Marie-Louise Eta hails Union Berlin display as Darmstadt win boosts survival bid

Union were without head coach Nenad Bjelica as he served a three-game ban after shoving Bayern Munich forward Leroy Sane in the face

Mark Mann-Bryans
Monday 29 January 2024 12:37 GMT
Union Berlin (Andreas Gora/AP)
Union Berlin (Andreas Gora/AP) (AP)

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Marie-Louise Eta praised Union Berlin’s display in their victory against Darmstadt after the history-making assistant coach stood in for media duties on Sunday.

Union beat relegation rivals Darmstadt 1-0 to move five points clear of the Bundesliga’s bottom three in the absence of suspended first-team coach Nenad Bjelica, who started a three-match ban after shoving Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane on Wednesday.

Danijel Jumic took charge in Bjelica’s stead, with fellow assistant Eta – who this season has become the first female coach to be actively involved at a men’s team in Bundesliga and Champions League history – assisting him on the sideline and handling the post-match press conference.

“We’re delighted that we were able to put in such a good performance,” she said.

“We did what we set out to do on the pitch.”

The 32-year-old former Germany youth international was named as an assistant first-team coach at the capital club earlier this season.

A Women’s Champions League winner with Turbine Potsdam in 2010, Eta had previously worked in the youth set-up at Union.

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