Khaberni - Marie-Louise Ita, coach of Union Berlin men's team, conducted her first training session on Tuesday with enthusiasm and high morale, becoming the first woman to take charge of a men's team in one of the major European leagues.
The German coach briefly told the players before the start of the training, which took place amid rainy weather, "Let's unite, boys".
The training session was held without fans present, while Dirk Zingler, president of Union Berlin, was there along with about 40 representatives from local and international media.
Ita observed the training from a distance during the first half-hour before taking control herself, executing some technical exercises and motivating the players with some enthusiastic words.
The German coach said in a video published by Union Berlin after the training: Awesome energy, and the atmosphere is positive especially after the day off, there was lots of enthusiasm and play, I am very happy with the first training session and it was a good start.
Ita was appointed as coach of the team until the end of the current season, on Saturday evening, taking over responsibility for the last five matches of the German league season, replacing Steffen Baumgart who was dismissed after a 1-3 loss to bottom-placed Heidenheim.
Union Berlin is currently in the eleventh position, but has only managed two wins since the beginning of this year 2026, and is only seven points away from the relegation zone.
