Sawt Falasteen - Union coach Eta wants focus on football after landmark appointment

Eta, 34, was named Union coach on Sunday after predecessor Steffen Baumgart was fired. Speaking to the media for the first time since the announcement, Eta sought to shift the focus to Saturday's home clash with Wolfsburg and Union's battle to beat the drop.

"I'm looking forward to the match starting and when it's finally about football," Eta told reporters.

"I know this has a social impact and significance," Eta said, but added: "For me, it's always been about football, about working with people, and about what I enjoy most: being as successful as possible together."

"They trust me here, and I'm delighted by that trust. I'm happy to be here."

Union sit seven points from the relegation playoff spot with five games remaining, while Wolfsburg are second last and are seven points from safety.

Eta, who became the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history at Union in 2023, is still slated to take over the club's women's team in the summer regardless of how the men's side finishes the season.

The announcement has attracted major attention in Germany and abroad.

While much of the response has been positive, including from Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany who called the announcement "really important", it has also attracted a series of negative comments made on social media.

"There simply wasn't time to delve into anything. I've been told that there have been hate comments.

"But I also know that there have been a lot of positive comments, and I think that's wonderful and should outweigh the negative ones."

Eta told reporters the negative posts "don't bother me because they say much, much more about the people who post it rather than those it is directed at."

The coach also won support from her opposite number in Saturday's crucial match: Wolfsburg veteran manager Dieter Hecking, who backed Eta on Thursday.

"I know Marie-Louise Eta personally and I consider her very competent. She's funny, articulate and knows how to lead a team," Hecking said.

"If Union Berlin believes she has the professional and interpersonal skills to lead the team, then that says it all. And those who vent their frustrations online or on social media – their IQ is zero."

The veteran coach said the never-relegated Wolves, who won the Bundesliga title in 2009 and the German Cup in 2015 in Hecking's previous stint at the club, can still beat the drop.

B.Mahmoud--SF-PST