Football: 1. FC Union Berlin: Reconstruction on all levels

Many new names are still circulating in Köpenick even after the appointment of coach Bo Svensson and sports director Horst Heldt. A well-known one is Robin Knoche. The 31-year-old is an exemplary figure for the path of 1. FC Union. With the head of defense, the Berliners played their way into the Champions League; neither Knoche nor the club were expected to achieve such a development. On Sunday he left the Alte Försterei with his suitcase packed after a team breakfast, and a day later the club announced that they were separating after four years together. The “happy end to a bad season,” as captain Christopher Trimmel summarized, is the beginning of a necessary, major restructuring at Union.

New coach

Knoche didn’t get a proper farewell; there was too much at stake today, stadium spokesman Christian Arbeit announced on Saturday before the game against SC Freiburg kicked off. A guest received this honor: legendary coach Christian Streich was greeted as a “football god” by the Berlin fans on the sidelines before his last appearance. The football gods in red and white then showed exactly what had brought them to this dramatic relegation final: pressure and fear were greater than ability and self-confidence. This is also why interim coach Marco Grote was probably not an option for the vacant executive chair; former Mainz coach Bo Svensson was introduced in Köpenick on Thursday.

Despite the dramatic rescue in stoppage time, Grote’s second short term at 1. FC Union came to an ignoble end. “We’re ending this now,” said Christian Arbeit after just two questions at the press conference. Union’s media director explained that this was an emotional moment for both coaches. Maybe he just wanted to protect his own. Because Union’s U19 coach got lost in his sentences, some people thought they recognized it as an application speech. And at the moment of success, Grote failed to recognize what had previously happened on the pitch. The team had by no means approached the game “differently” or “more offensively”, they only showed self-confidence and courage after the restart in the second half – when with 1. FC Köln trailing 3-0 in Heidenheim it was clear that at least relegation would happen for sure is.

Amazing insight

Trimmel briefly took a deep look: “It’s never happened before at Union,” said the captain, “that we as a team are falling apart like this.” He has been in Köpenick for ten years – and spoke about the 2-3 defeat at 1. FC Köln last week, the first of two games under Grote’s responsibility following the dismissal of Nenad Bjelica. The same thing didn’t happen against Freiburg, and the team didn’t give up despite missing two penalties. When there was nothing left to lose with Cologne’s direct relegation, Union took the lead through Benedict Hollerbach. Freiburg’s equalizer was followed in the 93rd minute by the redemptive 2-1 through Jannik Haberer’s follow-up shot from the second penalty. Union was saved, Bochum had to go into relegation after losing 4-1 in Bremen.

Trimmel quickly returned to the agenda. He thanked the coaching team around Grote and his assistants Marie-Louise Eta and Sebastian Bönig and praised the self-confidence they had regained and the return to Union virtues among them. That’s how it should be. However, the club needs to be more honest and clear in its analysis of the season. “When we talk about mistakes, I’ll start with myself,” Dirk Zingler suggested, at least an all-encompassing reappraisal. What is unusual in this context is the fact that the traditional final meeting with the president – usually one day after the end of the season – has not yet been announced. Zingler also wanted to “get drunk first.” Apparently there were too many errors to be able to report on them publicly right away.

Lots of bad investments

The great tremors and the state of the team are only partly the fault of the three coaches this season. Regardless of whether it was under Urs Fischer, Bjelica or Grote: “We never really came together as a team,” said Captain Trimmel. Reaching the Champions League marks the beginning of the end of the great success. Union has recorded a loss of more than 30 million euros in this season’s transfer market. With sales increasing enormously to 175 million last season, the expensive player signings were described by the president as “investments”.

New leadership duo

Many were bad investments: whether in terms of sport or character – well-known newcomers did not fit into the system of successful coach Fischer. Robin Knoche is not the only departure, almost an entire football team has already said goodbye to Köpenick, and more will follow. Oliver Ruhnert is responsible for this. The president recently left it open as to whether he would remain as head of sports. On Tuesday evening, the club announced that Horst Heldt would take over the position and Ruhnert would again become the club’s chief scout at his own request. A new leadership duo was found fairly quickly with Heldt and coach Svensson. No matter who comes to Köpenick now – in the Alte Försterei the following applies: Learning from mistakes means learning to win.