Soccer Bundesliga - Union coach Svensson is not satisfied with "victory on Saturday"
For Bo Svensson, football is more than just the game - the new trainer of Bundesliga side Union Berlin emphasizes teamwork within the entire club. "Winning only on Saturdays wouldn't be enough for me," said the 44-year-old at his presentation at Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Wednesday, "I wanted a club that fits me and I fit in. It's about much more. The connection between people is important to me."
Previously, the trainer of league rival Mainz 05, after his resignation in the fall, mainly refreshed old contacts with friends instead of continuously hosting in other stadiums. "This is the first time in my life that football was not the top priority, and I learned that I could function without football," said Svensson, who found similarities with his previous club in Köpenick, "It was also about reflecting on which way I would go as a trainer and as a human being."
Svensson wants to keep the good things
He has already had brief telephone contact with some players. His playing philosophy will be first heard by the professionals during the training start on the coming Monday. "I want to keep the good things. I come with new eyes, so everyone should be ready for the next step," sketches the former professional of Borussia Mönchengladbach and Mainz the mix of the previous playing style. It should be more flexibly designed: "Union was easy to analyze, but hard to play against."
The roster - also due to the currently ongoing European Championship - will still change. That's why the training camp from July 13 to 19 in Austria's Langenfeld comes early, and Heldt still has a second training camp in the area in mind. The first league game in the sixth Bundesliga season starts on August 17 with the away game in the first round of the DFB Pokal against Regionalligist Greifswalder FC, a week later Union starts in the Bundesliga.
Union Berlin's President Dirk Zingler was infected with the human attitude of the former trainer Urs Fischer on Wednesday: "The goals of the club don't change. We play for the people who live here. We are ambitious and ambitious. The most important thing is that we focus, always with the same goal: to win games," said Zingler. The highest national league called him the goal for all Union teams: "We just want to be good, then the results will automatically come."
Union Berlin's website
- Bo Svensson plans to maintain the positive aspects of Union Berlin's playing style while bringing a fresh perspective.
- During his phone conversations with Union Berlin players, Svensson hinted at a more flexible and hard-to-counter playing approach.
- Union Berlin's president, Dirk Zingler, expressed the club's unwavering focus on playing for the local community and achieving success in the Bundesliga.
- Union Berlin will travel to Austria for a preseason training camp from July 13 to 19, followed by a potential additional training session in the area.
- Union Berlin's first league game in the sixth Bundesliga season will be an away match against Regionalligist Greifswalder FC in the opening round of the DFB Pokal on August 17.
- A week later, Union Berlin will commence their Bundesliga campaign, with the ultimate goal of being a competitive team in the top national league.