Union Berlin: New coach – Dane Bo Svensson will be Bjelica’s successor

As of: 10:37 a.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes

Bo Svensson and Mainz 05 separated at the beginning of November last year

Source: dpa/David Inderlied

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According to a report, the Dane Bo Svensson will be the new coach at 1. FC Union Berlin. The 44-year-old’s commitment should therefore be announced this week. Svensson most recently worked for Berlin Bundesliga rivals Mainz 05.

The Dane Bo Svensson, it was indicated. He should fix it as the new coach of 1. FC Union Berlin, which has fallen deeply and has barely escaped relegation. The 44-year-old’s commitment should be announced this week, the pay-TV channel Sky reported on Thursday morning. Svensson would succeed Nenad Bjelica, who was released shortly before the end of the season, and interim coach Marco Grote.

Since the last-minute rescue from the Bundesliga, the former football professional was considered the preferred candidate of the Berlin club, who only announced Horst Heldt as the new managing director of professional football on Tuesday. As Sky reported, Svensson and Heldt are said to have met for final talks on Wednesday.

Svensson coached FSV Mainz 05 until 2023 and was already considered a potential successor after Urs Fischer left. Oliver Ruhnert, who will become Union’s chief scout again at his own request, had extremely positive comments about Svensson at the weekend. “Why shouldn’t Bo Svensson fit in with Union? He worked really successfully in Mainz and is an experienced and committed Bundesliga coach. I think that could work,” said Ruhnert on WELT TV.

Coaching bench instead of teaching – now also at Union Berlin

Svensson takes over the Köpenickers at almost their lowest point in the sport. After a nerve-racking season with a long series of defeats, two coaching changes and a last-minute Bundesliga rescue, the unsettled team lacks self-confidence. The collective unity and determination that has allowed the Berliners to leave individually much better teams behind in recent years have rarely been evident recently.

The Dane is considered smart, empathetic and someone who questions his own behavior rather than that of his players. After retiring from professional football in 2014, he actually wanted to study and “maybe work as a teacher with young people,” as Svensson once said. But his compatriot Kasper Hjulmand brought him onto the coaching staff of Mainz 05. Ten years later, Svensson has arrived in the capital.