Bernd Walter Stange (born 14 March 1948) is a German
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
manager who last managed the
Syria national team.
During his playing career, he played for Chemie Gnaschwitz, Vorwärts Bautzen, and HSG DHfK Leipzig as a
defender.
Playing career
Born in
Gnaschwitz,
Doberschau-Gaußig, a
Sorbian town of
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, Stange started playing at an early age and was called into the
East German
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
youth team. He continued to play for Chemie Gnaschwitz in the lower divisions until 1965 followed by a year at Vorwärts Bautzen. In 1966 he joined HSG DHfK Leipzig, playing until retiring in 1970, while also studying at the DHfK Leipzig (
de) to become a sports teacher.
Coaching career
1970–91: Carl Zeiss Jena and East Germany national team
Upon completing his sports teacher degree, Stange went into coaching with
Carl Zeiss Jena in 1970,
[ winning the GDR Cup in 1973 and 1974 as assistant coach of Hans Meyer.
He was head coach East Germany Olympic Team from 1982 to 1984. They were undefeated in qualifying for the 1984 Olympic games.]East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
after years working as assistant coach and head coach of the Under 21s. After a mediocre five-year spell with the national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
without qualifying for a World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
or European Championship
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
final tournament, Stange returned, now as head coach in the GDR league, to FC Carl Zeiss Jena, in the autumn of 1989.
1991–94: Hertha BSC and VfB Leipzig; Stasi informer
Stange moved to coach Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...
where his old ties as an informant for the East German
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
police, the Stasi
The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
, surfaced. He was an 'Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter', which translates as 'unofficial employee'. His code name was 'IM Kurt Wegner'. His tasks included informing the Stasi
The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
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.
1995–2001: Coaching abroad and third stint at Jena
After losing his job at