HANOI (29 Dec 2011) – The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) have parted ways with national chief coach Falko Goetz after what was felt as a failure to deliver the gold medal at the SEA Games in Jakarta last month.
The VFF held a meeting with the National Coaching Council and both sides agreed that the German coach had not fulfilled his duties and was no longer suitable for the post.
“Goetz had no clear tactics, was unable to adjust to new conditions and failed to leave his mark on the team during his time in Vietnam,” said council chairman Nguyen Sy Hien to Vietnam News. “For those reasons, we agreed with the VFF’s proposal to dismiss Goetz.”
It is expected that Goetz will receive official confirmation of the decision when he returns to Vietnam next week. He is currently back in Germany for a vacation.
Goetz was appointed head coach of the national and Under-23 teams in June after an extensive selection process conducted by the VFF.
The 49-year-old had an impressive CV and had beaten 40 other candidates to the position which brought him USD 22,000 per month, excluding other expenses such as accommodation and travel allowances.
Under Goetz, Vietnam jumped 55 places in the FIFA world rankings to reach 99th earlier this month. It is seven years since the country was last in the top 100 in the world. In Asia, Vietnam are ranked 34th to be the top team in ASEAN overtaking Thailand.
