Union Berlin has made history in the Bundesliga by hiring a female assistant coach, following the dismissal of Urs Fischer as head coach.
Fischer was fired from his job due to a string of nine consecutive losses, causing Union to be at the bottom of the German top division. This is a significant decline for a team that placed fourth last season and earned a spot in the Champions League.
The interim manager position has been filled by Marco Grote, a youth coach, while Marie-Louise Eta has made history as his assistant.
Eta competed in the Frauen Bundesliga for Turbine Potsdam, winning the league three consecutive times and achieving success in the Women’s Champions League. She retired from professional soccer in 2018 after playing for teams such as Hamburg, Cloppenburg, and Werder Bremen.
The 32-year-old formerly known as Bagehorn, who primarily played during her maiden name, has previously coached youth teams such as Union’s under-19s. She is set to make history as the first female coach to be on the men’s Bundesliga bench alongside Grote for Union’s match against Augsburg on Saturday, November 25th.
The club announced that they will be parting ways with head coach Urs Fischer effective immediately. The decision was made jointly by Union president Dirk Zingler and Fischer during a meeting on Monday afternoon.
In 2018, Fischer assumed control of Union and guided them to their initial promotion to the Bundesliga in the subsequent year. With the 57-year-old from Switzerland at the helm, the team has successfully qualified for European competitions for the past three seasons.
Over the course of five and a half years working together, we have built a strong relationship based on mutual respect and trust. This has allowed us to consistently share ideas openly and honestly. However, we have reached a point where we have mutually decided to go our separate ways.
This season, Union has been defeated in three out of their four group matches in the Champions League.
Source: theguardian.com
