Hanoi (VNA) – Alfred Riedl, a formercoach of the Vietnamese national football team, passed away at the age of 70after a long time battling with cancer, Austrian media reported on September 8.
President of the Austrian Football Association Leo Windtner sent his deep condolences,saying that Riedl was a brilliant player in his playing period, and he also dida great job as a coach abroad.
During his career, Riedl made many contributions to Austrian football as wellas Vietnamese football.
As a player, Riedl was a striker who played four games for Austria. He coachedAustria for eight games in 1990 and 1991, including a failed bid to qualify forthe 1992 European Championship.
Riedl later worked as sporting director of the Iranian national team and ascoach of Liechtenstein, Vietnam, Palestine, Laos and Indonesia, as well as withclubs from North Africa and Asia
Riedl led the Vietnamese football team in the periods of 1998-2000; 2003-2004and 2005- 2007. He helped the team enter the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup 2007.
The Austrian coach also helped Vietnam become runners-up at the 1998 Tiger Cup (now AFF Cup) after losing 0-1 to Singapore in the final in Hanoi, and win silver medals atthe Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in 1999, 2003 and 2005./.