Union Berlin’s Eta celebrates first win as Bundesliga’s first female head coach

Union Berlin coach Marie‑Louise Eta celebrated her first victory since becoming the German top flight’s first female head coach after her side secured a 3-1 win over Mainz 05 on Sunday.

Eta, whose appointment sparked derogatory comments on social media, took over as interim manager in April following the dismissal of Steffen Baumgart and will remain in charge until the end of the campaign before moving to the women’s team next season.

After suffering back-to-back defeats in her first two matches in charge, Union earned a point against Koln earlier this month, and Eta told broadcaster DAZN she was pleased to finally register a win at the fourth attempt.

“It’s been about doing the job as well as possible, getting points, winning games, and that’s what we’ve worked for every day,” she said.

“You’re happy because you always want to win games, and that was the case today as well. The way it happened made it even better, and the way we managed to pull it off was impressive.

“We have invested a lot, so it’s great that we were able to get the three points today and deliver a strong performance,” Eta added.