Khaberni - The German Bundesliga has undergone an unparalleled historical transformation that has reshaped the scene in European football. Union Berlin, fearing relegation to the second division, decided to end its relationship with coach Steffen Baumgart, and temporarily assigned the technical responsibility to a coach who knows the club closely, Marie-Louise Ita, who had been working with the under-19 team.
With this decision, Ita became the first woman to take up the position of technical director for a men’s team in one of the major European leagues, even if only temporarily, in a historic precedent that highlights the career of a young woman, 34 years old, who suddenly found herself facing the task of rescuing a team struggling at the bottom of the standings.
The decision, initially motivated by sporting necessity, quickly turned into a watershed moment in the history of the game, as it no longer just involved trying to avoid relegation, but also carried broader dimensions related to breaking traditional barriers in professional football. But the question that strongly imposed itself was: Who is this coach entrusted with the mission of saving Union Berlin?
The situation inside the club is very complicated, where the executive director Horst Heldt described the second half of the season as "completely disappointing," with the team achieving only two victories in 14 matches since the resumption of competitions after the winter break. These negative results prompted the club's administration to make a decisive decision late the day before yesterday, ending the work of the technical staff led by Baumgart, along with his assistants Danilo de Souza and Kevin McKenna, after losing confidence in their ability to correct the course.
In this context, Ita enters the crucial phase of the season, where she is required to achieve the victories that the team desperately needs to stay in the top league.
Despite the difficulty of the task, the young coach showed great confidence, stating: "I am convinced we are capable of scoring the crucial points with this team," indicating her belief in the players' capabilities during the last weeks of the season.
Although taking on the current role represents a historic event, the atmosphere of the Bundesliga is not unfamiliar to her. In the turbulent 2023-2024 season, when the team was going through a severe crisis after the end of coach Urs Fischer’s era, Ita played a significant role within the technical staff, where she worked as an assistant to coach Marco Groote, and later took on the responsibility temporarily during the suspension of coach Nenad Belica.
At that time, she was not affected by the significant media attention that accompanied her first appearance, where she explained in a previous interview that she was trying with the team "to isolate everything around us and focus only on the work inside the field." This ability to deal with pressure, along with her deep knowledge of the club, makes her an ideal choice from within the system.
Ita has a close relationship with Union Berlin, having previously worked as a coach for the women's team, before recently leading an under-19 team. This connection reflects a deep understanding of the club's culture and values, which could give her an advantage in dealing with the current sensitive stage.
Her strong personality, rooted in her career as a professional player, where she marked notable achievements under her previous name, Baghorn, such as winning three German league titles and a Champions League title with the Turbine Potsdam team, one of the top clubs in women's football.
Her sports character was shaped under the supervision of legendary coach Bernd Schroder, known for his strict and warmly human manner, where this experience instilled values such as hard work and mental toughness. And with her transition to coaching, she maintained these principles, while simultaneously focusing on the importance of enjoying the game.
Ita believes that performance and quality are the real standards in football, emphasizing that success in this field should not be linked to gender, but to competence only. This perspective reflects a modern vision that seeks to break the stereotypes in the coaching world.
Away from the “Alte Foresterai” stadium atmospheres, football does not leave her daily life as she shares her passion with her husband Benjamin Ita, who is also making his way in the world of coaching. He led the Bremer team to promotion to the fourth division and received the award for the best coach in the Bremen region, and he also took over the coaching of the club TE Berlin, before leading the second women's team in Leipzig in 2025.
When the couple is not occupied with tactical discussions or training sessions, they find their balance in activities like ice skating or playing padel, trying to maintain a healthy balance between professional and personal life.
Benjamin believes that the secret to success lies in turning passion into a profession, saying: "If you can make your hobby and passion your profession, it’s the best thing that can happen."
For Marie-Louise Ita, this assignment with the men's team represents an unexpected but distinguished chapter in her career that was moving according to a clear plan. It was scheduled for her to take over the women's team coaching at Union Berlin next summer, which director Heldt confirmed, indicating that this plan is still in place.
But before reaching that stage, Ita faces a more urgent challenge, which is to save the team from relegation in the upcoming few weeks. If she succeeds in this mission, not only will she lead the women's team with high morale next season, but she will also secure her place in the history books as one of the personalities that broke barriers in German and European football.
