Marie-Louise Eta becomes Union Berlin interim head coach and Bundesliga’s first female men’s team boss | OneFootball

Marie-Louise Eta has been appointed interim head coach of Union Berlin for the rest of the season, becoming the first woman to lead a men’s team in the Bundesliga and across Europe’s top five leagues. She steps up with five matches remaining.

According to BuLi News, the club turned to their own ranks, handing the 34-year-old responsibility for the final five fixtures.

She first broke ground in 2023 when she became Marco Grote’s assistant at Union, the first woman to hold that post.

In 2024 she led the side from the technical area while then head coach Nenad Bjelica was suspended, the first woman to do so in the Bundesliga.

Since the start of 2025/26 she has coached Union’s U19s, and she is set to take charge of the club’s women’s team in the summer.

Eta previously played for Turbine Potsdam, Hamburger SV, Cloppenburg and Werder Bremen, and represented Germany at youth level. She retired at the end of 2017/18, aged 26.

With Turbine Potsdam she won the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2010, three Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Hallenpokal trophies. She also lifted the UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship and the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup with Germany.

Her brief now is clear, to help secure Union’s top-flight status for another season.

Source: BuLi News