Football: Head coach Sabrina Wittman breaks a taboo at FC Ingolstadt

Sabrina Wittmann’s wish just came true at FC Ingolstadt. When she became interim coach for the third division soccer team at the end of the recently completed season, the 32-year-old had hoped “that it wouldn’t just be a short adventure.” Now she is the head coach. And that’s why Wittmann can also be described as a dream solution for all of German football: She is the first woman to lead a men’s team in the professional sector.

The fourth woman in Europe

However, this late and long overdue breaking of a taboo is by no means a German phenomenon: When pioneer Carolina Morace took over the Italian third division team Viterbese Calcio in 1999, it was even written about in “Time Magazine”. In France, Corinne Diacre coached the French second division club Clermont Foot for three years. Hannah Dingley made it to the fourth division in England with Forest Green Rovers. The fourth woman in Europe is Wittmann.

Many examples show how backward men’s football is, including the way it deals with homosexuality. The women are not the problem. In Ingolstadt, Wittmann, as a child of the Upper Bavarian city, is now the future. She used to play for her club and coached the male A youth team. As interim boss, she didn’t lose any of her four games with the third division team in May and led FC Ingolstadt into the DFB Cup with their first win in the state cup. The goal for the coming season is promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga. And Wittmann brings “the best overall package for the coaching position,” explained sports director Ivo Grlic. Managing director Dietmar Beiersdorfer praised their “ability to support young players and develop teams sustainably.”

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