare the team for that,” Gosens said. “The team took it on well from the first minute onwards. They played well in transition and defended well out of the back.
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“I’m glad I could help the team earn some well-deserved points,” Gosens said. “It was a tough piece of work, but I think that – on the basis of the full 90 minutes – it was well deserved.”
GGFN | Peter Weis
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