First Female Head Coach

[Smurph]

Ground breaking moment for the men's game.

Good luck to her. I hope she does well.

Union Berlin appoint Marie-Louise Eta as first woman head coach

Marie-Louise Eta becomes the first woman appointed to manage a men's team in one of Europe's top five leagues as she is named interim head coach of Bundesliga side Union Berlin.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[sit_down_jack]

Genuinely could be a turning point. There’ll be plenty of female coaches that are good enough but wouldn’t have been given the chance due to the way things have always been.

Hope it goes well.

 

[Smurph]

Hopefully this is a turning point in the game for a whole host of things

 

[bakajack]

I would imagine there are some logistical safeguarding challenges put into place such as when she can and can't enter the changing rooms, but thats no different for teams who bring in youngsters into the first team who haven't passed 16 years of age yet.

Best of luck to her though, there are plenty of sharp minds, talented coaches and innovators who don't belong to the male side of the species.

 

[Swans Jack]

It still amazes me how sexuality is still an issue in football. It's sad really to think there is a footballer or a few in each team that are not being there true selves due to the way society and the set up of football is in culture.

 

[Darran]

She won’t last a season.

 

[Smurph]

It still amazes me how sexuality is still an issue in football. It's sad really to think there is a footballer or a few in each team that are not being there true selves due to the way society and the set up of football is in culture.

Unfortunately SJ, the game still attracts quite a few mouth breathers.

Let's hope this appointment switches the narrative and starts to break down those barriers put in place by what I hope will become even more of a minority.

 

[Smurph]

She won’t last a season.

Why, not?

 

[bakajack]

It still amazes me how sexuality is still an issue in football. It's sad really to think there is a footballer or a few in each team that are not being there true selves due to the way society and the set up of football is in culture.

In some ways the globalisation of the game has become a bigger problem with that.

For example if the game was predominantly British or European based players then there may have been a greater tolerance to it, but there are an increasing number of other ethnicities and subsequently religious beliefs in the mixer.

Homosexuality for example is not tolerated in Muslim faiths and many players might feel its easier to just keep quiet than to create friction, especially if the teams star players are from such religious backgrounds.

I agree it shouldn't matter at all what colour your skin is or what your sexual leanings are, but the pressure to not rock the boat and to just fit in is always implied even if not openly said. Hopefully one day that will change and not just artificial surface level tolerance

 

[magicdaps10]

In some ways the globalisation of the game has become a bigger problem with that.

For example if the game was predominantly British or European based players then there may have been a greater tolerance to it, but there are an increasing number of other ethnicities and subsequently religious beliefs in the mixer.

Homosexuality for example is not tolerated in Muslim faiths and many players might feel its easier to just keep quiet than to create friction, especially if the teams star players are from such religious backgrounds.

I agree it shouldn't matter at all what colour your skin is or what your sexual leanings are, but the pressure to not rock the boat and to just fit in is always implied even if not openly said. Hopefully one day that will change and not just artificial surface level tolerance

This issue in this appointment is that it's a risk.
Is she the best appointment for the job given her track record and one that aligns to the situation?
Probably not which then asks other questions as to why she got the job over ones with more experience in this type of situation.

My personal view is that it's not something that is likely going to become normal down the line in regards to high numbers, females taking head coach roles in male football.
It will need a female to really make a success of a job to really break the status quo and that in itself is going to be a huge job.

I'm not out for a debate just giving my view on the situation.

 

[Smurph]

This issue in this appointment is that it's a risk.
Is she the best appointment for the job given her track record and one that aligns to the situation?
Probably not which then asks other questions as to why she got the job over ones with more experience in this type of situation.

My personal view is that it's not something that is likely going to become normal down the line in regards to high numbers, females taking head coach roles in male football.
It will need a female to really make a success of a job to really break the status quo and that in itself is going to be a huge job.

I'm not out for a debate just giving my view on the situation.

She has been the assistant manager at the club since 2023 and has deputised for the manager when he served a 3 match ban.

They haven't just plucked her out of thin air. This appointment should be no different from any other coach stepping up until the end of the season.

If the status quo is indeed broken, it will need to start from somewhere.

 

[exiledclaseboy]

In some ways the globalisation of the game has become a bigger problem with that.

For example if the game was predominantly British or European based players then there may have been a greater tolerance to it, but there are an increasing number of other ethnicities and subsequently religious beliefs in the mixer.

Homosexuality for example is not tolerated in Muslim faiths and many players might feel its easier to just keep quiet than to create friction, especially if the teams star players are from such religious backgrounds.

I agree it shouldn't matter at all what colour your skin is or what your sexual leanings are, but the pressure to not rock the boat and to just fit in is always implied even if not openly said. Hopefully one day that will change and not just artificial surface level tolerance

I can see what you’re trying to say here but this is a very odd take. For decades football and sport in general has had very few out gay athletes. Yet you seem to be saying that the apparent “globalisation” of the game and the rise in Muslim footballers is what’s putting people off coming out. That’s a strange thing to say.

Christians aren’t big fans of homosexuality either. It’s in the bible and everything.

 

[SeaJack]

Excellent news, and one that I’m hoping will be a game changer.

There will likely be some hurdles along the way, but the biggest has already been overcome, which is appointing her in the first place.

The rest is mostly up to the football fans, pundits, and clubs around the world to alter their perception on what a woman is capable of in a male dominated sport.

If there’s one thing that gets my goat that needs to change when it comes to head coaches/mangers being appointed in the EFL/Premier League, is the amount of sub standard, mediocre male managers, that get paid millions upon millions to mount, what invariably turn out to be disastrous attempts to improve on what has come before them.

And if that wasn’t annoying enough, they then get paid in full after having been shown the door maybe 2 months into their tenure at times.

Maybe if the owners of men’s football clubs were to cast their nets farther and wider, to incorporate those competent head coaches that just so happen to be female, it could shake things up a bit.

Here’s hoping.

 

[Neath_Jack]

Homosexuality for example is not tolerated in Muslim faiths and many players might feel its easier to just keep quiet than to create friction, especially if the teams star players are from such religious backgrounds.

It’s not tolerated by many in this country and white mans faiths either. Look how many openly gay men there are in the British game. Oh.

 

[magicdaps10]

She has been the assistant manager at the club since 2023 and has deputised for the manager when he served a 3 match ban.

They haven't just plucked her out of thin air. This appointment should be no different from any other coach stepping up until the end of the season.

If the status quo is indeed broken, it will need to start from somewhere.

As I said, I am not out for a debate on this one just my view.