Svensson’s failure is also a failure of the club

Things can happen brutally fast in professional football. It wasn’t even three months ago when Bo Svensson was still very popular. 1. FC Union was in sixth place after three wins from the first six games and after the terrible previous season a whole new era was beginning. Svensson, Torsten Mattuschka predicted in a major tabloid, could even become the next Urs Fischer.

So much for that. As of Friday, it is clear that the Bo Svensson era is ending in failure, and much earlier than anyone could have predicted in October. After nine games without a win and only six goals in twelve weeks, the club has now pulled the ripcord. Svensson and the coaching team he brought with him are history in Köpenick. A remarkable crash that does neither coach nor club any credit.

Now there were perhaps good reasons to part ways with Svensson now. In addition to the constant problems on the offensive, the defense, which was well staffed and actually believed to be safe, also weakened in the last three or four games. This was a step backwards compared to the fall, and with his grumpy interview appearances, Svensson didn’t really give the impression that he had the situation completely under control.

Union probably learned lessons from last season, when the club management stuck with Nenad Bjelica for a few weeks too long and almost paid for it with relegation. This time they prefer to make the cut a little earlier. This is now during the winter break, before the important games against Heidenheim, Augsburg, Mainz and St. Pauli in January.

There’s logic to all of this, but you still have to feel a little sorry for Svensson. Because in the end his failure is also a failure of the club.

“Parting ways with a head coach is always a defeat for a club,” said President Dirk Zingler in May after Bjelica was fired. This is just as true today. Not only the coach is responsible for the lack of quality in the offensive and the obviously still fragile atmosphere within the group, but above all his superiors. They too must now provide solutions.

At least a successor has apparently already been found. As the club announced on Friday, the next coach will be named in the coming days. We can only hope that this time it is a stroke of luck. Because if you include the interim coaches, this will be the fifth coaching change within thirteen months at 1. FC Union. For a club that had worked so stably for many years, this in itself is an indictment.