Current Bundesliga leaders Union Berlin have announced that they have extended the contracts of trainer Urs Fischer and co-trainer Markus Hoffmann, which were due to expire at the end of the season.
The move, seen as an absolute no-brainer means the coach, who already had legendary status at the Köpenick club will oversee die Eisernen for the foreseeable future.
Fischer joined the club in July 2018 and led the Berlin club to its first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga in his first season in charge. Working in tandem with Hoffmann, he has taken the club from strength to strength. Union remarkably finished 11th in its debut season in Germany’s top division, then 7th, before a 5th placed finish last season saw them qualify for the Europa League.
“Urs Fischer is an excellent coach who, together with the entire coaching team, has led us into the most successful sporting phase in our club’s history” club President Dirk Zingler said after revealing the extension. “Our work together has always been characterised by a great mutual respect and trust, and our talks about a continuing of this relationship proceeded along these lines.
“There was never any question of not continuing our successful cooperation for any of us. I am very pleased that Urs Fischer and Markus Hoffmann will remain Unioners in the coming years” he added.
The understated coach himself also spoke of how happy he is in Köpenick. “What we have been able to experience together over the last few years is incredible. I find it hard to put into words. As I have often said, I feel very much at home at Union.
“The daily work together with the squad, as with the whole team here, achieved through the conditions that the club provides, and all the human interactions with each other, all of these have been important factors for our success in the past four years.
“I think we can still achieve a lot on this journey together, and I’m looking forward to being part of the club’s continued development.”
Co-trainer Markus Hoffmann was in total agreement with Fischer saying, “When you look at the past few years and what we have achieved together, I’m very happy. There is an atmosphere running throughout the club, it makes it fun. Everyone pulls together to be as successful as possible and that’s what I would very much like to continue doing here.”
The rise of Union Berlin is inextricably linked to the presence of Fischer and Hofmann in the dugout and this contract extension means that the Union bubble won’t be burst anytime soon.
