Steffen Baumgart on Union Berlin video and form woes: “We must clench our ass cheeks and carry on!” | OneFootball

It proved to be quite the busy week for Union Berlin club President Dirk Zingler. In addition to spearheading a legal effort on behalf of his Bundesliga club, the FCU boss produced a club-sponsored video midweek to address Union’s form woes. In the video, Zingler by no means glossed over the danger of relegation.

It seemed quite clear that – just as die Eisernen fired head coach Nenad Bjelica with two matches remaining last season – Baumgart could absolutely get the axe if matters didn’t improve. At a Friday press conference, the head-coach found himself directly confronted with Zingler’s words.

The man who never shies away from offering up colourful descriptions when talking football noted he had not seen the video, but remains in regular contact with Zingler.

While the German phrase “die Arschbacken zusammenkneifen” could be translated as “grit our teeth”, “gird your loins”, or “brace ourselves”, the literal translation also conveys the meaning quite accurately.

“The point [of the video] is that we must clench our ass-cheeks and carry on along this path [together],” Baumgart said. “It’s always been clear that things need to change and that there will be question marks if we don’t pick up points.”

GGFN | Peter Weis