BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/07/2007

German Stange named Belarus coach

MINSK, Belarus (Reuters) -- Veteran German Bernd Stange has been appointed coach of the Belarus national team.

Stange has been out of work since quitting Cypriot club Apollon Limassol earlier this year.

Stange, who signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Belarus FA, takes over from Yuri Puntus, who resigned last month following a string of poor results.

Belarus are in fifth place in Euro 2008 qualifying Group G with seven points from seven matches and are out of contention for the next year's finals.

Stange has been out of work since quitting Cypriot club Apollon Limassol earlier this year.

The well-travelled 59-year-old was forced to quit the Iraqi national team in 2004 after receiving death threats.

He also coached East Germany, Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin, Australia's Perth Glory and Oman's national team.

He was forced to resign as Hertha manager after being named as an informer for the Stasi secret police in communist times.

Stange also worked in Ukraine with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and CSKA Kiev in the mid 1990s.

Source:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/football/07/30/belarus.coach.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest