Uwe: Boro loss hurt, but it made us stronger

Former defender Uwe Hunemeier believes that the final game of the 2015/16 campaign that saw Middlesbrough promoted instead of Albion galvanised the club for a successful push into the Premier League a year later.

Alex Stedman

2020-04-01T07:00:00Z

Uwe Hunemeier in action for Albion.

The German central defender arrived on the south coast in 2015 but was injured for the game at the Riverside so travelled north on the train to watch with Solly March.

Uwe said, “It was a lot hotter in Brighton than when we arrived at Middlesbrough station, Solly was in shorts, he wasn’t dressed for the day!

“We watched with the fans and it was a great feeling to be there with them. Connor Goldson’s family were there so we knew some people but in the end it was sad and quite unfortunate.

“To see them go up instead was obviously tough. We were all devastated but we had to carry on with the play-offs, but it was tough mentally. We then had some bad injuries although I think it made us even stronger for the next campaign.”

Hunemeier spent nearly three years with Albion, making nearly 40 appearances and enjoying promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history.

But he admits that when he initially joined from Paderborn, he didn’t know too much about the Seagulls.

“When I look back, I was quite surprised that Brighton made contact with me - I didn’t know much about the club, but they sent me a video and I was really impressed with the facilities. I’d never seen anything as good as that before.

“My family came over to visit the city first because I was still playing in Germany. They told me how impressed they were, so it was an easy decision.

“I came over on a Wednesday, trained for the first time on Thursday and then played away to Fulham on the Saturday. I didn’t have a chance to settle in, but Bruno and Calde took care of me.

“They were from other countries too, so it made it easier for me to come into the environment. It was a really interesting and busy time and I look back on it with good memories.”