Bundesliga: Union Berlin: relegation battle in Cologne, culture battle in Köpenick

There are actually places at the Alte Försterei that Dirk Zingler would prefer not to go to. “It’s not a good sign,” said the president of 1. FC Union Berlin, “that I’m standing here for the third time this season.” In the Bundesliga club’s press room on Tuesday, he commented on “the club’s coaching decision yesterday.” how media director Christian Arbeit opened the question and answer game. And so a lot of things surrounding the dismissal of Nenad Bjelica were discussed, some were only hinted at. But some things remained unanswered, which is also not a good sign – for the state of the club.

The club’s mistake

Bjelica is not solely responsible for the sporting situation. When Zingler stood in the press room on November 15th, he had to talk about the separation from successful coach Urs Fischer. At that time, Union footballers had reached the bottom of the first division table. The team is now fourth from last and can at least avoid direct relegation this Saturday in the basement duel against the second to last, 1. FC Köln. Things couldn’t go any higher in Köpenick. “This historic season,” as the president emphasized again, led Union to be one of the biggest clubs on the continent in the Champions League. However, the decline cannot only be explained by the fact that the team cannot consistently play above its limits – it is above all an expression of the club’s mistakes, which, as is well known, are usually made when they are successful.

Defeats are part of everyday life in football, and some have a significant impact. A separation is always a defeat for the club, said Zingler. Filling the coaching position is equally crucial. As was the case after the separation from Fischer, Union’s U19 coach Marco Grote will take on this task. At that time, he and his assistant Marie-Louise Eta scored the first point for Union in a 1-1 draw against FC Augsburg after nine defeats in a row. Now both of them – together with assistant coach Sebastian Bönig – have at least two games left to once again initiate a change for the better. And the Berliners can still manage to stay in the league on their own. Grote has the confidence to do that. “I know our team well and know that with our combined efforts we are able to get the necessary points,” he said after his renewed promotion.

Disinterest in fans’ concerns

Perhaps it is the severity of such decisions that sometimes lead to great incomprehension. Last Sunday, after the bitter 3-4 defeat against VfL Bochum, the president made a declaration of loyalty to Bjelica in front of the television cameras, and less than 24 hours later the coach lost his job. A day later he tried to explain this: “Every employee receives my fullest support until the last second.” This also applied to the Croatian coach, “until we install a new head coach,” said Zingler. If he wanted to dispel doubts about his credibility, he failed. Because in addition to his criticism of the speculative working methods of the media, which “really gets on his nerves,” he immediately banished all critics to insignificance. The president said it doesn’t affect him at all what nameless users write in forums. In doing so, he demonstrated an astonishing lack of interest in the fans’ concerns – and reduced them to mere consumers. Small circle instead of a big union family? In any case, he is only interested in “what people discuss and have discussed directly.”

One or two thoughtless words may have been due to the situation. In any case, the great tension in the relegation battle is omnipresent. The club should actually be prepared for this. In a side sentence, Zingler recalled the goal for the season: staying in the league. Were other things planned in a small circle? What is certain is that the club has changed after years of sporting advancement and economic growth. All you need to do is look at the team. Just two examples: National player Robin Gosens certainly didn’t come to Berlin to play against relegation. Neither is a European champion, although Leonardo Bonucci is already gone.

Zingler couldn’t or didn’t want to remember some of his words in the press room on Tuesday. In the same place in November, when asked by “nd”, he actually and understandably spoke about his fear of the days after his separation from Urs Fischer. Because it was clear: nothing would be the same again. The suspicion that what made Union great has been lost was reinforced by the press release on Bjelica’s dismissal on Monday with the following presidential statement: “We need the strength of the entire club in the fight to stay in the Bundesliga.” This has become a matter of course for years emphasizes, there must be something wrong.

Cost without benefit

Oliver Ruhnert must take responsibility for the sporting crash. After many notable decisions, Union’s sports director made some mistakes this season. Starting with the transfer policy last summer with the following plan: »Today we are in a situation where we can decide what is good for our club. When we were promoted to the Bundesliga, we had to do things to be competitive.” The expensive shopping spree wasn’t good for the Köpenick team, as many players didn’t fit into Urs Fischer’s successful system. In the Köpenick winter, Union gave up their best attackers in Sheraldo Becker and Kevin Behrens. Since then, a central center forward has been missing, offensive players have repeatedly criticized in discussions. Chris Bedia, who was hired by Ruhnert, has only played 102 minutes so far.

Union’s successful game was always based more on team strength than individual quality. Ruhnert was unable to maintain the profitable community this season. In addition to the Italian Bonucci, David Fofana, who has since been suspended, only stayed in Berlin for half a year. This time, the sports director opted for more quality and less character when it came to his player signings. Neither seemed to work for Bjelica. A coach who praises his own work and publicly looks for the reasons for defeats in his players? Yes, you can be wrong like that. Zingler confirmed long-standing rumors that the team was dissatisfied with the “methods and content of training” on Tuesday.

Silent club legend

In the press release about the coaching change, a lot more was written about Marco Grote and Bjelica was barely mentioned. He didn’t even have a chance to speak. The same thing happened to Michael Parensen at the beginning of April, when the end of the collaboration between the long-time player and later technical director of the professional department was announced. But because Union is “known for a nice farewell culture,” as Zingler emphasized on Tuesday, “you can imagine why that is.” Well, a relationship always takes two, at least. Above all, the silent farewell of a club legend like Parensen shows that Union has to fight for its successful culture again. In this case too, the fans were left alone with their disbelief. The club no longer seems to care too much about their concerns about values: a home game in the wrong jersey? No problem! The sponsor is satisfied.

In any case, the new coach now enjoys the president’s full support: “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.” The interim coach will also be in November was a candidate for the top job, Zingler revealed, “and he will be again in the summer.” The decision will probably be made again by Oliver Ruhnert, with whom, according to the president, the collaboration will continue. Why not? Mistakes are there to learn from.