Suspended for the forthcoming Bundesliga fixture against German record champions FC Bayern Munich, FC Union Berlin head coach Steffen Baumgart discussed his plans for coaching the team remotely at his Thursday press conference. For the man tasked with leading die Eisernen, it certainly won’t be an easy task. Union remain in trouble despite last week’s surprise win.
Back when Baumgart coached FC Köln during the pandemic, a club video of the COVID-striken gaffer yelling at his TV screen went viral. Those were different days. The 53-year-old’s “brand” isn’t in the same state following his sacking in the cathedral city, a failed stint with Hamburger SV, and his wobbly start with in the capital city’s Köpenick quarter.
Baumgart let it be known that he would be attending the match incognito on Saturday. Even if his “brand” isn’t in the best shape, the Rostock-native kept his sense of humor about him. One reporter’s question gave him a chance to elicit some chuckles from members of the assembled press corps.
“It will be very difficult for me not to be on the sidelines,” Baumgart said on Thursday. “It won’t be easy for people to find me. That’s intentional. I won’t tell you where I’ll be seated [in the stands]. You’ll have to find me. I’ll at least tell you that I’ll have a seat that helps me to observe well.
“You’re really asking me if it will be hard to win against Bayern?” Baumgart sarcastically responded to the later question. “I find that to be a fabulous question. Really. I’ve coached against them, played against them, and gotten my ass kicked.
“I climb mountains until I get to the summit,” Baumgart went on. “When I get knocked down, I start climbing again. I don’t say ‘when it didn’t work in the past, it will never work’.
“How difficult it is [against Bayern] isn’t something that I need to explain,” Baumgart concluded. “That’s explained by every head-coach prior to every game against Bayern and usually after the game too.“
GGFN | Peter Weis
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