
Marie-Louise Eta was appointed after the club relieved Steffen Baumgart of his duties due to a disappointing 3-1 defeat to 1. FC Heidenheim.
Her appointment is historic as she is the first woman to serve as head coach of a men's team in the Bundesliga and across Europeâs top five leagues.
Marie-Louise Eta will coach Union Berlin for the remainder of the season, which includes five games.
Marie-Louise Eta has been appointed as the interim head coach of Union Berlin, making her the first woman to lead a menâs team in the Bundesliga and Europeâs top five leagues. She takes over after Steffen Baumgart was dismissed following a poor performance.
Who is Marie-Louise Eta, Union Berlinâs new interim head coach and the first woman to lead a menâs Bundesliga team?
The Berlin club have found an interim replacement in their own ranks, handing 34-year-old Marie-Louise Eta responsibility for the remainder of the season, with five games left to play.
The appointment is historic, as Eta becomes the first woman to be appointed head coach of a menâs team in the Bundesliga and across Europeâs top five leagues.
Eta has already made history in the past. In 2023, she was appointed assistant coach to Marco Grote at Union Berlin, becoming the first woman to take on such a role at the club.
In 2024, she also became the first woman to lead a Bundesliga team from the dugout, when she deputised for Nenad Bjelica, Unionâs then head coach, while he was suspended.
Since the start of the 2025/26 season, Eta has been working as coach of Union Berlinâs U19 team, and she is set to take over the clubâs womenâs team in the summer.
Eta is a former player herself, having represented Turbine Potsdam, Hamburger SV, Cloppenburg and Werder Bremen, as well as Germany at various youth levels, before retiring at the end of the 2017/18 season at the age of 26.
During her time at Turbine Potsdam, she won the UEFA Womenâs Champions League in 2010, three Bundesliga titles, and two DFB-Hallenpokal trophies.
She also won the UEFA Womenâs Under-17 Championship and the FIFA U-20 Womenâs World Cup with Germany.
Now, Eta takes another impressive step in her coaching career, tasked with helping secure Union Berlinâs place in the Bundesliga for another season.
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