BERLIN - Fearing for his safety, Bernd Stange said Monday he has resigned as coach of Iraq's national soccer team.<br>
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Stange had a contract with the Iraqi Soccer Federation that ran until 2006. The German said he was warned his life would be in danger if he returned to Iraq.<br>
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"We agreed to that on the telephone four days ago and wanted to announce it officially on Tuesday. But someone, unfortunately, let the news out early," Stange was quoted as saying by the German news agency dpa.<br>
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Stange has been in Jordan since April 8, when the German Foreign Ministry advised him to leave Iraq<br>
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He said he was unable to do his job because he only sees his players when they playing home games, which have been moved to Jordan, or at occasional training camps outside Iraq.<br>
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"In addition, my personal adviser, Siad Tarek, wrote me that he fears for my life if I were to return to Iraq," Stange said.<br>
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Because of the threat, Stange was said he would be unable to attend Iraq's next training camp, which was moved to Baghdad after South Korea withdrew an invitation to the team to train there starting July 3.<br>
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"After the Korean hostage was beheaded, they withdrew the invitation," Stange said.<br>
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Stange was hired in November 2002, when Saddam Hussein was still in power. He helped Iraq's under-23 team qualify for next month's Olympic soccer tournament in Greece.
