Union Berlin sacks Nenad Bjelica, reappoints Marco Grote as coach amid relegation fears

Eta had stayed on as assistant coach under Bjelica, while Grote returned to Unions under-19s.Union travels to Cologne on Saturday, a must-win game for the hosts to avoid being the second team relegated after last-place Darmstadt.

Union Berlin has fired Nenad Bjelica as coach and appointed Marco Grote to save the team from Bundesliga relegation.

Bjelica and his assistants were told Monday morning they had to go, Union said in a statement.

Grote becomes the interim coach for the second time this season after taking over from long-time favourite Urs Fischer, fired in November after a 14-game run with a win.

The 51-year-old Grote will again be assisted by Marie-Louise Eta and Sebastian Bönig to prepare the team for its final games of the season. Eta had stayed on as assistant coach under Bjelica, while Grote returned to Union's under-19s.

Union travels to Cologne on Saturday, a must-win game for the hosts to avoid being the second team relegated after last-place Darmstadt. Union then hosts Freiburg on the final day.

Bjelica's last game in charge was a 4-3 loss at home to relegation-rival Bochum on Sunday when his team conceded three goals in the first half. It was Union's sixth consecutive game without a win, leaving the club just a point above the drop zone.

With two rounds remaining, Union has 30 points, one ahead of Mainz in the relegation playoff spot, and six ahead of Cologne, which needs to win its last two games to have any hope of escaping the drop.

The bottom two are automatically relegated, while the team that finishes third from the bottom faces a two-legged playoff against the third-place finisher in the second division to determine which side plays in the Bundesliga next season.

Union was only promoted to Germany's top division for the first time in 2019. It is the first season since then that it has had to seriously worry about relegation.

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