Marie-Louise Eta

Marie-Louise Eta (; born 7 July 1991) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Frauen-Bundesliga club Union Berlin. A former midfielder, she played for clubs 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and Werder Bremen, among other teams.

From March 2026 to the end of the season, she served as the interim head coach of men's Bundesliga club Union Berlin. With this, she became the first and only woman in charge of a men's team in the top five European football leagues. Previously, in 2023, she also became the first female assistant coach in the history of the men's Bundesliga After HSV withdrew from the Frauen-Bundesliga, she joined 2. Frauen-Bundesliga club BV Cloppenburg on 12 June 2012. Cloppenburg won the North division and were promoted to the Bundesliga in 2013. Eta made her debut for BV Cloppenburg in the Bundesliga on 8 September 2013 (matchday 1) in a 3–3 draw away against SGS Essen. Cloppenburg finished second-to-last in the table and were relegated from the Bundesliga after just one season. Eta left the club and announced her transfer to 2. Bundesliga side Werder Bremen in July 2014.

Eta retired from playing at the end of the 2017–18 season, aged 26.

International career As an Germany under-19 international, she played at the 2009 and 2010 UEFA Under-19 European Championships.

Coaching career In 2023, after being appointed assistant coach to Marco Grote at Union Berlin, Eta became the first woman to serve in this role with a men's Bundesliga side, and with a team in the men's UEFA Champions League.

In 2024, Eta became the first woman to take charge of a men's team in a Bundesliga game, upon temporarily replacing Union Berlin's head coach Nenad Bjelica, who was serving a three-game ban.

On 11 April 2026, after Union Berlin sacked Steffen Baumgart after only two wins in the last 14 games, Eta was appointed as the interim head coach, which made her the first ever woman to manage a team in the Bundesliga and the top five European football leagues. The appointment was met with sexist abuse on social media aimed at Eta, who was defended by the club.

A month later, on 10 May, Eta became the first female head coach ever to win a match across Europe's top 5 leagues following Union Berlin's 3–1 away victory over Mainz. She had another victory, defeating FC Augsburg 4–0. Concluding her five-match tenure with two wins, two losses and one draw.

As it was already agreed on before her stint with the men's team, she took over the role of head coach of Union's women's side with the start of the 2026/27 season.

Personal life She married Benjamin Eta in 2014. He had represented her as a player agent from 2012.

Playing statistics

Managerial statistics

TeamFromToRecordUnion Berlin U191 July 202511 April 2026 Union Berlin12 April 202620 May 2026 Union Berlin (women)22 May 2026presentTotal

Honours Player Turbine Potsdam UEFA Champions League: 2009–10 Bundesliga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11 DFB-Hallenpokal: 2009, 2010

BV Cloppenburg 2. Bundesliga: 2012–13

Werder Bremen 2. Bundesliga: 2016–17