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 that have caused Union to fall to the bottom of Germany’s premier league. This is a significant decline for a team that placed fourth in the previous season and earned a spot in the Champions League.
Marco Grote, the youth coach, has been named the interim manager while Marie-Louise Eta makes history by becoming his assistant.
Eta was a member of the Frauen Bundesliga team Turbine Potsdam, where she achieved three consecutive league victories and played in the Women’s Champions League. In 2018, she retired after also playing for Hamburg, Cloppenburg, and Werder Bremen.
At the age of 32, the woman, who primarily played under her maiden name Bagehorn, has experience coaching youth teams such as Union’s under-19s. She is set to make history as the first female coach to be on a men’s Bundesliga bench alongside Grote when they lead Union against Augsburg on Saturday, November 25th.
The club announced that they have parted ways with their 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 Bundesliga advancement the next year. With the 57-year-old Swiss at the helm, the team has successfully qualified for European tournaments in the past three seasons.
“Over the course of our five and a half years working together, we have built a strong bond of respect and trust, allowing us to freely and honestly share our ideas,” stated Zingler. “After much consideration, we have jointly decided it is time for us to pursue new directions.”
This season, Union has been defeated in three out of four of their Champions League group matches.
Source: theguardian.com
