In April Marie-Louise Eta became the first woman to lead a men’s top-flight team in one of Europe’s big five leagues, stepping in as interim head coach of Union Berlin following the dismissal of Steffen Baumgart. Her job was to keep Union in the Bundesliga and she did just that with two wins, a draw and two losses in her five games. They finished 11th.
It was not the first time the trailblazer had made history. Three years earlier she had become the first woman to serve as an assistant coach in the men’s Bundesliga and in 2024 she led the Union men’s team in one game. The Bayern Munich manager, Vincent Kompany, described her appointment as something that could open doors for younger women who want to become coaches.
This season Eta is in charge of the Union women’s side and, trying to take stock of a momentous 12 months, the 35-year-old tells Moving the Goalposts: “For me, it was never about being the first. It quickly became clear that it wasn’t about making history, but about supporting a team and achieving success together once again.”
There was a lot of media attention on her gender and she says her first matches were not “just about football at that time, but also very much about the issue of women in the game”. It was, she admits, very intense. Union lost their first two games, against Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig, but then came a draw against Cologne and a 3-1 victory at Mainz. At full time, Eta punched the air and joined her players in applauding Union’s fans. She ended her spell with a 4-0 victory over Augsburg.
“I wanted to impress through my work, my performance and my approach as a manager, not because I’m a woman or because I’m supposed to represent or embody something special,” she says. “I wanted to be judged by the same standards as my male colleagues.”
When she was appointed there was sexist and derogatory abuse on social media, which the club publicly condemned and described as “embarrassing and insane”. There was also a lot of positivity, however, and Eta says women and girls messaged her to say that her journey had encouraged them.
“My hope is that my journey will encourage young girls to believe in their own potential and to pursue their goals,” she says. “If I can play even a small part in opening further doors, I’ll be very pleased. Ultimately, however, it shouldn’t be gender that decides, but performance and the quality of the work.”
What did she learn? “It is important to stay true to yourself and remain clear-headed. As a coach, it’s not just about tactics and football, but above all about bringing people along with you, giving them confidence and solutions, and helping them develop.”
The plan was always that she would take charge of the women’s team for this season and she wants “to build a team that plays football with courage, energy and intensity” and to “dictate games and be dominant”. She adds: “It isn’t just about results and league positions. It’s just as important to me that the players continue to develop, that we improve as a team, and that we play a style of football we can identify with.”
Union had a difficult start to the season with Bayern Munish first up. They lost 4-1 and failed to pick up a point in their first four games but have since beaten RB Leipzig , Stuttgart and, in the cup, Magdeburg.
The tactical changes have reflected that search for an identity. Eta began with a 4-4-2 but then switched to a 4-3-3. The formation changed but the ambition did not. Eta has never thought about legacy. “For me, it’s always been about football and working with people to achieve success together as a team.”
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Eta may have no interest in defining herself as a symbol. But she cannot control what other people see when they look at her. For the young girls who wrote to her, she is proof that the boundaries of football have moved.
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