Union Berlin’s president has ruled out Marie-Louise Eta coaching the team next season.
Eta was named the first female head coach of a men’s team in a major European team midweek, replacing Steffen Baumgart until the end of the season on an interim basis.
The hugely-rated coach was in charge of the under-19 team and is scheduled to take over the women’s team in the women’s Bundesliga next season.
Managing Director Horst Heldt suggested that could change should she exceed expectations in her stint.
However, Union president Dirk Zingler has now ruled that out.
Eta will be in the women’s Bundesliga
“Two weeks ago, Marie-Louise Eta signed a contract for the Women’s Bundesliga with great conviction, and we both did so with great conviction,” he said.
Quoting other discussions, he continued: “‘If she’s really good, she’ll stay with the men; if she’s not so good, she’ll go to the women’: I’m not even having that discussion.
“It’s always a professional, content-based decision who coaches which team, and to accompany her with this discussion would do her, and women’s football as a whole, a disservice.
“Marie-Louise Eta will be in charge here for five games, and after that she will take over the women’s team.”
Eta’s future up for debate
Speaking a few days earlier, Heldt said: “We’ve discussed many things over the past few hours, and we’re still coordinating on many other matters.
“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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