Marie-Louise Eta to become first woman to manage men’s top-flight side as Union Berlin host Wolfsburg

When Union Berlin host VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday, Marie-Louise Eta will become the first woman to take charge of a men’s first team in one of Europe’s five major domestic leagues, a milestone identified by Bundesliga reporting and Union’s own announcement. The match at Stadion An der Alten Försterei, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CEST, will put that historic first in the middle of a live Bundesliga survival fight rather than a symbolic occasion.

Union said in a club statement on April 11 that it had parted ways with head coach Steffen Baumgart and his two assistants after a poor run, and appointed Eta as interim head coach with immediate effect for the rest of the season. Reporting around the change said five matches remained. The team had won only two of 14 league matches since the winter break, according to club and league reporting, forcing a change with the bottom half of the table still compressed.

Eta, 34, has made clear she sees the appointment first as a football job, even as she recognizes the wider significance. “Of course, I completely understand the fact that for the public, it plays a role and it’s a big topic. But for me, I’m basically used to it and it’s never been an issue for me. It’s always about football for me. It’s about working together with people, and that’s what I enjoy most…” she said in a Bundesliga.com preview. She added: “I just find it important and clear that there is visibility, and it’s nice if maybe as a result, paths and doors are opened, inspiration is generated, young girls see everything that’s possible - that you can never rule out anything and that it is just about merit, and you can get to wherever you want to go.”

The immediate stakes are straightforward. As of Thursday, Union were 11th in the Bundesliga on 32 points from 29 matches, while Wolfsburg were 17th on 21 points, 11 points back. That gap gives Union breathing room, but not comfort, and underlines why the club moved now. Women have coached men’s professional sides before at lower levels; what makes Saturday different is that Eta is doing it in the top division of one of Europe’s big five leagues: the Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.

Eta also arrives with direct experience inside Union’s men’s setup. A former professional player, she played for Turbine Potsdam, Hamburg, Cloppenburg and Werder Bremen and won the 2009-10 Women’s Champions League with Potsdam. She joined Union’s men’s coaching staff as an assistant in 2023, worked under Marco Grote and Nenad Bjelica, and already handled matchday duties during Bjelica’s suspension for a 1-0 win over Darmstadt in January 2024.

Union said Eta had already been due to become head coach of the club’s women’s professional team in the summer of 2026, and sporting director Horst Heldt said that plan has not changed. “I am delighted that Marie Louise Eta has agreed to take on this role on an interim basis before becoming head coach of the women’s professional team in the summer as planned,” Heldt said in the club statement. The appointment has drawn praise, including from Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany, and Union also publicly condemned sexist online abuse directed at Eta.