Marie-Louise Eta becomes the first female assistant coach in the Bundesliga
Before her aptitude test for her coaching license, she was walking around "with a pulse that felt like 300", but on Wednesday, an unexpectedly eventful day, Marie-Louise Eta made it straight into the history books of German soccer. Born in Dresden, she was promoted to co-coach of 1. FC Union Berlin following the departure of head coach Urs Fischer, a first in the Bundesliga.
However, it remains to be seen whether the 32-year-old will be on the bench against FC Augsburg on November 25. Eta, like U19 coach Marco Grote, is only in office on a temporary basis. It is anything but impossible that Union will find a new head coach in the next ten days who will bring his own staff with him.
For Eta, who was born Marie-Louise Bagehorn, the temporary promotion to the pros is a dream come true. She could well imagine many things, she told "Kicker" in the winter of 2022. "Taking over a national youth team at some point, working as an assistant coach in the men's professional leagues, coaching a women's Bundesliga team, or U-17 or U-19 boys," said Eta. She can already put a cross in some of her boxes.
Eta joined the Köpenickers in July, before that she was part of the coaching staff at the DFB in various U-teams. Her coaching career began with Werder Bremen's U15 men's team. As a player, Eta played the most games of her career for Werder.
At the end of February 2022, she secured a place on the DFB's Pro License course. She took the course alongside Hansi Flick's former assistant Danny Röhl. She was under a lot of stress before the aptitude test: "I spent the whole day running around with what felt like a pulse of 300 and put myself under a lot of pressure because I naturally wanted to show my best side and there were a few challenges. It was an intense day and a nice emotional chaos."
This week alone is likely to have triggered emotional chaos at Eta. It was only on Monday that regional league club Weiche Flensburg parted company with Benjamin Eta after a sobering start to the season. Two days later, his wife Marie-Louise is in the headlines.
Marie-Louise Eta's promotion to co-coach of 1. FC Union Berlin in the Bundesliga marks an important milestone in German soccer, as she becomes the first female assistant coach in the league. In her new role, Eta will join the ranks of the Bundesliga, continuing her coaching journey following her promotion from the DFB and Werder Bremen's U15 men's team.
Source: www.dpa.com
