Union Berlin have appointed Marie-Louise Etta as interim head coach until the end of the season, a first in the history of Europe’s top five leagues.
The Berlin club sacked Steffen Baumgart following a 4-1 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Bundesliga side Heidenheim on Saturday.
The 34-year-old Etta is no stranger to breaking barriers; she also became the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin in November 2023.
Who is Marie-Louise Etta, Union Berlin’s new head coach?
Etta was a prominent German player, representing giants like Hamburg and Werder Bremen, and winning the Champions League title with Turbine Potsdam.
Upon retiring as a player, Etta began her coaching career with Werder Bremen’s women’s youth teams. Since November 2019, she has worked part-time with the German Football Association (DFB), initially as an assistant to coach Michael Urbanski with the under-19 women’s team, and later as an assistant to coach Bettina Wegmann with the under-15 women’s team.
In the summer of 2022, Etta left Werder Bremen and embarked on a new chapter, becoming an assistant to Sabine Laudrer with the German under-17 women’s team.
In the spring of 2023, Etta obtained her professional coaching license and moved to Union Berlin to work in their youth academy, becoming an assistant to Marco Groth with the under-19 men’s team.
Etta is no stranger to Union Berlin’s first team, having taken over as interim assistant coach in November 2023 following the departure of Urs Fischer.
Nenad Bjelica was appointed as Union’s new head coach, and Daniel Gomic joined him as his assistant. Eta remained part of the coaching staff for a period.
She also stepped in for then-head coach Nenad Bjelica, who was serving a three-match suspension, during a 1-0 win against Darmstadt in January 2024, becoming the first woman to manage a Bundesliga team from the sidelines.
During that time, Eta also participated with Union Berlin in the Champions League, becoming the first female assistant coach in the competition.
Eta had been coaching Union Berlin’s under-19 team for several months before the club decided to appoint her as interim head coach of the first team in April 2026 until the end of the season.
Her task will be to save Union Berlin from relegation. The East Berlin team is 11 points clear of the relegation zone with five matches remaining, but has only managed two wins in 14 league games in 2026.
Eta is set to take over as head coach of Union Berlin’s women’s team, which plays in the Bundesliga, for the 2026/27 season.
The History of Women Coaches in Professional Men’s Football
Ita’s appointment comes more than 25 years after Carolina Morac became the first woman to manage a professional men’s team in Europe when she joined Italian Serie C club Viterbese in 1999.
In July 2023, Hannah Dingley became the first woman to manage a professional men’s team in English football when she was appointed interim manager of Forest Green Rovers, although she did not manage the team in any official matches.
