On Sunday, 1. FC Union Berlin faces a final for Bundesliga membership, 14th in the table. from Köpenick receives the 15th place in the table with the same points. VfL Bochum. In other words, he finds himself in a situation where additional unrest is seen as counterproductive. She was there on Wednesday anyway. The football magazine Kicker announced without providing any further sources that 1. FC Union and coach Nenad Bjelica would go “separate ways” at the end of the season. The 52-year-old is “not expected to develop the team’s play in the long term. In addition, his game preparation – such as foregoing video analysis – should be viewed critically in the squad.”
Officially, Union “did not want to comment on, deny or confirm” the report. Sources who should be familiar with the process at Union and those close to Bjelica questioned the validity of the article on Wednesday. Independently, it was said that there was a clear agreement to have an assessment discussion after the end of the season – and then make a decision. Exit open. This timetable, which Bjelica also publicly announced, continues to apply. According to reports, Bjelica’s contract would be extended by one year if relegated and by two years if he stayed in the league. Bjelica is also said to have deliberately not carried out video analyzes at the beginning of his time at the Union, but he is now using them again, albeit more dosedly than his predecessor Urs Fischer.
Bjelica took over the coaching position at Union in November 2023 from the Swiss cult coach, who had had a terrible start to the season after years of success. He wrote at the time Kickerthat Fischer should be inherited by former Real Madrid icon Raúl. Then things turned out differently.
After the incident with Sané, Bjelica had to fear for his job
In the first few months of his career, Bjelica managed to stabilize the team, especially defensively. After the famous incident with FC Bayern winger Leroy Sané in January, the Croatian coach still had to fear for his job. He got physical with Sané on the sidelines. After the German Football Association left Bjelica with a three-game ban, the debate about a possible immediate separation was immediately ended. The club subsequently rejected reports that a group of players no longer wanted to work with Bjelica. President Dirk Zingler is said to have been one of Bjelica’s most important advocates in those weeks.
Nevertheless, Bjelica remained under observation to a certain extent. This may have increased in recent weeks as Union slipped back into the bottom of the table. In the last five games, Union has only scored one goal – in a 5-1 defeat against FC Bayern Munich. Most recently, Union had a lot of bad luck in the 0-0 draw in Mönchengladbach. But whether a decision has been made about Bjelica’s future was at least in question on Wednesday.