First female coach in German men's pro football debuts with late draw
Sabrina Wittmann, the first-ever female head coach in German men's professional football, celebrated her debut with a last minute 1-1 draw between her Ingolstadt team and SV Waldhof Mannheim on Sunday.
Wittmann made history after being appointed interim coach at third-division team Ingolstadt, replacing Michael Köllner until the end of the season.
"Exciting, just like the days before," Wittmann said of her debut. "We've already implemented a lot of what we trained over the past three days. That makes me look forward to more."
Mannheim broke the deadlock in the 47th minute with Kennedy Okpala, but had Malte Karbstein sent off in the 75th. Ingolstadt then wasted a few chances before Sebastian Grønning found the equalizer in stoppage-time.
"Sabrina did a great job," captain Lukas Fröde told broadcasters Magentasport.
Last year, Marie-Louise Eta became the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history at Union Berlin, but until now there had never been a female head coach in one of the professional leagues in Germany. The third league is the lowest fully professional league in German football.
