Berlin, Germany
Marie-Louise Eta received a typical German welcome at Union Berlin’s Stadion An der Altern Försterei on Saturday.
“Fußballgöttin!” (“football goddess”) they bellowed in deafening unison.
Eta, 34, was named interim manager of the Bundesliga club last week after the sacking of the under-performing Steffan Baumgart. As a result, her unexpected appointment became a historic milestone as the club smashed through a glass ceiling in men’s professional soccer.
In the April 18 match against Wolfsburg, Eta became the first woman to take charge of a men’s soccer team in any of Europe’s top-five leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain).
A few days later, after a rain-soaked Monday training session, “Loui” – as her players and staff call her – spoke to CNN Sports about her tumultuous week.
The diminutive but steely Eta said she had looked forward to the weekend. “It was just about getting it right on the pitch from the start… I was just happy when it started,” she said.
Despite being the better team by all accounts, her first foray in the German top-flight unluckily ended with a 2-1 loss to Die Wölfe.
Sexism, hate and misogyny
The appointment, however, has been widely hailed across the soccer world as a major success.
Yet, lurking on social media, the appointment unleashed the all-too-familiar torrent of hate, sexism and misogyny. A brief scroll through the comments on various posts by Union’s social media accounts reveal that hate manifesting online. However, the club has been calling out the trolls.
One response from Union Berlin said: “Is that it? Go back to the kitchen? You’re a disappointment to all the hard working misogynists on here.”
Another: “No worries for you then – she only coaches professional footballers, not sexist trolls.”
When asked about how she has been handling the online abuse, Eta said, “I’m focusing on what I can influence here and that’s the work with the guys on the pitch, the daily football routine. It’s about staying focused and focusing on the thing. That’s what we do every day.”
Philipp Köster, the founder of Germany’s most popular soccer magazine “11FREUNDE” – 11 Friends – said he was not surprised about the vitriol.
“In all social, progressive decisions, there are always people who comment on this appraisal and then let off steam on the Internet. I think it’s important not to pay too much attention to them,” Köster told CNN Sports.
Progressive thinking and undisputed ability
Köster said Eta’s appointment was very much in keeping with Union Berlin’s progressive policies, but that he was “surprised that they said they trusted her with the role … to secure Union in the league because it wasn’t previously hinted at.
“But at the same time when you look at the competence, it is also quite logical.”
Her intelligence and know-how of the Beautiful Game is “undisputed,” he said.
“The much more important is the question of why football needed so long to be confident for a woman to also train a men’s team. So the questions you have to ask yourself are more embarrassing for football than for Marie-Louise Eta.”
The groundbreaking move is also not lost on Eta either. “I know that this has big meaning and certainly also a signal effect on the world,” she told CNN. “I am aware of that.”
Yet for her, the aim is clear: “It’s about getting points and taking care of the football.”
For the handful of hardy fans who braved the torrential rain to watch the team at open training, there is little doubt in her abilities.
Dressed head to toe in Union Berlin kit, complete with bucket hat, 22-year-old Simon told CNN that he was happy with the improvements he’s already seen under Eta. “She needs a bit more time to get the know the guys better and then there will be better results,” he said.
As for the vitriol online: “I don’t see (their) problem. She’s a coach like all the others. She’s doing her job and she will get her wins and then it doesn’t matter if she’s a man or a woman.”
Yet her time at the helm is likely to last only a few games more. Club president Dirk Zingler has said Eta’s appointment is still only temporary, as she is due to take over the women’s squad at Union next season. According to Zingler, it would be doing a “disservice” to women’s soccer to keep her with the men’s team.
For Köster, though, there’s still a chance Eta can keep the reins and continue her historic tenure as head coach.
“Anything is possible in football … If the next games are convincing, so inspiring and the euphoria around Eta is big that the fans want it too and there is great support, I can imagine people thinking about it.”
For “Loui” though, it is one down, four to go. The team faces a tough fixture Friday against high-flying RB Leipzig before three games against Köln, Mainz and Augsburg to close out the season.
Though the team can’t finish in the spots for European competition next year, one win would almost certainly secure another campaign in the Bundesliga. Any more than that – particularly a few wins and impressive soccer – and maybe we might be seeing more of Eta next year.
