The man who paved the way for Vietnamese football to reach the top of the region

Speaking of the late German coach Karl Heinz Weigang, no fan can forget his contributions in bringing the Vietnamese team to the Merdeka championship in 1966 and winning the first medal at the SEA Games in 1995 when the country's football reintegrated into the Southeast Asian region.

"Read" players' thoughts just by looking at them

Before Mr. Weigang led the first golden generation of Vietnamese football (since 1975), we had Brazilian coach Edison Tavarez. However, the Vietnamese team started to achieve success when the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) signed a contract with Mr. Weigang. Although his coaching time was only over 2 years from 1995 to early 1997, he helped Vietnamese football turn a new page. With a diligent, scientific working style, a very thorough and disciplined training plan, but also knowing how to promote the creativity of the players, Mr. Weigang breathed new life into the Vietnamese team. Especially, his "fiery" coaching spirit on the field made the Vietnamese players almost completely change their perception, having to compete with all their strength and constantly compete with each other to gain a foothold, because Mr. Weigang never had any favoritism for one person or another.

HLV Weigang: Người mở đường cho bóng đá VN vào tốp đầu khu vực - Ảnh 1. — Coach Weigang has great contributions to Vietnamese football

Former football star Tran Minh Chien, the author of the golden goal against Myanmar in the semi-finals of the 18th SEA Games in 1995, recalled: "Working with coach Weigang is needless to say. He may not be the type of coach that is easily liked right away because the German personality is cold, strict, sometimes annoying, but coach Weigang always makes everyone respect him, because of his very professional working style, very straightforward personality, clear attitude, each thing is its own and always requires those around him to achieve the highest work efficiency."

Midfielder Son "Princess" (nickname of former player Nguyen Hong Son) also has many memories with coach Weigang. His former student once shared: "Vietnamese football is lucky to invite coach Weigang, a person who meets all the necessary criteria to bring a limited football foundation like Vietnam, to have the opportunity to interact with the outside. Under his guidance, Vietnamese football seems to have "transformed", entering a new era, capable of being at the top of the region. He not only has advanced training methods, strict work discipline, and a serious work attitude, but also has enough knowledge to help Vietnamese players broaden their horizons. There are two things that impress us about him, that is, he reads the game very well, making adjustments very promptly. And importantly, he grasps the psychology of the players very quickly, like reading the thoughts in the minds of the person opposite just by looking or glancing."

Make many names famous

Mr. Weigang's name is also associated with another outstanding achievement with Vietnamese football. In the years 1965 - 1966, although he did not have a coaching degree, Mr. Weigang, with his ability and meticulous, scientific working style, helped the South Vietnam team at that time create a special mark with the Merdeka football championship title in 1966. An outstanding achievement, helping the generation of famous players such as Pham Huynh Tam Lang, Do Thoi Vinh, Nguyen Van Mong later become famous names.

Former football star Tran Minh Chien and coach Weigang

When reintegrating into the region, Vietnamese football failed in the group stage in two consecutive SEA Games - SEA Games 16 in the Philippines in 1991 and SEA Games 17 in Singapore in 1993. At SEA Games 18 in 1995 in Thailand, Coach Weigang led the Vietnamese team to the runner-up position. Importantly, he completely changed the face of Vietnamese football, helping Huynh Duc, Hong Son, Cong Minh, Quoc Cuong, Manh Cuong, Hoang Buu, Huu Thang, Huu Dang... become famous players in the region.

Farewell to Vietnamese football

After the Tiger Cup in 1996, Thanh Nien Newspaper met and contacted Coach Weigang at least 3 times. The topic of our conversation with him revolved around the topic that had caused a stir in public opinion at that time, such as whether or not there was a collision with a VFF official that forced him to leave, or the story of him demanding that 4 players be sent home after the 1-1 draw with Laos at Jurong Stadium.

Mr. Weigang then confided: "I am a professional coach, coming to Vietnam with all my enthusiasm and also wanting to work in the best way. Maybe my words are straightforward and offensive, but I am really dissatisfied when receiving a lack of cooperation or sometimes being negatively affected leading to problems and discord. If respected, I want to stick with Vietnamese football for a long time because I see great potential here, Vietnamese people are enthusiastic and passionate about football. That is a good foundation for Vietnamese football to continuously train talented generations and develop strongly".

Mr. Weigang once suspected that some of his students played below their ability in the match against Laos at the 1996 Tiger Cup and demanded that these players be sent home immediately after the match. Thanks to his determination, the team later reduced the phenomenon of cliques and no longer had situations of not playing their best. Former captain Manh Cuong recalled: "The difference that the German coach created was that the Vietnamese team became a team that played wholeheartedly and with all their might. The good thing is that he always recognized the weakness of Vietnamese players when competing internationally, which was self-doubt. He discussed with the VFF, organized to send the team to train in Europe, playing against many German clubs to help his students not tremble and be afraid when facing stronger opponents."

Mr. Weigang once emphasized that he had worked in many countries so he knew that conflicts in the process of collaboration were sometimes unavoidable. But for many reasons, after the Dunhill Cup in early 1997 in Malaysia, he was forced to say goodbye to Vietnamese football. (to be continued)

Coach Karl Heinz Weigang (1935 - 2017), led the Southern team to win the Merdeka Championship in 1966, led the Vietnamese team to win the runner-up position in the 1995 SEA Games, and won the bronze medal in the 1996 Tiger Cup. He also led the Perak and Johor Club of Malaysia.

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