Sam Schweingruber is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

football coach. He was the first manager of the Cambodia women's national team.

Career

Playing career

In his playing days, Schweingruber played at Swiss third-division sides Munsterlingen,

Oberglatt Oberglatt is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Dielsdorf (district), Dielsdorf in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). Zur ...

, and

Pfyn Pfyn is a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Pfyn gives its name to the ancient Pfyn culture, one of several Neolithic cultures in Switzerland which centered on intensive pig farming and trading, datin ...

. Leaving Switzerland to go gallivanting around the globe, he felt attached to Cambodia where he played for the Mild Seven team. For a monthly salary, they paid him 30 US dollars and a cigarette packet. Later, he became their head coach.

Coaching

Despite Sam Schweingruber committing himself to fight against corruption,

Phnom Penh Crown Phnom Penh Crown Football Club (PPCFC; km, ក្លឹបបាល់ទាត់ភ្នំពេញក្រោន, ) is a Cambodian professional football club based in Sangkat Toul Sangke II, Khan Russey Keo, Phnom Penh, competing in the C ...

had been torn asunder after unfalsified voice recordings showed that seven players and four staff were involved in perpetrating a match manipulation scandal. Since this happened,

were not allowed to take part in the 2017 AFC Cup. Later, the club were cleared of match-fixing as Sam Schweingruber and the club were trying to fight it by launching an investigation to uncover those who were trying to alter the results. Two days after winning the 2015 Cambodian League with

, Schweingruber was involved in a serious motorcycle crash and was rushed to hospital where he remained for several days in a perilous condition. Shortly after, his condition worsened and he was flown to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

. There, he drifted in and out of a coma-like state . Thankfully for him, his condition later started to improve- allowing him to be sent back home to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to enter a recovery facility in mid-January 2016. It was an experience which made him re-examine his whole life. After he finally recovered, the coach made the ultimate decision to return to

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

where his five-year-old son lived, a decision his family were against. His president informed him that if he returned 'there would be a 20 percent chance he would be killed' but he did anyway. Oriol Mohedano was coach of

in the period the

manager was hospitalized. The former player is among

's most successful coaches, having won back-to-back Cambodian League titles in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

FIFA

Aside from coaching, Schweingruber is a FIFA Grassroots Development Officer who instructed a FIFA Grassroots Course in the

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in 2015.

Organizations

Way back in 2006, Schweingruber's helmet was stolen by a youth who was under the influence of drugs so Schweingruber endeavoured to establish an academy which would help

Cambodian Cambodian usually refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Cambodia ** Cambodian people (or Khmer people) ** Cambodian language (or Khmer language) ** For citizens and nationals of Cambodia, see Demographics of Cambodia ** Fo ...

youth development, calling it the SALT Academy.FIFA.com
/ref> This academy teaches football and life skills to children from families in rural

The SALT Academy also contains a group called the Mighty Girls which specializes in teaching girls football.

Coaching Achievements

* Cambodian League(2):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schweingruber, Sam Cambodian football managers Swiss football managers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Phnom Penh Crown FC managers