Union Berlin make history by naming Bundesliga's first woman coach | OneFootball

Union Berlin has appointed Marie-Louise Eta as head coach, making her the first woman to lead a Bundesliga team and also the first female coach of a top-flight club in one of Europe’s major leagues.

After losing 3-1 away to bottom-placed Heidenheim on Saturday, Union Berlin dismissed coach Steffen Baumgart and announced the hiring of Eta, who at 34 was part of Baumgart’s coaching staff and will take charge until the end of the season.

The club from the German capital has won only two matches since Christmas and is just seven points above the relegation playoff zone.

As a player for Turbine Potsdam, Eta won the Champions League in 2010, as well as three Bundesliga titles.

Until now, she had been coaching the women’s under-19 team, and last week the Berlin club announced that she would take over the senior women’s team starting next season.

Although there have already been women who coached men’s teams, Eta is the first woman to take charge of a men’s top-flight team in one of Europe’s major leagues.

Before Eta, coach Sabrina Wittmann managed Ingolstadt FC (German third division), and Frenchwoman Corinne Diacre led Clermont from 2014 to 2017 in Ligue 2.

Eta will make her debut on the Berlin club’s bench next weekend against Wolfsburg, in a decisive match in the battle to stay in the Bundesliga.

*with content from AFP

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