34-year-old Marie-Louise Eta is the new head coach of the men’s team of Union Berlin, a club that participates in the German football competition Bundesliga. Union did that in the night from Saturday to Sunday announced. Eta is the first woman to coach a men’s team in one of Europe’s five major men’s football competitions. In addition to the Bundeliga, this also includes the Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy) and Ligue 1 (France).
Eta replaces Steffen Baumgart, who was dismissed due to disappointing results. Union Berlin is currently at risk of relegation. On Saturday the club lost 3-1 to Heidenheim, the team that is currently at the bottom of the Bundesliga. Union Berlin’s football director, Horst Heldt, is “very pleased” with Eta’s arrival, but emphasizes that it is a temporary appointment. “As planned,” Eta will become head coach of the Union Berlin women’s team in the summer, says Heldt.
Eta was born in Dresden. She played football at 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and SV Werder Bremen, among others. Due to a serious injury she had to stop at the age of twenty-six. Then Eta started coaching. In 2023, she was the first female assistant coach for the men’s team of a major football club, Union Berlin. She then worked as a youth coach. About her new job, Eta says: “I am happy that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task.”
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Football has a glass ceiling that is difficult to break through. Although no one is surprised by a man coaching a women’s team, it remains rare for a woman to train a team of men. Football played by women’s teams is now growing enormously, although it is still difficult to earn money, he concluded NRC last year. Last September, Hera United was the very first women’s team in Dutch professional football that does not fall under an existing men’s professional club. The Netherlands has several prominent trainers of women’s teams, such as Sarina Wiegman (England coach), Renée Slegers (Arsenal) and Suzanne Bakker (AC Milan).
Union Berlin, the club of coach Eta, is considered remarkable within the Bundesliga. It is the only team in the highest German league with roots in the former GDR. Supporters helped build the stadium and raised money when the club was in danger of going bankrupt. “Union was built on solidarity and thus honors East German values. Also in the game, by the way: that is still just as physical as in the GDR,” sports journalist Mathias Liebing said last year NRC. He wrote a book about the decline of East German football clubs after German reunification. “Union is the Berghain [technoclub in Berlijn] of football: raw and authentic.”
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