Almost two years since becoming the first woman to coach a men’s professional football team in Germany, reluctant pioneer Sabrina Wittmann has extended her contract at third-tier Ingolstadt.
Speaking with AFP and other media on Friday, Wittmann said that while some consider her a trailblazer, she was “lucky” because the club cared only about whether she was good enough.
“I have people here who never rated me only as a woman,” Wittmann said.
Wittmann became the first woman to manage a professional men’s team in Germany when she took over in 2024. Ingolstadt, who were in the Bundesliga as recently as 2017, did not disclose the new length of her deal.
Born in Ingolstadt, she played for the club in the lower leagues before moving into coaching. Initially appointed on an interim basis, she went unbeaten in her first four games and won a regional Bavarian cup, earning the job full-time.
This season, Ingolstadt sit 11th but are in form, with just one loss in nine matches.
“When I started coaching over here there were so many cameras and media. I knew that was something special over here and I had opened the door a little bit for women.
The 34?year?old said she felt pressure early on but “you get used to it”.
More comfortable talking about coaching and tactics than about being a pioneer, Wittmann said she admired “the details” in Pep Guardiola’s game and hoped to embody the touchline “emotion” of Jurgen Klopp.
“In the third league, I can’t have 90 percent ball possession like Man City in the Premier League.
“There are some details and stuff from every coach, but at the end it’s important for me to have my own style.”
A law graduate, Wittmann joked that she had something to fall back on if she was fired, but said she was proud not just of being the first woman in her role, but that her performance was good enough to warrant a contract extension.
“The truth is that we need to be really good to be accepted,” Wittmann said of being a woman in football.
“So that was always something I was focused on.”
Wittmann finished her coaching badges just before her contract extension.
Asked if her dream was to take Ingolstadt back to the Bundesliga, Wittmann said getting her licence had been her dream and admitted she needed to find “a new dream” now she had her certification.
“It’s going to take me a while, to be honest.”
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