Photo credit: Getty Images. By Elizabeth Botcherby. Un journaliste sportif pour la BBC. 9 minutes ago. Marie-Louise Eta has made history as the first woman to lead a men’s team in one of Europe’s top five leagues, taking over as interim head coach for Bundesliga club Union Berlin. Her role through the season’s end comes after Steffen Baumgart’s sacking, following his team’s 1-3 defeat to last-placed FC Heidenheim on Saturday. Union Berlin, currently 11th in the 18-team Bundesliga, holds an 11-point buffer above the automatic relegation spots with five games left, but has managed just two wins in 14 league matches in 2026. The 34-year-old Eta, known for shattering barriers, was the Bundesliga’s first female assistant coach with Union Berlin starting in November 2023. She stepped in for then-manager Nenad Bjelica during his three-match ban, guiding the team to a 1-0 victory over Darmstadt in January 2024 and becoming the first woman to manage a Bundesliga side from the sidelines. A former Germany youth international and Women’s Champions League champion with Turbine Potsdam, Eta has coached Union Berlin’s under-19s since July 2025 and will take on the club’s women’s senior team in the summer. “We’ve endured a deeply disappointing second half of the season and won’t let our current standing fool us,” stated Horst Heldt, Union’s director of men’s football. “Our position is still fragile.” Recent weeks’ performances fail to inspire confidence that we can reverse our fortunes with the existing setup. We have thus chosen to start anew. Eta highlighted the difficulties ahead, as Union leads by seven points over St Pauli, who occupy the relegation play-off position. “With the points gap in the bottom half of the table, our Bundesliga status is not yet assured,” she stated. “I’m thrilled that the club has given me this tough responsibility.”
