\n<\/p>\n
Marie-Louise Eta has become the first woman appointed to manage a men’s team in one of Europe’s top five leagues after being named interim head coach of Bundesliga side Union Berlin.<\/b><\/p>\n
Her appointment until the end of the season follows the dismissal of Steffen Baumgart, whose team lost 3-1 to bottom side FC Heidenheim on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Union Berlin, who sit 11th in the 18-team Bundesliga, are 11 points clear of the automatic relegation zone with five matches remaining but have only won twice in 14 league outings in 2026.<\/p>\n
Eta, 34, is no stranger to breaking barriers, becoming the Bundesliga’s first female assistant coach, also with Union Berlin, in November 2023.<\/p>\n
She deputised for then-manager Nenad Bjelica, who was serving a three-match suspension, during a 1-0 win over Darmstadt in January 2024 to become the first woman to lead a Bundesliga team from the touchline.<\/p>\n
Eta, a former Germany youth international and Women’s Champions League winner with Turbine Potsdam, has been working as Union Berlin’s under-19s manager since July 2025 and will become the club’s women’s head coach in the summer.<\/p>\n
“We have had a hugely disappointing second half of the season and will not allow ourselves to be blinded by our league position,” said Horst Heldt, Union’s director of men’s football.<\/p>\n
“Our situation remains precarious. The performances shown in recent weeks do not give us confidence that we can turn things around with the current set-up. We have therefore decided to make a fresh start.”<\/p>\n
Eta pointed to the challenges she faces, with Union seven points ahead of St Pauli, who sit in the relegation play-off spot.<\/p>\n
“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I am delighted the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations. <\/p>\n
“I am convinced that we will secure the crucial points.”<\/p>\n
Eta’s appointment comes more than 25 years after Carolina Morace became the first woman to manage a men’s professional team in Europe when she joined Italian third division side Viterbese in 1999.<\/p>\n
Corinne Diacre spent three seasons in charge of Clermont Foot in France’s Ligue 2 from 2014 to 2017, leaving to become head coach of the France women’s team.<\/p>\n
In July 2023, Hannah Dingley became the first woman to manage a professional men’s team in English football when she was appointed caretaker boss of Forest Green Rovers, although she did not lead the side in a competitive fixture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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