1. FC Union Berlin have signed up Steffen Baumgart as new head coach for the men's professional team. The 52-year-old will prepare the team for the rest of the Bundesliga season from 2 January.

The Rostock born Baumgart has already made a name for himself in the Bundesliga as both a player and a coach. In a total of 225 Bundesliga games for F.C. Hansa Rostock, VfL Wolfsburg and FC Energie Cottbus, the striker scored 29 goals and provided 16 assists. He also scored 35 goals and provided a further ten assists in 142 second division games.

His journey as a professional footballer led him to 1. FC Union Berlin for the first time in the summer of 2002. In his two seasons in Köpenick, he played 68 competitive games, scoring 22 goals and setting up eight. Baumgart not only captained the Union team, but was voted Union’s Fußballer des Jahres in both seasons.

After his playing career, which ended in 2008 after a stint with then-third-division team 1. FC Magdeburg, he took his first steps on the path to becoming a football coach. After stops at Germania Schöneiche (assistant coach), 1. FC Magdeburg (head coach), Hansa Rostock (assistant coach) and SSV Köpenick-Oberspree, Baumgart led Berliner AK to a highly acclaimed second place finish in the Regionalliga Nordost during the 2015/16 season before his subsequent engagement with third division club SC Paderborn finally marked Baumgart's breakthrough as a professional coach.

The holder of the UEFA Pro licence led the East Westphalia-based club to promotion to the Bundesliga, finishing second in the 2017/18 season. In the summer of 2021, Baumgart moved to 1. FC Köln, with whom he reached the UEFA Conference League in seventh place. A year later, Köln finished the Bundesliga season in a safe 11th place before they parted ways in December 2023.

This was followed in February by his engagement at Hamburger SV, which ended in November despite their promising position in the promotion race of the current 2. Bundesliga season. Baumgart's professional path is now leading him back to the Alte Försterei for the second time, where he will take charge of the men's team's training for the first time on Thursday, 2 January 2025.

Two long-standing Union players, co-trainer Sebastian Bönig and match analyst Adrian Wittmann, are returning to the coaching team. They were most recently employed as supervisors for players on loan (Bönig) and in the youth training centre (Wittmann). Baumgart will also continue to rely on the services of assistant coaches René Wagner and Kevin McKenna, with whom he has already successfully worked together with. The coaching team is completed by goalkeeping coach Michael Gspurning, athletic trainer Martin Krüger and rehabilitation coach Johannes Thienel.

“We chose Steffen Baumgart because we are convinced that he is the right type of coach for us. His way of leading a team, developing players and challenging them was an important aspect of our decision. In addition, he has Bundesliga experience and knows Union inside out,” explained Union’s director of men’s professional football, Horst Heldt. “He is a coach who doesn't need a long warm-up period and can quickly give a team a clear direction. I look forward to working with him and our newly formed coaching team and I am convinced that together we will be successful.”

‘I'm very much looking forward to returning to the Bundesliga and to Union,” said Baumgart on his return to Union. “It's certainly an advantage to know the club and many people here well. We don't have much time to prepare and will work intensively with the players to be prepared for the tasks ahead of us. Union offer very good conditions to be successful, and I would like to make the best possible use of these together with the coaching staff, the support staff and the team.”

The first training session under Steffen Baumgart is scheduled for Thursday, 2 January at 15:30 and will be open to the public at the training ground at the Alte Försterei. On Sunday, 5 January, Union will host Bundesliga opponents Holstein Kiel for a friendly at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Kick-off is at 13:00, tickets are already available to buy.