Ex-footballer Marie-Louise Eta has made history as the first woman to be in charge of a men’s team in the top five European leagues after she was appointed as the new manager of Bundesliga club Union Berlin.

Union Berlin announced the historic appointment over the weekend, stating that Ms Eta will immediately begin to oversee the first team for their remaining five league matches this season amid the club’s battle to avoid relegation.

“The men’s professional team will tackle the final phase of the season and the fight to stay in the league under the leadership of Marie-Louise Eta, former coach of the U19 juniors and future head coach of the women’s professional team,” the club said in a statement.

Commenting on her appointment, Ms Eta acknowledged that the job is a massive responsibility but maintained she was delighted to be appointed to the position.

“I’m delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging responsibility. A strength of Union has always been, and continues to be, to pull all our forces together in such situations. And of course, I’m convinced that with the team, we’ll secure the crucial points,” the former Werder Bremen player said.

At a press conference on Monday, Union Berlin managing director Horst Heldt defended the decision to appoint Ms Eta as head coach. He also called out the sexist comments that have been directed at the 34-year-old since the announcement.

“I have noticed the sexist comments. At the same time, I refuse to give these voices any space. For me, this is solely about leadership quality — and we fully trust Lou with this task. I find it unbelievable that in the year 2026 we still have to justify this.

“We are talking about a highly competent leadership figure. At Union, we stand united behind this decision and will do everything in our power to ensure that this will no longer be a topic of discussion in the future. All of this is simply embarrassing,” Mr Heldt said.