Vincent Kompany, coach of Bayern Munich, described the appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as interim coach for Union Berlin as a "special moment" that will inspire young girls in sports. Eta made history on Saturday, becoming the first woman to lead a Bundesliga team.
"I am actually really happy (with Eta's appointment)," Kompany stated. "I think these are key moments. It is easy to minimise them and say 'she is just a coach like everybody else and that is how we have to treat her as colleagues'. But in the end it is something special. It opens a lot of opportunities to little girls who now play football and think 'I can coach anywhere, make a real career and be successful'. These stories are really important."
Eta, 34, previously coached Union's Under-19 team and was an assistant coach in the German top flight since 2023. Union Berlin recently condemned sexist online abuse directed at Eta following her promotion, calling the discourse "insane" and "embarrassing."