Coach Bo Svensson fired from Bundesliga club Union Berlin

1. FC Union Berlin has reacted to its sporting crisis and released coach Bo Svensson. The news reached the 45-year-old Dane after nine winless games across all competitions and six days after the embarrassing 4-1 defeat in the Bundesliga against SV Werder Bremen. It is still unclear who will lead the Köpenickers out of the negative vortex. According to the club, a decision on who will take over the team on an interim basis will be made in the next few days. Three other team supervisors also have to go.

“After a detailed analysis of the season so far, we are convinced that a significant change is necessary to reverse the trend. We have therefore decided not to continue the collaboration with Bo Svensson, Babak Keyhanfar, Kristoffer Wichmann and Tijan Njie,” says Managing Director of Professional Football Horst Heldt quoted in the communication.

Svensson’s release comes immediately before landmark duels. After the winter break we will face the Keller competitors from Heidenheim and Augsburg.

The Iron Men had been courting Svensson for a long time until he was finally signed as the absolute preferred candidate before the start of the season. The Scandinavian took over an unsettled team that lacked self-confidence and collective unity after being relegated at the last minute.

Those responsible in Berlin seemed to have shown the right hand with their decision. Even Svensson couldn’t eradicate the offensive weakness. But the team found its defensive strength and irrepressible fighting spirit again under the Dane.

Fourth place in the table after the eighth matchday was the reward. After respectful draws against Leipzig or Frankfurt and victories against Dortmund, some fans even dreamed of Europe again. The Alte Försterei became a Union fortress again and was only taken by Bayer Leverkusen at the end of November.

But since the last win on October 20th against newly promoted Kiel, not much has come together. The cup debacle at third division team Arminia Bielefeld was followed by defeats against Wolfsburg and Leverkusen. In Stuttgart the team lost a 2-0 (2:3) and against bottom team Bochum they only managed a 1-1 draw despite having the advantage for around 80 minutes.

In addition to the strikers who didn’t score, there were defenders who defended poorly. From week to week my courage and self-confidence dwindled. At the start of the season, Svensson’s plan to focus on defensive stability was still working. The balance has now been lost and everything is reminiscent of the horror season last year.