By Mark Baber
May 17 – Singapore and Vietnam have both appointed new supremos for their national teams in advance of the upcoming Asian Cup qualifiers.
East German Bernd Stange has been appointed head coach of the Singapore for two years, while Hoang Van Phuc has been given a similar term as coach of Vietnam’s national and under-23 sides on a two-year contract, with an option of a further two.
Singapore’s interim coach V. Sundramoorthy will be mentored by Stange and will be in charge for a game between a Singapore Selection and Atletico Madrid at the end of the month. Stange takes over the national team for the upcoming Asian Cup qualifiers, including a game against Oman on August 14, before which there are two friendlies against Malaysia.
65-year old Stange has one of the most interesting CVs in international football. Born in Saxony he played and coached in the German Democratic Republic, winning the GDR Cup and League as manager of Carl Zeiss Jena, before managing the national team for six years. After managing Hertha Berlin and VfB Leipzig, and after German reunification, he joined Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and then CSKA Kiev, before joining Perth Glory in 1998.
Stange went on to a brief spell as manager of Oman before managing Iraq in a highly dangerous period before and after the 2003 invasion. For a period after the war Stange had to fund the team out of his own pocket. His driver was shot during this time.
In 2005 Stange joined Apollon, first saving them from relegation and then taking them on to win the league in an unbeaten season. His most recent appointment was as manager of Belarus who he helped reach 55th in the FIFA Ranking.
The Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) handed Hoang Van Phuc the full time contract after impressing as interim manager, following the sacking of Phan Thanh Hung in December.
VFF deputy chairman Nguyen Lan Trung said: “Phuc is the most suitable choice at present. The VFF promises to give him the best conditions to succeed in his job.”
Phuc will lead the U23s to the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games later this year and the national squad to the ASEAN football championships in 2014.
Phuc had a playing career with The Cong, then Military Zone 3 and the Viet Nam Railway. He managed the ACB Bank team before joining the national youth team set-up and then winning the First Divison title with Hanoi FC.
Contact the writer of this story at mark,moc.l1734846222labto1734846222ofdlr1734846222owedi1734846222sni@r1734846222ebab1734846222
