Berlin, 27 September 2024 (dpa/MIA) – Former Union Berlin coach Nenad Bjelica has returned to Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb after four and a half years away.

The 53-year-old has signed a "multi-year contract," the third-placed team in the Croatian league announced, without giving any further details.

The 25-times Croatian champions parted company with coach Sergej Jakirovic after the 9-2 thrashing in the Champions League by Bayern Munich last week.

Croatian Bjelica coached Dinamo from 2018 to 2020, winning two championships among other honours.

The fiery coach had wanted to follow in the footsteps of Union icon Urs Fischer last season. However, after a good start, the Croatian lost the dressing room with his sometimes brusque manner.

Two days before the end of the season and in the middle of a relegation battle, Union parted company with Bjelica. Under interim coach Marco Grote, the capital city club managed to avoid relegation on the final matchday. They are now coached by former Mainz boss Bo Svensson.

According to Germany's Bild newspaper, Bjelica finding a new club is good news for Union. The Bundesliga side is now set to save a low single-digit million amount in outstanding salary.