Bundesliga
Union coach Bjelica: Always a “soldier of the club”
Nenad Bjelica is the new coach of 1. FC Union Berlin. photo
© Matthias Koch/dpa
In his first appearance as Union Berlin coach, Nenad Bjelica finds clear words. Anyone who doesn’t perform under the Croatian will have problems.
Union Berlin’s new coach Nenad Bjelica wants to put himself entirely at the service of the Bundesliga club, which is threatened with relegation.
“I have always been a soldier of the club. I will adapt to the club’s strategy,” said the 52-year-old Croatian during his introduction and added: “As a coach, you always have to adapt to the team you have. “
Bjelica is considered a strict coach who places great emphasis on discipline on the pitch. “I like discipline. I like organization. Clear tasks for each individual. I like players who do simple things perfectly,” said the coach about his footballing preferences.
There isn’t much time until Christmas to shape the team according to his ideas. The next game is on Wednesday (9 p.m./DAZN), the Champions League game at SC Braga. Then it’s against FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Real Madrid. “It was the right time to get involved. I have no problem with it at all. I’ve had games like this in my career,” said the 52-year-old.
Union manager: No talks with Raúl
Union Berlin did not look more closely at Spanish football legend Raúl in its search for a successor to coach Fischer. “We’ve really had a lot of discussions in the last few days. And it really speaks for the organization of this club that out of all the candidates or the conversations we’ve had, not a single candidate has come forward to date.” said manager Oliver Ruhnert.
As usual, numerous candidates were traded before Bjelica was officially announced as the new coach. On Sunday night, according to a media report, rumors intensified that former world-class striker Raúl could take over the Iron team. There had previously been speculation about Oliver Glasner or Alfred Schreuder.