Prior to forging out a career in coaching, Eta made a name for herself on the pitch, playing for Turbine Potsdam, Hamburg, Cloppenburg and Werder Bremen. Her most successful period as a player came during her time at Potsdam, where she was promoted to the senior Bundesliga team as a 17-year-old ahead of the 2008/09 campaign.
Eta, then playing under her maiden name of Bagehorn, went on to lift the 2009/10 UEFA Women’s Champions League with Potsdam after beating Lyon on penalties in the final. A substitute in the final, Eta also helped the club win three successive Bundesliga titles from 2009 to 2011.
Marie-Louise Eta captained Werder Bremen before hanging up her boots to focus on coaching. – nordphoto / smoke
In 2018, aged just 26 and while at Werder, Eta announced her retirement as a player and immediately stepped into coaching. She started out working with Bremen’s U15 boys’ team before being appointed Bettina Wiegmann’s assistant for Germany’s women’s U15s. Eta soon completed her pro coaching licence at the German FA academy in Frankfurt and was then moved up to work with Germany’s U17s.
Union came calling in the summer of 2023, bringing Eta in as Marco Grote’s assistant for the men’s U19s and after Urs Fischer’s departure in late 2023, they temporarily took the reins of the first team.
They oversaw a 1-1 draw with Augsburg together before Nenad Bjelica’s full-time appointment as head coach, though Eta remained as part of his coaching team until former assistant coach Sebastian Bönig returned after a personal break. With Bjelica suspended, Eta was back in the hot seat on Matchday 19 of the 2023/24 season as she took over media duties for the meeting with Darmstadt.
Watch: All change at Union Berlin
After a year away from Union, Eta returned to the club in the summer of 2025, but this time as the head coach of the men’s U19 side.
Now Eta is in charge of the men’s team until the end of the season, with the main goal being to steady the side’s form, with the club having only won two of their last 14 in the league.
Regardless of how her interim period goes, Eta is due to take charge of Union’s women’s team from this summer onwards.
Marie-Louise Eta broke new ground when she took to the Union Berlin bench. – IMAGO/Sabine Gudath
Did you know?
This is not the first time Eta has carved a new path for women in the men’s professional game. When working at Werder, she was also the only female coaching the boys of a Bundesliga club’s academy. She was also one of the first to take coaching online when the coronavirus pandemic hit, fronting up Werder’s series of YouTube coaching classes when the world was forced from pitches and into their homes.
What they’re saying
“It doesn’t make me proud because I’m the only woman. As a person, I am happy that I can do this job. I don’t see any difference whether a man or a woman works in youth football. The quality of the coach on and off the pitch is crucial.” – Eta back in 2018 on her being the only female coach in a Bundesliga academy
“It’s not a conscious decision to have a woman as an assistant coach, that would discredit this decision. We have made a decision for a footbalr coach who already works in the team.” – Union President Dirk Zingler after naming Eta as first-team assistant
“I walked around all day with what felt like a heart rate of 300 and put myself under a lot of pressure because I obviously wanted to put my best foot forward and there were a few challenges. It was an intense day and also beautiful, emotional chaos.” – Eta after completing her coaching course in 2022
“I am delighted that Marie-Louise Eta has agreed to take on this role on an interim basis before becoming head coach of the women’s professional team in the summer as planned.” – Union’s director of men’s professional football, Horst Heldt
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