After Fischer's departure: Union Berlin faces difficult search for coach
The people in charge at 1. FC Union Berlin are not to be envied. Hardly any other Bundesliga coach has stood for soccer and his club's path as much as Urs Fischer in recent years. But after 14 games without a win, the 57-year-old is gone.
The club around president Dirk Zingler must now find the right coach to avert relegation. "Every new coach needs time to build up connections," said Zingler on Wednesday. Some names that could play a role in the coming weeks.
Bo Svensson
The Dane is unlikely to have fond memories of Berlin at the moment. After the 3-0 defeat at Hertha BSC in the DFB Cup, he resigned from FSV Mainz 05 just over two weeks ago. His emotional video message afterwards earned him a lot of sympathy. This is another reason why Svensson could be a good fit for Union, where the connection to the local community is very important. He could also help the team offensively.
Oliver Glasner
In Wolfsburg and even more impressively in Frankfurt, the Austrian showed how quickly he can raise teams to a top level. However, after two years, despite the success, it was all over. Both times, disagreements with the club management played a role. Fischer, managing director Oliver Ruhnert and Zingler never made a secret of their controversial discussions. However, details never leaked out. Glasner could possibly hope for a bigger club than Union.
Steffen Baumgart
A crowd favorite at the Eisern since his time as a player, his wife worked for Union and he is said to still have an apartment in Köpenick. It would almost be too obvious. The catch: Baumgart still has a job at 1. FC Köln. Although the Rhinelanders are only ahead of Union in 17th place in the table due to their slightly better goal difference, the 51-year-old appears to be even more firmly in the saddle than Fischer was. It is also questionable whether he would want to jeopardize his previously unblemished reputation in the east of Berlin.
Marco Grote
The U19 coach will be in charge of Berlin as interim coach for the time being, with the next Bundesliga match coming up on November 25 against FC Augsburg. It is by no means impossible that Grote will get a chance to prove himself. And may stay if the results are right.
Despite the difficult search, several promising candidates have emerged for the 1st FC Union Berlin coaching role. Bo Svensson's emotional connection with the local community and his offensive approach could be beneficial, given his recent resignation from FSV Mainz 05. In contrast, Oliver Glasner, who has previously led teams to high levels, might be eyeing bigger clubs, given his previous disputes with management.
Source: www.dpa.com
