After sacking Norbert Düwel on Monday, 1. FC Union Berlin acted quickly to install Sascha Lewandowski as their new head coach. The 43-year-old has signed a two-year deal with the Stadion An der Alten Försterei outfit.

Düwel departed after taking charge of the club in May 2014 and had a solid first season with Union, guiding them to a comfortable mid-table season. However, after just four points from five games last term, Dirk Zingler took the decision to part with him and hope that a new coach would have a positive effect on the team.

An impressive record

Lewandowski is a very highly thought of coach in German football, and rightly so. After some phenomenal work in VfL Bochum's youth set-up, most notably a three-year stint with the under-19 team, he moved on to Bayer Leverkusen in 2007. Since arriving at the BayArena, Lewandowski has continued his impressive work with youngsters and began to move up in the estimations of the board.

He was then given the first-team job in April 2012, and kept up an impressive record during his year in charge of the senior squad. It looked like he would take charge for a second time after an almost faultless stint at after Sami Hyypia's sacking, but turned it down and Roger Schmidt got the job. He went back to the youth teams and is now leaving Westfalen for the first time in his managerial career to cut his teeth elsewhere.

Zingler and Lewandowski have their say

"In Sascha Lewandowski, we have signed a coach who has drawn attention to himself with very successful work," said president Zingler. He also highlighted his work in "develop[ing] young players" and that he fitted into the "team and strategic goals". Zingler admitted, "We want the chance to be promoted and play in the Bundesliga."

Lewandowski, aside from joking with a member of the media after his phone went off, declared: "I am looking forward to the task ahead of me." He continued, 1. FC Union is an established, and above all ambitious, second division club, which has formulated its objectives clearly."

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About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]