![\"Marie-Louise](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Eta_1776370980185_1776370995948.jpg\" "\\"Marie-Louise")
Marie-Louise Eta gestures as she speaks with players during a training session of 1 FC Union Berlin in Berlin on Tuesday. (AFP)<\/p>\n\u201cEvery women who has decided to play soccer, her life is different because they have to do a lot of things to get to the pitch. Which, to me, means that we can put something else on the pitch other than talent: love for instance.\u201d Wrapping up an interview with Hindustan Times, Amelia Valverde said this.<\/p>\n
Marie-Louise Eta gestures as she speaks with players during a training session of 1 FC Union Berlin in Berlin on Tuesday. (AFP)<\/p>\n
Valverde\u2019s association with India was brief and, in the context of the AFC Women\u2019s Asian Cup, forgettable. But what she said came to mind when sexist comments were posted on social media after Union Berlin\u2019s appointed Marie-Louise Eta, 34, as interim head coach<\/a> making her the first female in charge of a men\u2019s team in Europe\u2019s top five leagues.<\/p>\n Eta replaced Steffen Baumgart after Union Berlin lost 1-3 to the league\u2019s cellar team Heidenheim on Saturday.<\/p>\n Really important story<\/p>\n Reaction to Eta\u2019s appointment has been mostly positive though. The mayor of Berlin welcomed the move. Vincent Kompany said it was a key moment, one that \u201copens a lot of opportunities to little girls who now play football and think \u201cI can coach anywhere, make a real career and be successful\u201d. These stories are really important.\u201d<\/p>\n For Sarina Wiegman, a two-time European champion and World Cup finalist as coach, it was a moment when football reflected society<\/a>. It was a decision taken days after Christina Koch became the first woman to fly around the moon. (You can read more about the Artemis II crew in Namita Bhandare\u2019s excellent newsletter here<\/a>).<\/p>\n For all its beauty and worldwide popularity \u2013 maybe because of it \u2013 football has n5ot been very amenable to change. Even in countries where same-sex marriages are legal, openly gay male footballers are rare. Yes, the needle has moved from how Justin Fashanu said he was treated in the 1980s but not by much. Over 40 years later, Josh Cavallo spoke of \u201cinternal homophobia\u201d at Adelaide United.<\/p>\n For 50 years in England and 15 in West Germany, it was thought women could not, or should not, play football. India were once taken off FIFA rankings for not playing international matches. Kerala Blasters compensated for a steep fine on the men\u2019s team by disbanding the women\u2019s team. It wasn\u2019t until 2018 that Manchester United decided they needed a women\u2019s team. For ISL champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant it is an idea whose time has yet to come.<\/p>\n Stephanie Frappart has led an all-women\u2019s team of officials at the 2022 men\u2019s World Cup but for all the growth in the women\u2019s game, men outnumber women as head coaches. Nine of the 12 teams at the high table of Asian football in Australia last month had male head coaches. Of the 32 teams in the last women\u2019s World Cup, only 12 had a female head coach.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t till 2001 that a professional men\u2019s team in Europe had a female coach. That was in Italy and in the third division. It wasn\u2019t until 2023 that a team in the professional set-up in England had a female coach. And the likes of Andy Murray opting for Amelie Mauresmo as coach remains rare across sport. This post on X highlights some of the reasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n More than saving the drop<\/p>\n On Saturday within hours of each other, Eta and Roberto de Zerbi will be attempting the same thing: to get their teams away from the drop zone. But, as Kompany has said, it will mean that much more for Eta. After all, it is unlikely that Tottenham Hotspur\u2019s De Zerbi was ever asked whether he belonged to a men\u2019s changing room. Eta was in 2023 when she was appointed assistant-coach at Union.<\/p>\n