Bernd Stange
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Bernd Stange (Born in Gnaschwitz on March 14, 1948) is a German football manager. Stange started playing at an early age and was called into the East German youth team. He continued to play for Chemie Gnaschwitz in the lower divisions until 1965 and later a year at Vorwärts Bautzen before joining HSD DHfK Leipzig, playing until retiring in 1970.
Stange went into coaching with FC Carl Zeiss Jena, winning the GDR league title twice in 1972 & 1975 and the GDR Cup in 1973 and 1974.
In 1982 he was appointed head coach of East Germany after years working as assistant coach and head coach of the Under 21s.
After a successful 6-year spell with the national team, Stange returned to FC Carl Zeiss Jena, now in the unified German Bundesliga and later moved to coach Hertha BSC Berlin where his old ties as an informant for the East German police, the Stasi, surfaced. He was an 'Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter', which translates as 'unofficial employee'. His code name was 'IM Kurt Wegner'. His tasks included informing the Stasi about his players' views of the government and whether any of them were breaking the law by making contact with West Germans. He was sacked after these allegations surfaced.
In 1994, after losing his job at VfB Leipzig, he decided to travel abroad.
In 1995 he joined Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk. After the 1995/1996 season Stange joined CSKA Kiev.
In 1998 he joined Perth Glory in the Australian National Soccer League. Glory under Stange in 2000 won the League title however failed in the post-season Grand Final, losing on penalties after leading 3-0 at half-time. Stange was very popular among supporters in Perth to the point where a demonstration was held to prevent him from being sacked. However his abrupt nature with players and other club officials made him a number of enemies, leading to his departure from the club at the completion of his contract. There is talk of him returning in a non-coaching role.[1]
In 2001, he was given the opportunity to guide Oman to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan but was fired after less than three months in the job, just enough time for the German to attract the attentions of Iraqi sports officials, after his team beat Iraq 1-0.
Amid threats from the US President George W Bush of a possible military conflict with Iraq, he arrived in Baghdad in October 2002 and put pen to paper to a 4-year contract that included two clauses allowing him to leave in the event of war and to refuse any political comment.
In 2005 Stange joined Apollon Limassol in Cyprus. Stange has indicated that he will not be continuing in Cyprus after the end of the current season regardless of results.
