FORMER Perth Glory coach Bernd Stange will be a Special Guest Speaker at the Football Hall of Fame WA's 20th Anniversary Gala Dinner/Induction Night on November 26.
Stange will make the journey from his home in Germany to attend the function - and his appearance will be a major coup for the organising committee of the Football Hall of Fame WA.
He will join former SBS football broadcast icon Les Murray as a Guest Speaker at the event, which will be held in the Grand Ballroom of Crown Perth.
Stange said that he is looking forward to returning to Perth, where he spent three years as coach of the Glory.
"Perth will always hold a special place in my heart," said the former East German national team coach.
"I loved my spell at the Glory and I had a special relationship with the fans. I hope to see many of them when I return in November.
"The work which the committee of the Hall of Fame is doing is very important - and I am honoured that I can make a contribution to the anniversary celebrations."
The chairman of the Football Hall of Fame WA committee, Louis Prospero, said: "We are delighted that Bernd has agreed to be a Guest Speaker. He has always been very popular in Perth and we regard it as something of a coup in our efforts to get him to be part of our induction night celebration.
"I am sure that many from the WA football family will want to attend the function to hear Bernd and to mingle with many of the other celebrities and inductees.
“Several former members of Bernd’s squad who played for Perth Glory will be honoured on the night so they will have much to talk about.
"With Les Murray also agreeing to front the microphone, it promises to be a very special night."
Stange, who came to WA in 1998 after stints as coach of Carl Zeiss Jena, Hertha BSC, CSKA Kiev as well as the East German national team, was the first coach to lead Perth Glory into the finals of the old National Soccer League in 2000, losing a thriller on penalties to Wollongong Wolves.
His enthusiasm and charismatic personality were an instant hit with Glory fans - and with the NSL in general. He enjoyed as much media exposure on the east coast of Australia as he did in Perth.
He left the Glory in 2001 and had a brief spell with Oman before spending two years in charge of the Iraq team. He then took Cypriot side Apollon Limassol to their first championship in 12 years and in three years with the Belarus national team took them to their highest-ever FIFA ranking.
The much-travelled Stange headed east again to take the reins as Singapore's national coach. After three seasons, he decided to retire from the game in April this year at the age of 68.
**TICKETS to the Gala Dinner cost $180 (3-course dinner, all drinks, entertainment) and are available by contacting the email address: admin@footballhalloffamewa.com.au