Former coach of Vietnam’s football team passes away
German football tactician Karl - Heinz Weigang, who led Vietnam to their first-ever medal at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA) in 1995, passed away at the age of 81, after suffering a heart failure on June 13.
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Karl - Heinz Weigang’s football career started in 1964 when he coached Sri Lanka’s national football side.
In 1966, the German trainer moved on to coach the South Vietnam football team and led the team to the championship title at the Merdeka tournament in Malaysia, an achievement repeated in 2008 by Vietnamese coach Mai Duc Chung together with the U23 Vietnam team.
In his coaching career, Karl - Heinz Weigang took Malaysia to the SEA Games crown in 1977 and 1979, and most impressively, to the final round of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
He worked as the head coach of Vietnam’s football team from 1995-1997.
In 1995, Weigang and the Vietnamese team, which featured famous players such as Nguyen Hong Son, Tran Minh Chien and Le Huynh Duc, surprised everyone by entering the final match at the 18th SEA Games and claiming a historic silver medal, opening up a new stage for Vietnamese football in the Southeast Asian football arena.
It was also the first SEA Games medal for Vietnamese football.
One year later, he went on to help Vietnam finish as runners-up at the Tiger Cup.
In addition to managing Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Vietnam, Karl - Heinz Weigang also used to coach Mali, Ghana and Gaban.
