That’s it!
Union Berlin is separating from coach Nenad Bjelica (52). The club from Köpenick announced this on Monday afternoon. On Sunday, Union lost 3:4 in the basement duel against Bochum, and staying in the league is in acute danger (only one point ahead of the relegation place). The Iron Men have been without a win for six games under Bjelica (only two points) – now the club is pulling the ripcord.
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The Croatian coach only took up his position at Union at the end of November. Bjelica managed to stabilize the team and lead them away from the bottom of the table. However, the recent trend was downwards again. In 17 Bundesliga games, Bjelica had five wins, eight defeats and four draws.
Instead of Bjelica, Marco Grote (51) takes over as interim coach. With Marie-Louise Eta (32) and Sebastian Bönig (42) at his side as assistant coaches, the previous U19 coach will prepare the Iron Men for the most important away game at 17th in the table, Cologne (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.).
If Union loses in Cologne, direct relegation would even be conceivable – with two games left and currently six points ahead of Cologne (Union’s goal difference is currently five goals better).
What a fight! Dramatic relegation thriller in the VIDEO
Source: Image05.05.2024
Grote in Union’s club statement: “I’m looking forward to the task and am convinced that we will manage to stay in the league. I know our team well and know that if we join forces we will be able to get the necessary points.”
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Union President Dirk Zingler: “In the fight to stay in the Bundesliga, we need the strength of the entire club and of course that of our team. We trust Marco Grote and his team to lead our players back to their performance limits in order to make the remaining games successful until the end of the season.”
Zingler continued: “I would like to thank Nenad Bjelica and his team for the work they have done. They managed to stabilize the team in an extremely difficult situation, with the result that we can stay in the league on our own.”
Grote had already taken over as interim coach after the dismissal of Union’s successful coach Urs Fischer (58, in Berlin from July 2018 to November 2023). On matchday 12 there was a 1-1 draw against Augsburg with Grote on the sidelines.
Interesting: Bönig, who previously worked as an assistant coach under Fischer, is returning to the coaching staff after his time out. Most recently he worked as a supervisor for Union’s loan players.
Fischer had previously led Union to promotion to the Bundesliga in 2019 and then sensationally reached the Conference League, Europa League and Champions League with the Berliners. However, he was released in November 2023 after 14 consecutive games without a win.
Now it’s over for his successor too.
2024-05-06 13:42:17
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