1. FC Union Berlin have appointed Urs Fischer as the club’s new head coach. The Swiss trainer has signed a contract until 30.06.2020, which is both valid for competition in the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga.

The 52-year-old, born in Zürich, was most recently the head coach of FC Basel from 2015 to 2017, where he led the Swiss side to back-to-back championships and a domestic cup. He also managed to guide Basel into the group stages of the UEFA Champions League before his contract ended in the summer of 2017.

"I was both surprised and pleased to hear the enquiry from 1. FC Union Berlin," Fischer said. "Swiss coaches have already left their mark on German football and I’ll do everything I can to add to this successful track record. The conditions at Union are excellent – the club is ambitious and we have some room to manoeuvre for the upcoming season. We need to make wise use of this to create a strong and dominant team to start this summer."

Fischer’s career began at local club FC Zürich, a club he would later go on to coach. A strong centre back, Fischer played 545 competitive matches for FC Zürich and FC St. Gallen, appearing for the Swiss national team on four occasions between 1989 and 1991. He won the Swiss Cup in 2000 with his main club, Zürich.

After successfully completing his UEFA Pro Licence in 2009, he was appointed head coach of FCZ a year later. In his first season, the club finished runner-up in the Swiss top flight, whilst reaching the group phase of the UEFA Europa League. Around two-and-a-half seasons followed at FC Thun where he also achieved qualification for the group stage of the Europa League.

"Urs Fischer is a seasoned football coach with a wealth of experience at the highest level," commented Oliver Ruhnert, Managing Director for Professional Football. "His football philosophy, his ideas about the daily engagement with the team and his authentic appearance in our discussions have convinced us that we’ve found the right coach with him. I’m very much looking forward to the cooperation which is just beginning, and I’m sure we can look forward to a successful season with him."