1. FC Union Berlin have reorganised their sporting management and have begun preparations for the 2018/19 season with confirmation of a new football structure. Responsibilities for the first-team operations and the youth/amateur department will be separated into two different roles.  Both will report directly to the club’s executive committee.

Lutz Munack, member of the executive committee and the Sporting Director, will assume responsibility for all football departments at 1. FC Union Berlin, including youth and amateur teams. In addition to the further development of the academy, Munack will take over responsibility for the establishment of a new youth academy centre for the club.

The first-team operations include the leadership of the coaching and administration teams, as well as, scouting and squad planning. These duties will be assumed in the future by the newly-appointed Managing Director for Professional Football.  The club will confirm the process for this appointment at a press conference in due course. Helmut Schulte, the previous head of first-team operations, will leave the club with further information in a separate announcement.

Union to appoint new head coach for season 2018/19

1. FC Union Berlin will appoint a new head coach for the first-team for next season. Andre Hofschneider took over in December 2017 and will remain in charge for the three upcoming friendly matches before the summer break. Hofschneider will continue to work with the club as a coach in another function.

“A full season is now behind us in which we have once again undergone development in many areas and achieved our goals. 1. FC Union Berlin have more club members than ever before; the stadium capacity utilisation rate has risen again; we have continued to expand and grow in areas of sporting and merchandising; and have achieved many of our sporting targets for the youth academy and in the women’s department. At first-team level, however, we have clearly missed our self-imposed ambition of promotion to the Bundesliga. Instead, it was only just last week, after using all our strength, that we succeeded in securing our status in the second division. We began at an early stage within the executive committee to question our decisions in recent months. The analysis included structures, decision-making processes and also the staff in those positions,” said Dirk Zingler, president of 1. FC Union Berlin. “We have had good experiences in the past with short, efficient decision-making processes and clear responsibilities. We want to achieve this again.”