Cult footballer and Union legend takes off his hat to Fischer: “In 100 years’ time, people will still be talking about Urs.”

View: Yes. What do you think of Fischer’s dismissal?
Torsten Mattuschka: I’m sad, just like everyone else here. Everyone within the club and everyone who has Union in their hearts hoped that Urs and his team would turn things around and that it would not come to this.

Can you understand the decision?
No matter how difficult it is for me: yes, I can do that. 14 games without a win in a row is an incredible number, of which only one was a draw, and otherwise only defeats. I think they were still considering giving him Augsburg on November 25th. But what would have happened if you had lost? Then you would have let the international break go unused and you would have had to blame yourself.

When we last spoke in September 2022, you said club officials would remain calm if things went wrong. They said, “They know where you come from.” Were you wrong?
No. They remained calm for a long time and together with Urs Fischer tried everything to turn the tide. The fans shouted his name and applauded after the 4-0 defeat to Leverkusen. Name me another club that would have stayed with its coach for so long in a situation like this.

SC Freiburg was relegated in the 2014/15 season with Christian Streich and promoted again with him a year later. Football romantics dreamed that Union would also stay with Fischer.
Streich did not have such an incredible series of bankruptcies with Freiburg at the time. I believe that if Fischer and his players had shown they could win, he would still be a coach. The decision was difficult for those responsible, but at Union it is about survival. A relegation would be a catastrophe.

Why? Until promotion in 2019, Union never played in the first division.
The club has since become much bigger, the number of members has grown, success is sexy. But the number of employees has also increased, because promotion and costs are much higher. Relegation would have devastating consequences: there would be layoffs and the construction of the stadium would have to be postponed. And then something else changed significantly.

What?
With all the recent successes, expectations have also increased. The mentality of all iron players has changed: the Unioners have tasted blood, they want to get a grip on the European places. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the Champions League, but sixth place does. The signal with Fischer’s dismissal is clear: it is now about staying in the competition!

Does this ending damage Fischer’s reputation?
No. Urs is and remains a complete bomb. What he has achieved with Union is incredible. No Unioner would have ever dreamed of being able to hear the Champions League anthem. In 100 years people will still be talking about Urs here. He can walk with his head held high, he knows that. And once he comes to visit, he is embraced and celebrated everywhere. But the incredibly beautiful fairy tale is now over. It went this far and no further.