The name of Marie-Louise Eta has already entered the history of football: we are talking about the new coach of Union Berlin, which is currently in 11th place in the men’s Bundesliga. And it has decided to become the first club in the top German league to entrust the technical leadership to a woman. And that’s not all: if we look at the five top leagues in Europe (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1), this is an absolute first. So far, in fact, no first division club in these countries had ever chosen to rely on a female coach.
The decision by the Union executives came simultaneously with the dismissal of Steffen Baumgart, who had been coaching the Berlin team since January 2025. And who, after the defeat (1-3) against last-placed Heidenheim, finds himself with a seven-point advantage over the relegation zone with five matchdays remaining in the season. Baumgart pays for the poor performance from January to today, with only two victories in 14 matches, and indeed the official statement released by the club states that “the second half of the season has been too disappointing: a change in structure was necessary.”
Eta was chosen because she had already been part of the technical staff in various roles (technical collaborator and assistant coach) and with an interim contract until the end of the season, after which she will become the head coach of the women’s first team – as previously announced. In the meantime, however, she will have the chance to lead the men’s team to safety: “If we look at the gaps in the lower part of the standings,” Eta said, “we do not yet have the guarantee of playing in the Bundesliga next season. For me, this is a challenging task, and I am happy that the club has decided to trust me.”
Before Eta and Union Berlin, as mentioned, no other first division team had ever entrusted the technical leadership to a woman – at least in the five top leagues in Europe. The most significant precedents in this sense were those of Elena Costa, Corinne Diacre, Hannah Dingley, and Carolina Morace. Costa and Diacre both managed Clermont in Ligue 2 between 2014 and 2017, while Dingley was interim manager of Forest Green, a club in League Two in England, in 2023. Finally, Morace was chosen as the coach of Viterbese (Serie C1) in the summer of 1999, thus becoming the first female coach to lead a professional men’s team in Europe. Her adventure lasted only a few weeks, and for many years it remained a unique case in the history of European football. Now, however, Eta has set a new record.