Union Berlin made history by becoming the first top team in Europe’s top five leagues to appoint a female head coach, cementing their place in the Bundesliga.
Marie-Louise Eta appointed as head coach of Union Berlin
Germany’s Union Berlin made history by appointing Marie-Louise Eta as head coach, making her the first woman to lead a top-flight team in Europe’s top five leagues.
Coach Steffen Baumgart was given his marching orders on Saturday and Eta was immediately announced as his replacement, tasked with keeping the team in the Bundesliga. Union Berlin lost to bottom-placed Heidenheim, which was the final straw for their standing.
The team is in 11th place, but mathematically they have not yet secured a top-level position. They are 11 points out of the relegation zone and would need a huge collapse to be relegated.
Nevertheless, they turned to Eta to lead the team for the remainder of the season. She has been placed in an interim role, with the 34-year-old already announced to take over as women’s team coach in the summer.
“Our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secured, given our point difference in the bottom half of the table. I am happy that the club has entrusted me with this difficult task. One of Union’s strengths was and still is the ability to come together in situations like this, and of course I am confident that together with the team we can secure important points,” Etta said.
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Other teams in Europe have famously handed over the reins to women, but never in the top flight. In 2014, French club Clermont Foote appointed Corinne Diacre as the first female manager in French men’s soccer history. She followed in the footsteps of Carolina Morace, who became the only woman to manage a professional men’s team in Europe after a short stint as manager of Viterbese in the Italian third division.
Union Berlin has followed suit and is growing in size and is confident that their appointments will bring the desired results. Horst Herdt, the club’s director of football, said: “We have had a very disappointing second half of the season so far and we cannot afford to lose sight of our league position.”
Marie-Louise Eta was already on the club’s staff but will now step up
“Our situation remains precarious and we urgently need points to secure our place in the league. Two wins in 14 games since the winter break, and our performances in recent weeks, do not give us confidence that we can still turn things around with our current structure. We have therefore decided to make a fresh start.”
“We are pleased that Marie-Louise Eta has agreed to take on this role on an interim basis before taking over as head coach of the women’s professional team in the summer as planned.”
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