Pioneer Eta: Union's co-trainer can open doors
FC Union Berlin rigorously rejects interview requests for Marie-Louise Eta. Just don't create any more background noise when the crisis-ridden team from Köpenick, winless for 14 games, are supposed to be concentrating fully on the fight against relegation. But even without a statement from probably the most prominent woman in German men's soccer at the moment, the fuss surrounding Eta ahead of the home game against FC Augsburg is huge - after all, the 32-year-old is the first female assistant coach in the history of the Bundesliga.
"The decision was not for a woman, but for a female soccer coach," clarified Union president Dirk Zingler. But even he could not prevent gender debates.
Only a few cameras will be focused on interim coach Marco Grote at the first appearance of the Ironmen after the dismissal of Urs Fischer. The woman of the hour is his assistant. It is considered certain that both will be on the sidelines this Saturday (3.30pm/Sky) against Augsburg. According to Zingler, the search for a coach is a careful process that he wants to tackle without time pressure.
No equality in soccer
Eta will therefore have the chance to present himself in front of an audience of millions. A challenging situation for the 32-year-old, who acted reservedly in the background during Monday's short training session open to the media. She buried her face in her thick black winter jacket, sorted shirts, threw balls to the players and hardly said a word. The only sound was the clicking of the cameras. A small foretaste of Saturday.
Her companions attest to Eta's outstanding soccer skills. Her coach of many years, Bernd Schröder, finds it ridiculous that the public hype still revolves around her gender. "It's a social problem, not just a sporting one. We are still a long way from achieving equality. Certainly not in soccer," said the 81-year-old. Schröder coached Eta at Turbine Potsdam from 2008 to 2011. Eta's career leaps come as no surprise to him.
Talks with Baumgart and Glasner
Step by step, the Bundesliga pioneer worked her way up the coaching career ladder. After gaining experience with Werder Bremen's junior teams, the DFB contacted her in 2021 and made the sports management graduate an assistant coach for various U-teams. Along the way, she completed the pro license course at the DFB Academy in Frankfurt, exchanged ideas about the coaching job with former Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner and Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart and was the only woman to successfully complete the course in 2022.
Eta only joined Union's U19 juniors in the summer. "She also had inquiries from women's soccer, but she made a very conscious decision to join this shark tank of men's soccer. She's keen on this shark tank," Werder Bremen's women's soccer boss Birte Brüggemann told the German Press Agency. Both know each other well from their time together at the Weser.
World champion and German champion
Eta's entire life revolves around soccer. Even when she slept as a child, she sometimes tucked the ball under her arm. Her role model: David Beckham. "I played with the boys in Dresden for a long time. Back then, I didn't think I would be able to play with Beckham in men's soccer one day," Eta told ZDF. Brüggemann knows: "She is an absolute coaching talent. She lives and breathes soccer. She thinks soccer."
But the active career of the three-time German champion, Champions League winner and U20 World Champion Eta ended at the age of 26. The double burden of her first coaching jobs and her own games was too much, and various injuries left their mark.
Eta now a role model
Around six years later, Eta is now making her debut in the Bundesliga. "She is now a role model for other women who want to become coaches at a high level of soccer. Marie-Louise Eta opens doors," said Brüggemann, who also believes Eta is capable of taking on the role of head coach in the Bundesliga. At least in perspective. This step would still be too early.
"Let's paint a picture of her as a head coach. If things don't go so well, it's even more below the belt than with men, and she would immediately be reduced to her gender. Her current role as assistant coach is perfect for growing into the business," said Brüggemann. If Eta's career continues to climb so steeply, the next step is likely to follow soon. And then Eta will also have to give interviews.
In the upcoming Bundesliga match against FC Augsburg, 1st FC Union Berlin's co-trainer Marie-Louise Eta will make history as the first female assistant coach in the league's history. Despite Eta's reserved demeanor during training sessions, her teammates and previous coaches like Bernd Schröder and Birte Brüggemann from Werder Bremen's women's soccer team, attest to her outstanding soccer skills and potential as a coach.
Source: www.dpa.com
