Union Berlin has fired head coach Steffen Baumgart and replaced him with Marie-Louise Eta for the rest of the season.
Late Saturday night, history was made in the Bundesliga. For the first time, a woman will be the manager of a team in Germany’s top men’s football league.
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Frederik Rønnow’s Union Berlin announced on their website that they have terminated the collaboration with head coach Steffen Baumgart, who has not been able to achieve the expected sporting results.
In the same breath, the club named his replacement. Her name is Marie-Louise Eta and she will take over for the rest of the current season.
Thus, she becomes the first female head coach in the history of the Bundesliga.
“I am happy that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of the club’s strengths is that we stand together in situations like this. I am sure that we will secure the necessary points, she says according to the website.
Background: Marie-Louise Eta
The 34-year-old Eta is a former professional player himself. She joined the club in Berlin in 2023, where she first started as an assistant for the U19 team and later became an assistant for the support staff around the Bundesliga team.
She has previous experience of having the main responsibility for the club in a Bundesliga match. It happened back in 2024, when a quarantine for the then head coach put her in charge of the team in one match.
Now she is officially hired as head coach of Union Berlin for the rest of the season.
A lot can happen in football, but according to the plan, it will not be more than the rest of the season in the position. It has already been reported that she will be the head coach of the club’s women’s team in the coming season.
The situation in the table
Union Berlin are currently in 11th place in the table with seven points down to the relegation places.
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