{"id":1581,"date":"2024-06-15T13:19:41","date_gmt":"2024-06-15T13:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/?p=1581"},"modified":"2024-06-17T15:03:35","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T15:03:35","slug":"sabrina-wittmann-makes-history-as-first-female-manager-in-elite-mens-football-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/sabrina-wittmann-makes-history-as-first-female-manager-in-elite-mens-football-in-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabrina Wittmann Makes History as First Female Manager in Elite Men\u2019s Football in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There has been a sea-change, for many, in how football fans perceive their team\u2019s head coach or manager. Once upon a time, supporters were blinded by the notion that their manager had to have enjoyed a fine career as a player \u2013 somehow that gave them more credence as a decision-maker and tactician. However, the failure of some high-profile former players as coaches \u2013 and the success of the likes of Jos\u00e9 Mourinho and J\u00fcrgen\u00a0Klopp, who did not have decorated playing careers \u2013 has caused a paradigm shift.<\/p>\n<p>Although some old-fashioned views still remain in football, many are now attuned to the idea that their head coach should have a clear identity and philosophy for their style of play, tactical acumen and an ability to get the very best out of each player with tailored man management.<\/p>\n<p>None of that is guaranteed just because you were a successful player with trophies and international caps to spare. It has taken longer for men\u2019s football to cotton on to the possibilities of appointing a female head coach, although the ultra-successful Emma Hayes has previously been linked with a number of such jobs. Forest Green, meanwhile, announced Hannah Dingley as their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/football\/66105649\">caretaker manager<\/a> after sacking Duncan Ferguson in 2023. But it\u2019s a German side that has truly gone against the grain \u2013 Ingolstadt, who play their trade in the third-tier in Germany \u2013\u00a0the first in the country to announce a permanent female head coach.<\/p>\n<h2>Full Time Basis<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">SABRINA WITTMANN BECOMES 1ST FEMALE HEAD COACH OF A MEN&#8217;S SIDE IN TOP 3 TIERS OF GERMAN FOOTBALL \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>32yo Wittmann has been named permanent head coach of FC Ingolstadt 04 after leading the team on an interim basis for the last 4 games of the season. History. \ud83d\ude0d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EE5KIINdrZ\">pic.twitter.com\/EE5KIINdrZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Women&#8217;s Game (@WomensGameMIB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WomensGameMIB\/status\/1798718505820528840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\nGermany has often be the ceiling-smasher when it comes to female coaches, with Marie-Louise Eta the first woman to be appointed as an assistant coach at a club in a \u2018big five\u2019 league. She has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bundesliga.com\/en\/bundesliga\/news\/marie-louise-eta-who-is-union-berlin-s-history-making-coach-25367\">taken her seat<\/a> in the dugout at Union Berlin, who in 2023\/24 enjoyed their first season in the Champions League in the club\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>Others have worked as head coaches in the lower reaches of the German game, but Sabrina Wittmann \u2013 who was appointed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/article\/2024\/jun\/06\/sabrina-wittmann-makes-history-after-being-appointed-ingolstadt-head-coach\">Ingolstadt manager<\/a> in June 2024 \u2013 is the first to be handed the reins of a professional club in the top-three tiers. She had been appointed as interim head coach at the tailend of the 2023\/24 campaign, where she presided over a four-game unbeaten streak that included a 6-1 demolition of VFB Lubeck.<\/p>\n<p>So impressed was the club\u2019s hierarchy that they handed her the job on a permanent basis \u2013 the first female coach to manage an elite-level side. \u201cWhen I took over the first team in May on an interim basis, I had hoped that it wouldn\u2019t just be a short adventure,\u201d Wittmann said. \u201cWith every moment that I spent with the team after that, my wish to be allowed to stay long-term in this position grew stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Pushing Boundaries<\/h2>\n<p>While Wittmann has smashed the glass ceiling as the first female head coach in elite German football, others have blazed the trail she is now treading before.<\/p>\n<h3>Carolina Morace<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1584\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1584\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1584\" src=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/carolina-morace.jpg\" alt=\"Carolina Morace\" width=\"450\" height=\"518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/carolina-morace.jpg 450w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/carolina-morace-261x300.jpg 261w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1584\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carolina Morace (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Carolina_Morace#\/media\/File:Carolina_Morace_Bench_(cropped).jpg\">Footballfanfootballfan<\/a> \/ Wikipedia.