Germany’s Union Berlin has made soccer history by appointing Marie-Louise Eta as head coach, making her the first woman to take charge of a top team in Europe’s top five leagues. The P45 was handed over to Steffen Baumgart on Saturday, with Eta immediately announced as his successor and given responsibility for steering the club to Bundesliga safety.
Union Berlin’s loss to bottom-place Heidenheim was a decisive factor in the club’s hierarchy, and was the final nail in the coffin for Baumgart. The team currently sits in 11th place, but a top-level position has not yet been mathematically confirmed. They hold an 11-point cushion above the relegation zone, but it would take a catastrophic collapse to face relegation.
Despite this, the club turned to Eta to guide the team through the remainder of the campaign. The 34-year-old has been given interim responsibilities and is already set to take over as coach of the women’s team from the summer onwards.
“Our position in the Bundesliga is not yet secure, given the point difference in the bottom half of the table,” Etta said. “I am glad 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.”
While other European clubs have not appointed women to their top teams, it is worth noting that they have appointed women to managerial positions. In 2014, France’s Clermontfoot appointed Corinne Diacre as the first female manager in French men’s soccer history. She follows in the footsteps of Carolina Morace, who became the only woman to manage a men’s professional team in Europe after a short spell with Viterbese in Italy’s third tier.
Union Berlin is currently taking similar steps, albeit on a larger scale, 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.”
“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 delighted 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.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive daily Mirror Football content. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
