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This season,\u00a0<\/em>The Athletic\u00a0is following Union Berlin,\u00a0a Bundesliga club from the former East Germany who were playing regional-level football less than 20 years ago<\/a>, on their inaugural\u00a0Champions League<\/a>\u00a0journey for our series Iron In The Blood.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n GO DEEPER<\/p>\n Is the Premier League still on course for an extra Champions League spot?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/a><\/p>\n As Union Berlin\u2019s players drifted down the tunnel and the stands in Braga\u2019s Municipal Stadium<\/a> emptied to the tune of one last song over the PA system, Marie-Louise Eta stood alone by the side of the pitch for a moment, lost in her thoughts.<\/p>\n Union had just picked up a second successive point in the Champions League<\/a> on the road \u2014 that was the good news.<\/p>\n The bad news was that Union had carelessly squandered a lead against a team that had played with 10 men for more than an hour, leaving the Bundesliga<\/a> club\u2019s hopes of finishing third in Group C and qualifying for the knockout stage of the Europa League<\/a>, hanging by a thread.<\/p>\n On top of that, Union\u2019s winless run had been extended to 16 matches in all competitions and the team\u2019s mental fragility was painfully exposed after Braga equalised. For a period, it felt like Braga had the extra player.<\/p>\n