Marie-Louise Eta’s first training session as Union Berlin coach was met with a record turnout in more ways that one.
The massively rated coach has been named Union’s interim until the end of the season, earning praise in the Bundesliga and beyond as the first female head coach in a major league.
Union are 11th in the table, but in terrible form, and Eta is expected to draw better performances than her more attritional predecessor Steffen Baumgart.
Unprecedented Union Berlin turnout
At her first session ahead of facing Wolfsburg at the weekend Union had an unprecedented media presence of over 40 national and international press members.
As such, they took the unusual move of not allowing fans to attend as they usually would.
Eta was said to have arrived with a big grin, and could be heard commending her troops with authority throughout, belting phrases such as ‘Full throttle!’, ‘Guys, listen up!’ and ‘Stop!’
Union explain Eta decision
Amid the media madness, the man behind the decision, director of football Horst Heldt, had his say.
“First and foremost, of course, I’m happy for Louie,” he said before Eta meets the press.
“Everyone who knows her knows what qualities she brings to the table. So, this is simply the logical consequence, its a matter of course that we’re doing it this way now.
“She had a great run with the Under-19s team, so she’s already fulfilled a role as head coach and is experienced.
“Another advantage, of course, is that we all know her and she knows us. She doesn’t need to be shown the ropes here—she knows it all.
“She knows the stadium, the atmosphere, the people, and above all, the players.
“And we’re convinced that a head coach can only truly be a head coach if they’ve held that role before, which is why she is the logical next step.”
He added: “But here it’s about the quality she’s already demonstrated in this role—what she’s shown when she’s worked here as an assistant coach or in a shared leadership capacity.
“So, she’s already proven, in many ways, that she’s a coach who possesses the leadership qualities needed to work successfully. And that was the main focus of our decision-making process.”
Heldt was then asked about sexism that greeted the decision, but suggested it’s best to stay off social media.
“I personally haven’t spoken with Louise about it yet,” he responded.
“I’ve noticed it, but I also refuse to read or even just expose myself to that kind of nonsense, because for me, this is about quality—leadership quality.
“We have 100 percent confidence in Loui, complete conviction.
“I find it insane that we have to deal with this in this day and age. We’re talking about a highly competent leader here, and you can be sure that everyone here at Union, whether in the stands or within the club itself, stands 100 percent behind this decision and will do everything in their power to ensure that this doesn’t lead to any further discussion in the future. It’s just embarrassing.”
Eta’s Union future
Heldt was also asked about the future, with Eta contracted to take over the women’s team next season.
“We’ve discussed many things over the past few hours, and we’re still coordinating on many other matters,” he said.
“The coaching staff are currently preparing for the week ahead. We’re discussing everything—talking about individual players, our game plan against Wolfsburg—it’s all happening.
“What we haven’t discussed yet is actually her contract. We’ll certainly address that when the time is right. But that isn’t really important to her right now; she’s focusing on her job, but she can be sure that we’ll naturally reward her accordingly when the time comes.
“However, that hasn’t really been the most important thing for any of us—and especially not for her—so that’s why we haven’t discussed it yet.”
He added: “Right now we’re in a situation where the goal is to avoid slipping any deeper.
“That means tremendous leadership skills are required to quickly recognize how to handle each individual. One player needs this approach—perhaps a firmer hand—while another might need a gentle nudge, a clear message.
“Overall, the team needs a clear direction with a solid plan for how to win games. We’ll work on all of that together this week. She’ll get up to speed very, very quickly—in fact, she’s already started over the phone, since she has the advantage of knowing many players from the past—and has already spoken with the key players, the captain, and the vice-captain.
“That will start tomorrow with the first training session, and then there will also be a meeting with the entire squad. She’s getting a handle on things very, very quickly.
“When you come to a decision like this, everyone has to take a loss. Nevertheless, it’s also true that you can generate great new energy through a change of head coach. And that is, of course, what we’re hoping for, that players who may have been overlooked in recent games, for whatever reason, or perhaps haven’t have many good moments, will simply get new energy from the new head coach.
“I am firmly convinced that this will unleash new energy here in the stadium again, because we will all support Loui and the fans will stand behind her.”
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