Former crowd favorite Steffen Baumgart returns to 1. FC Union Berlin after more than two decades. The 52-year-old native of Rostock will be the new coach of the recently weak Bundesliga soccer team. After Christmas, Union separated from Bo Svensson.
“I’m really looking forward to returning to the Bundesliga and to Union. It is certainly an advantage to know the club and many people here well. We don’t have a long preparation period and will work intensively with the players to be prepared for the tasks ahead of us. Union offers very good conditions to be successful. I would like to make the best possible use of this together with the coaching team, the supervisors and the team,” Baumgart is quoted in the statement.
The former professional, also known as a coach for his combative and direct style, was most recently employed at Hamburger SV. The collaboration ended on November 24th, and Baumgart has been available again since then.
The SZ editorial team has this article a content from X Corp. enriched
To protect your data, it was not loaded without your consent.
I agree that mine Content from X Corp. be displayed. This means that personal data is transmitted to the operator of the portal for usage analysis. You can find more information and a cancellation option atsz.de/data protection.
“We chose Steffen Baumgart because we are convinced that he is the right type of coach for us. His way of leading a team, encouraging and challenging players was an important aspect of our decision. “In addition, he has Bundesliga experience and knows Union very well,” explained Horst Heldt, professional football manager at Union.
Baumgart played for the then second division team for two seasons from the summer of 2002 and achieved cult status among the Eiserne fans. He was voted Union Footballer of the Year twice. After his move into coaching, Baumgart’s name was repeatedly mentioned in the media when the position at Union had to be filled.
After parting ways with Svensson after less than half a year, the Köpenick team urgently needed a new coach who could get started without a long period of training and getting used to it. Under the Dane Svensson, Union had recently failed to win nine competitive games in a row. André Breitenreiter, who had also been speculated about, has been the new coach at Hannover 96 in the 2nd league since Sunday. According to the “Bild” newspaper, Union’s professional football director Horst Heldt is said to have been particularly concerned with Baumgart. Both know each other from their time together at 1. FC Köln. Heldt brought Baumgart to the Rhine in 2021.
Heldt and club president Dirk Zingler didn’t have much time to fill the position. On January 2nd, Union will start training again, and on January 11th there will be a championship game against promoted team 1. FC Heidenheim. Four days later, FC Augsburg will be guests at the end of the first half of the season. Union starts the second half of the season with the home game against Mainz 05 on January 19th. A week later, the Köpenickers play in Hamburg against newly promoted St. Pauli. With Baumgart as the new coach.
#Union #Berlin #Baumgart #coach
