The first woman to break a barrier in men's football

BarcelonaThe name of Marie-Louise Eta (Dresden, 1991) has already been etched into the world of football. She has become the first woman to manage a men's team within the top five leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France). She arrives at the Union Berlin bench with the mission of turning around the difficult situation the team is going through. The team is not in relegation, but it has been in a very bad dynamic for months. They had a good first half of the season and were eighth at Christmas, close to European spots. However, since then, results have worsened: they have only won two of their last 16 matches.

The turning point was three weekends ago, when Union lost 3-1 against the bottom-placed team, Heidenheim. This defeat certified the dismissal of the then-Berlin coach Steffen Baumgart and meant Eta made history. Her debut was last Saturday, when they hosted Wolfsburg, second to last in the league. The match ended 1-2 in favor of the visitors. "One of our strengths is that we are united. I am convinced that we will get the points we need in these matches," Eta declared at her presentation.

She has broken the glass ceiling in football. From a very young age, football ran in her veins; at six years old, she joined the club in her hometown, FV Dresden 06. From there, she moved to Fortuna Dresden-Rähnitz and, later, ended up at FFC Turbine Potsdam, the team that gave her her first professional experience in the 2008-09 season. With them, she won a league and a Champions League, along with the U20 national team, with whom she won a World Cup. Her next step was to Hamburg, although this only lasted a few months because the club withdrew its women's team from the league. After that came Werder Bremen, where she retired at 26 due to injuries. This was the moment and the team where she decided to trade the pitch for the dugout.

In November 2019, they contacted her to be an assistant for the U19 women's national team. A year later, she became the second in command for the U15s. From then on, she began her connection with Union. She joined under the guidance of coach Marco Grote, working as an assistant coach in the youth categories. From there, she quickly moved to become the assistant for the first team in 2024, a historic milestone as well. Until her appointment, she coached the U19s, and in June, she signed her move to become the head coach of the women's first team; however, before that, she will have the mission of saving the men's team.

"From the club, it has been seen as a natural process. She had already had contact with the first-team players a couple of years ago. It was more of a surprise to the outside than to the club itself," admitted Alberto Doblaré, head of communication for Union Berlin, in a conversation with ARA. "After a bad run from Steffen Baumgart, a change was sought. When analyzing the options, it was considered that she was the best candidate. The symbolic impact of the appointment was not valued; instead, priority was given to the person who, knowing the players, could best perform the job in these last five matches," he adds. In fact, Union is one of the clubs in the German league that has adopted the most measures aimed at equality in recent years. It was the first team in Germany where the men's and women's teams played in the same stadium, the An der Alten Försterei.

Since her appointment, there was a great uproar on social media: many comments of support for the coach were shown; unfortunately, many negative and sexist ones also appeared. The club came out in defense of the coach and wanted to report all those who made these types of comments. This wave of hatred grew after the recent defeat against Wolfsburg in her debut. Despite this, the support of the fans for Eta has managed to make the negative comments invisible. Despite the defeat, what was experienced at the Union stadium was a historic event; more than a football match, it was a celebration, with the support of the public as the protagonist. "She defends that she is in this position on her merits and not because of her sex. She understands that there may be repercussions, but she does not give importance to them. Her goal is to demonstrate her professional capacity," assures Doblaré.

It is not the first case

It is true that it is the first case in the 5 major European leagues, but it has not been in professional football. Before Eta there was already a case where a woman was at the head of a male team. In 2014, Clermont Foot, then playing in the French Second Division, made official the appointment of Helena Costa as coach of the first team. Her debut never took place, as during pre-season the Portuguese coach resigned from her position due to misunderstandings with the sporting director, after beginning to plan the season without consulting him. When her resignation was made official, Corinne Diacre took over and was at Clermont for three seasons. Furthermore, she was the first woman in France to obtain the UEFA Pro license.

Another case was that of Carolina Morace, the first woman to manage a professional men's team in the world of football. After hanging up her boots, the Italian decided to start on the sidelines and in 1999 she took charge of Viterbese in Serie C in her country. She only lasted two games. She resigned after a dispute with the club owner.