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Carolina Morace was the first female manager to coach a men\u2019s professional team. She <a href=\"https:\/\/inside.fifa.com\/tournaments\/womens\/womensworldcup\/france2019\/news\/carolina-morace-ita-2908111\">took the reins<\/a> at Italian Serie C outfit Viterbese in June 1999 after completing her UEFA Pro Licence qualification. The appointment was met with a mix of acclaim and astonishment at a time when men\u2019s football was not, broadly speaking, known for its progressive outlook. However, Morace would later resign after just two games in charge \u2013 the president of Viterbese taking it upon himself to declare the backroom staff that his head coach should appoint, which naturally did not go down well with Morace.<\/p>\n<p>After that harrowing experience, she went on to coach the women\u2019s international teams for Italy, Canada and Trinidad &amp; Tobago, as well as a spell in charge at English club side London City Lionesses. Morace also hit the headlines in 2018, criticising the Football Association when they gave the England Lionesses job to Phil Neville over a female candidate.<\/p>\n<h3>Helena Costa<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1585\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1585\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1585\" src=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/helena-costa.jpg\" alt=\"Helena Costa\" width=\"450\" height=\"591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/helena-costa.jpg 450w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/helena-costa-228x300.jpg 228w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1585\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Helena Costa (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Helena_Costa#\/media\/File:Helena_Costa_2012_(cropped).jpg\">Doha Stadium Plus Qatar<\/a> \/ Wikipedia.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Helena Costa took the baton and ran with it when she was appointed head coach of a second-tier club in elite men\u2019s football in 2014 \u2013 Clermont Foot handing the Portuguese a permanent contract to guide them out of France\u2019s Ligue 2. Unfortunately, she experienced many of the same issues as Morace had before her, lashing out at Clermont\u2019s hierarchy for their \u2018lack of respect\u2019 \u2013 according to Costa, they signed a number of players without her consent or approval. She resigned after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/2014\/jun\/25\/helena-costa-male-colleagues-football-france\">barely a month<\/a> in charge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were a series of events that no trainer would tolerate and a total lack of respect as well as amateurism,\u201d she would later reveal. Her journey to coaching a men\u2019s team was a fascinating one, as she did not have a playing career of any great note \u2013 instead concentrating her efforts on the coach\u2019s role via a sports science degree and UEFA coaching badges. She managed Benfica men\u2019s youth team, and has held other posts in men\u2019s football including stints as scout for Celtic, Frankfurt and Watford.<\/p>\n<h3>Corinne Diacre<\/h3>\n<p>Perhaps to prove a point, Clermont Foot replaced Costa with another female head coach \u2013 Corinne Diacre. She had enjoyed a stellar playing career in France, before becoming the first female to manage a second-tier game \u2013 Costa had only coached Clermont during the off-season \u2013 when taking to the touchline in August 2014. This time, the appointment was more of a long-term success. Diacre stayed in charge at Clermont for three seasons \u2013 a reasonably-lengthy tenure by the standards of modern football, before leaving to take up the role of head coach for the French women\u2019s national team.<\/p>\n<h3>Hannah Dingley<\/h3>\n<p>At the time of writing, English football awaits its first permanent female head coach. Hannah Dingley was the first, as mentioned, although her short interim spell in charge at Forest Green Rovers only involved managing the side in pre-season friendlies. But she has since returned to managing the club\u2019s academy, and with a long history of coaching in men\u2019s football at professional clubs, it\u2019s quite possible that Dingley will be the first female to be appointed as manager of a men\u2019s pro team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There has been a sea-change, for many, in how football fans perceive their team\u2019s head coach or manager. Once upon a time, supporters were blinded by the notion that their manager had to have enjoyed a fine career as a player \u2013 somehow that gave them more credence as a decision-maker and tactician. However, the &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/sabrina-wittmann-makes-history-as-first-female-manager-in-elite-mens-football-in-germany\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Sabrina Wittmann Makes History as First Female Manager in Elite Men\u2019s Football in Germany<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1581"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1587,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581\/revisions\/1587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}