Marie-Louise Eta
Eta in 2017
Personal information
Full name Marie-Louise Eta
Birth name Marie-Louise Bagehorn
Date of birth (1991-07-07) 7 July 1991 (age 34)
Place of birth Dresden, Germany
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Union Berlin (interim head coach)
Youth career
1997–2002 FV Dresden 06
2002–2005 1. FFC Fortuna Dresden
2006–2007 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2011 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam II 20 (4)
2008–2011 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 29 (3)
2011–2012 Hamburger SV 22 (2)
2012–2014 BV Cloppenburg 41 (6)
2014–2018 Werder Bremen 84 (19)
Total 196 (32)
International career
2006 Germany U15 5 (2)
2006 Germany U16 1 (0)
2007–2008 Germany U17 17 (1)
2009–2010 Germany U19 22 (4)
2010 Germany U20 3 (0)
2010–2012 Germany U23 2 (0)
Managerial career
2024–2025 Union Berlin (assistant)
2025–2026 Union Berlin U19
2026– Union Berlin (interim)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marie-Louise Eta (née Bagehorn; born 7 July 1991) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the interim head coach of men’s Bundesliga club Union Berlin. She is the first and only woman in charge of a men's team in the top five European football leagues.

A midfielder, she played for Frauen-Bundesliga clubs 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and Werder Bremen among other teams.[1][2][3]

Club career

Eta in 2009

On 1 July 2011, Eta transferred to Hamburger SV, where she was initially supposed to play for the first team for two years.[citation needed] After HSV withdrew from the Frauen-Bundesliga, she joined 2. Frauen-Bundesliga club BV Cloppenburg on 12 June 2012.[4] 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.[5]

Eta retired from playing at the end of the 2017–18 season, aged 26.[6]

International career

As an Germany under-19 international, she played at the 2009[7] and 2010 UEFA Under-19 European Championships.[8]

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,[2] and with a team in the men's UEFA Champions League.[3]

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.[9]

On 11 April 2026, after Union Berlin sacked Steffen Baumgart, 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.[10] Following this season, she will assume the role of head coach of the women's side.[11]

The appointment was met with sexist abuse aimed at Eta, who was defended by the club.[12]

Personal life

She married Benjamin Eta in 2014. He had represented her as a player agent from 2012.[13][14]

Playing statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[15]
Club Season League DFB-Pokal Bundesliga cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Turbine Potsdam 2008–09 Bundesliga 18 1 3 0 21 1
2009–10 9 2 2 1 2 1 13 4
2010–11 2 0 1 1 6 0 9 1
Total 29 3 6 2 6 0 2 1 43 6
Hamburger SV 2011–12 Bundesliga 22 2 4 3 26 5
BV Cloppenburg 2012–13 2. Bundesliga 22 4 3 1 25 5
2013–14 Bundesliga 19 2 3 1 22 3
Total 41 6 6 2 0 0 0 0 47 8
Werder Bremen 2014–15 2. Bundesliga 20 6 2 0 22 6
2015–16 Bundesliga 22 2 4 1 26 3
2016–17 2. Bundesliga 22 8 3 0 25 8
2017–18 Bundesliga 20 3 3 0 23 3
Total 84 19 12 1 0 0 0 0 96 20
Career total 176 30 28 8 6 0 2 1 212 39

Managerial statistics

As of 14 April 2026
Team From To Record Ref.
P W D L Win %
Union Berlin U19 1 July 2025 11 April 2026 22 13 4 5 059.09 [16]
Union Berlin 12 April 2026 present

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

References

  1. ^ a b Marie-Louise Eta at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ a b "Erste Co-Trainerin der Bundesliga: Marie-Louise Eta schreibt Geschichte". bundesliga.com (in German). 16 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Eta schreibt auch Champions-League-Geschichte" [Eta also writes Champions League history]. kicker (in German). 29 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. ^ "BVC angelt sich Marie-Louise Bagehorn" [BVC has snapped up Marie-Louise Bagehorn]. NWZ [de] (in German). 12 June 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  5. ^ Freye, Stefan (31 July 2014). ""Die Qualität im Kader ist sehr hoch"" ["The quality of the squad is very high"]. Weser Kurier (in German). Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  6. ^ "Eta: "Ich hatte nur Fußball im Kopf"". DFB (in German). 7 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Nine goals not enough for Germany". Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  8. ^ Nerveless France seal final date. UEFA
  9. ^ Church, Ben (29 January 2024). "Marie-Louise Eta makes history by becoming first woman to take charge of a men's team in Bundesliga game". CNN.
  10. ^ "Union trennt sich von Steffen Baumgart, Marie-Louise Eta übernimmt". 1. FC Union Berlin. 11 April 2026.
  11. ^ "Union Berlin appoint Marie-Louise Eta as first woman head coach". BBC Sport. 12 April 2026.
  12. ^ "Union Berlin: Sexist abuse of Marie-Louise Eta embarrassing - Horst Heldt". BBC Sport. 14 April 2026.
  13. ^ ""Die Qualität im Kader ist sehr hoch"". Weser Kurier (in German). 31 July 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  14. ^ Morgner, Sebastian (11 December 2015). "Marie-Louise Eta: Rückkehr ins "Karli"". Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Marie-Louise Eta - Spielerinnenprofil". DFB (in German). Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  16. ^ "2025-2026 Union Berlin U19 Stats". fbref.com. Retrieved 15 April 2026.