Just months after the Champions League surprise: Union Berlin fires coach

Urs Fischer is no longer the coach of 1. FC Union Berlin.

After 14 games without a win and slipping to last place in the German Bundesliga, the club and coach parted ways on Wednesday after more than five years of mostly very successful cooperation.

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Three days after losing 4-0 in the league against league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, Christopher Trimmel’s club drew the consequences of the sporting crisis.

A turning point

Union’s U19 coach Marco Grote will initially look after the team as interim coach. The 57-year-old’s departure is a turning point for the Iron Men.

In 2018, Fischer came as a former Swiss champion coach to an increasingly ambitious second division team that had had a disappointing season.

The Berliners achieved promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in the first season. It should only be the first step in a rapid upswing.

Steep fall

After staying in the league in 2020, the Berliners first made it into the Conference League and then into the Europa League. Last season, Union led the league table for a longer period of time and sensationally qualified for the premier class in the end – the greatest success in the club’s history.

But the run of success ended at the start of the current season; the Berliners have not won a competitive game since August.

Fans and the club supported the staff for a long time. “I am very grateful for the trust that I have always felt here. Nevertheless, it feels right when a change happens now: sometimes a different face, a different way of addressing a team can help to trigger development ” said Fischer.