A big topic for others, not for her - Eta on groundbreaking head coach role
As the world's media crammed into the tiny news conference room in south-east Berlin on Thursday, Marie-Louise Eta could not help but look faintly amused. "It's good to see so many people here and I totally understand that this is a big topic. But for me it has always just been about football and working with people," Union Berlin's new head coach said.
However, as Eta knows well, she will make football history when her side host Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Appointed as interim coach until the end of the season after the sacking of Steffen Baumgart last weekend, 34-year-old Eta will be the first female to take charge of a men's team in one of the top five European leagues. It is a milestone that has made global headlines, even before a ball is kicked on her watch.
On Thursday Eta was keen to reframe the story, noting she was "far from the first woman working in professional men's football" while also recognising those who see her appointment as having "a signalling effect". In the 2023-24 season she became the first female assistant coach in the men's Bundesliga, helping Union Berlin to safety in a dramatic relegation battle. Now in the top job, the hype is bigger.
On Tuesday morning dozens of journalists lined up in the drizzle to watch Eta's first training session. Eta appeared to have an immediate rapport with the players, many of whom she worked with during her previous spell with the men's team. "It helps that I know a lot of the players and the staff already.
My first impression is that the team is very open," she said. "I am often asked whether it is different to coach men and women and I always say no. "It's about football and it's about people.