1. FC Union Berlin sexism scandal
“Don’t share his ideas” – national player separates from advisor
As of: 1:06 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
The 21-year-old offensive player Kevin Schade has so far played three international matches for the German national team
Source: picture alliance/firo Sportphoto/Jan Fromme
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A post on the “X” platform is player agent Maik Barthel’s undoing. The German national player Kevin Schade ends his collaboration with him. Barthel had made disparaging comments about Marie-Louise Eta’s appointment at Union Berlin.
National player Kevin Schade has separated from his advisor Maik Barthel after disrespectful comments about the new assistant coach of 1. FC Union Berlin. “Since I absolutely do not share his attitude and his ideas and cannot accept them for myself,” the professional from the English Premier League club FC Brentford explained the decision to the “Sky” broadcaster: “I stand for openness, equality and diversity and that’s how I want to feel represented.”
Barthel has now deleted an initial comment on the social media platform In his first reaction to Eta’s appointment, he posted: “An assistant coach has to go into the team’s dressing room sometimes? Please don’t expose German football to ridicule. It’s enough to completely destroy the team hierarchy with the transfers. There’s no need for other stories right now…”
Meanwhile, a new message from star striker Robert Lewandowski’s former advisor instead says: “I have to rephrase it. Making an assistant coach an issue will not help 1. FC Union Berlin to put the destroyed team hierarchy back in order.”
“For me she is a trained football teacher”
Eta became an assistant coach because Union’s long-time coach Urs Fischer resigned from Union after five years and 137 days in a decision made together with the club management on November 15th. After just one draw and 13 defeats from the last 14 competitive games, he could no longer find any arguments for himself. The Berliners recently suffered nine defeats in a row in the Bundesliga and slipped to last place before the international break. For only the second time ever have the Iron Men occupied a direct relegation spot in the Bundesliga; previously this was only the case after the first matchday of 2019/20. On Saturday (3:30 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker), the team welcomes FC Augsburg and tries to avoid something worse: Union has never lost 10 league games in a row in its club history.
Union President Dirk Zingler said about the Dresden native: “It is not a conscious decision to choose a woman as an assistant coach. I also think that would almost discredit this decision again. For me, she is a trained soccer teacher.” He looks at her “just the same, whether she is a woman or a man. It was a decision for a soccer teacher who works in a team.”
The 32-year-old will most likely sit alongside U19 coach Marco Grote against Augsburg, who is only in office on a temporary basis until a new head coach is found. According to President Zingler, the search for a trainer is a “careful process” that we want to approach without any time pressure. The 59-year-old did not rule out the possibility that Grote and Eta could train the team for longer.
Eta with interim head coach Marco Grote
Source: picture alliance/dpa/Matthias Koch
For Eta, who was born Marie-Louise Bagehorn, her temporary promotion to the professionals was a dream come true. She could well imagine a lot of things, she told “Kicker” in the winter of 2022. “At some point, taking over a youth national team, working as an assistant coach in the men’s professional leagues, coaching a women’s Bundesliga team, as well as U-17 or U-19 boys,” said Eta. She can already tick some of her boxes.
Eta joined the Köpenickers in July, and before that she was part of the coaching staff at various U teams at the DFB. Her coaching career began with the male U15 team at Werder Bremen. As a player, Eta played the most games of her career for Werder.
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At the end of February 2022, she got a place in the DFB’s Pro License course. She went to school next to Hansi Flick’s former assistant Danny Röhl. Before the aptitude test, she was under a lot of stress: “I walked around all day with what felt like a heart rate of 300 and put myself under a lot of pressure because I obviously wanted to put my best foot forward and there were a few challenges. It was an intense day and a beautiful emotional chaos.”
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