Union Berlin appoint Marie-Louise Eta as historic interim head coach

Union Berlin have appointed Marie-Louise Eta as head coach of their men’s first team on an interim basis, making her the first woman to be given the top job at a men’s side in one of Europe’s five biggest leagues.The 34-year-old takes over with immediate effect after Union dismissed Steffen Baumgart and his assistants Danilo de Souza and Kevin McKenna following a 3–1 defeat at Heidenheim.Union are in the bottom-half of the Bundesliga and the club has linked the change directly to survival risk, despite their current mid-table position.Union’s director of men’s professional football Horst Heldt said: “Our situation remains precarious and we urgently need points to secure our place in the league. Two wins from fourteen matches since the winter break and the performances shown in recent weeks do not give us the confidence that we can still turn things around with the current set-up.”Heldt said Eta had agreed to take the role “on an interim basis before becoming head coach of the women’s professional team in the summer as planned”, signalling the club is prioritising continuity across its coaching pipeline.Eta has been coaching Union’s Under-19s and was already set to take charge of the club’s women’s team this summer, giving the club a ready-made internal option without a lengthy external search.Marie-Louise Eta said: “Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure. I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task.”Eta also positioned the run-in as a collective task, adding: “One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”The appointment is likely to bring significant international attention, creating a short-term uplift in media visibility and scrutiny that can cut both ways for a club and its commercial partners.From a business perspective, the move puts a premium on performance in the final weeks, with Bundesliga status central to broadcast allocations, sponsorship value, matchday forecasting and player trading plans.Union said they will provide an update on appointing a new Under-19 coach shortly, which will be part of maintaining the development pathway behind Eta once her remit returns to the women’s programme as scheduled.