Marie-Louise Eta Brushes Off Attention, Targets Wins For Union Berlin

Union Berlin interim coach Eta says not an exception as women take key roles

Marie-Louise Eta, the first woman to manage a Bundesliga team, says she is focused on results after being named Union Berlin interim head coach. The club condemned derogatory social media comments following her appointment.

“There are female coaches out there before me. In many other countries as well...” 

Union Berlin’s new coach Marie-Louise Eta, the first woman to take charge of a Bundesliga team, said Thursday she is aware of the talk surrounding her appointment last week but is only focused on returning the side to winning ways.

Eta took over as interim head coach on Saturday for the rest of the season after Steffen Baumgart was dismissed, with Union 11th in the table.

She will manage the men’s first team until the end of the season before switching to the club’s women’s side.

“I totally understand that in public there is this issue (of the first woman as a Bundesliga coach),” she told a press conference ahead of her first ‌game on Saturday at home to strugglers VfL ⁠Wolfsburg.

“I obviously know the issue ‌and it was never about that. It's always about football, about working with people ... and about being successful.

“I have the trust of the club and I am happy about it. The most important thing now is to prepare for the weekend against Wolfsburg,” Eta said.

Asked if she had any hesitation when getting the job offer last week, ⁠Eta added: “There was nothing to consider. I was at home on Saturday so I was surprised initially (to get the call) but then I was happy for this trust, and then things happened quickly.”

  

Eta said she is not an exception in football, with women increasingly taking key roles at clubs around the world.

“There are female coaches out there before me. In many other countries as well,” Eta said. “I understand the issue and the interest in it but it would be nice if this issue did not exist and it was only about success on the pitch.”

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— 1. FC Union Berlin (English) (@fcunion_en) April 16, 2026

Eta had been coaching Union’s Under-19 team.

She became the first female assistant coach in the Bundesliga with Union in 2023. Her latest appointment has drawn some derogatory comments on social media, which the club has condemned.

“This (social media comments) ‌does not concern me because it says more about those posting these things than about me or other people they are talking about,” she said.

“That my appointment became so big may have surprised us a bit because for us it was not really. I ⁠hope in the next few ⁠years this will be less ‌and less and people will focus on football.”