Madrid heads towards a new blank season: “At some point, football sanctions”
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The defeat on the field of the last-place team, Heidenheim (3-1), on Saturday was one too many for the Union Berlin board. The 11th in the Bundesliga parted ways with their coach, Steffan Baumgart, and made a historic decision. The Berliners decided to trust Marie-Louise Eta, who had been coaching the club’s U19 team up to now. A former player with over 200 matches as a professional, she becomes the first woman to manage a men’s team in the Bundesliga.
The 34-year-old German was appointed as an interim coach to ensure the final sprint while Union Berlin still holds an 11-point lead over Wolfsburg, the first team in the relegation zone. “I am convinced that we will, with the team, win the crucial points,” she announced in a statement released by her club. Eta had already made history by becoming the first female assistant coach during the 2023/2024 season and even took charge of a match when the head coach, Nenad Bjelica, was suspended.
We urgently need points
“Bundesliga survival is not yet secure when looking at the points difference with the bottom half of the table. I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this difficult task,” Eta said, as quoted in Union Berlin’s statement. “One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to come together in this kind of situation. And, of course, I am convinced that we will get the crucial points with the team,” she added. “We have had an extremely disappointing second half of the season so far and we will not be blinded by our ranking. Our situation remains precarious and we urgently need points to secure our survival,” commented Union’s boss Horst Heldt.
The survival mission still consists of five games for the Berlin club, who still have a comfortable cushion above the direct relegation zone. Everything will start a week later with the hosting of Wolfsburg, 17th (Saturday, 3:30 pm). However, the threat of a playoff is still real. St. Pauli is seven points behind, with fifteen points still to distribute. The threat is real and the challenge is significant for the pioneer.
