KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's former national coach, the charismatic Karl-Heinz Weigang, has died of a heart attack in his native Germany, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced today.
His death was confirmed by FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin.
Weigang, 81, was once synonymous with Malaysian football.
His most notable achievement as national coach was guiding Malaysia to qualify for the 1980 Moscow Olympics – although Malaysia withdrew from playing due to a United States-led boycott following the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.
Weigang had also coached Perak and led the silver state to two Malaysia Cup victories in 1998 and 2000.
Weigang returned to Perak as head coach and Technical Director last year, but ended his contract prematurely in February, following Perak's poor results in the Super League. He was replaced by Aussie Mehmet Durakovic, who was the former Selangor coach. -- BERNAMA