In Summary
- Marco Grote as interim boss, and Grote will assume the role with Marie-Louise Eta, who is his assistant
- Eta will now become the first woman coach to appear on a men’s Bundesliga bench
- Eta was part of the team that won the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2010 and three straight Bundesliga crowns.
Union Berlin’s Marie-Louise Eta will make history when she becomes the first female assistant coach in the men’s Bundesliga
Eta will be the assistant to Marco Grote after he was named an interim of the first team until further notice.
The pair previously oversaw Union’s U19s together, after Eta joined the staff there in summer 2023, including the team’s four UEFA Youth League fixtures so far this season.
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Upcoming Fixture
Eta will now become the first woman coach to appear on a men’s Bundesliga bench when she and Grote oversee Union’s fixture against Augsburg on Saturday, 25 November.
Assuming no permanent replacement for Fischer is announced soon, she will also be on the touchline for the UEFA Champions League game away at Braga the following Wednesday and potentially away at Bayern Munich the weekend after.
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Eta’s Football Career
The 32-year-old Dresden native is a former player, winning the U17 Bundesliga with Turbine Potsdam in 2005, 2006 and 2008 before stepping up to the senior Bundesliga team in 2008/09.
Eta was part of the team that won the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2010 and three straight Bundesliga crowns.
The defensive midfielder, who played most of her career under her maiden name of Bagehorn before marrying former player and coach Benjamin Eta in 2014, also represented Germany up to U23 level and won the U20 World Cup before later working under Bettina Wiegmann as assistant for the country’s women’s U15 side, having started her coaching career with Bremen’s U15 boys’ team.
