Reinhard Fabisch (19 August 1950 – 12 July 2008) was 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 and player. He coached teams in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and the national teams of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Playing career

As a player Fabisch was signed to

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

between 1969 and 1971 although he did not play for the senior team.

Coaching career

Fabisch commenced coaching in as an assistant with

Tennis Borussia Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin. History The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ...

and

SG Union Solingen SG Union Solingen was a German association football club from Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia. History The side can trace its roots back to an earlier ''Union Solingen'' club founded in 1897 out of the merger of a number of clubs from the d ...

. Fabisch had three stints as coach of the Kenya national team. In 1987, he managed Harambee Stars to the runners up position against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

at the Fourth All-Africa Games, in 1997 he took charge during the qualification tournament for the 1998 World Cup. He was signed to replace Christian Chukwu in 2001, and during the

CECAFA Cup The CECAFA Cup, formerly the Gossage Cup (1926–1966) and the East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup (1967–1971), is the oldest football tournament in Africa. It is organized by the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associati ...

he led Kenya to the finals, eventually losing to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. He was dismissed in June 2002. He previously managed the national team of

, as well as

Emirates Club Emirates Club () is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. They play in the UAE Pro League after being promoted from the UAE First Division League. They play their home game ...

, and

Fujairah Fujairah City () is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Em ...

, both in the UAE. He became manager of the Benin national team in December 2007. He was embroiled in a controversy over match-fixing, after claiming he was asked for fix a result. He left the position in May 2008.

Death

Reinhard Fabisch died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in Germany on 12 July 2008. He had a son called

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

with his Zimbabwean wife; the family lived in Germany.

References

1950 births 2008 deaths Sportspeople from Schwerte Footballers from Arnsberg (region) German football managers Borussia Dortmund players Kenya national football team managers Zimbabwe national football team managers Benin national football team managers Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. managers Sportspeople involved in betting scandals Deaths from cancer in Germany German expatriate sportspeople in South Africa German expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Kenya Expatriate football managers in Zimbabwe Expatriate football managers in Benin Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate soccer managers in South Africa 2008 Africa Cup of Nations managers Emirates Club managers German men's footballers Men's association football forwards West German expatriate sportspeople in Kenya German expatriate sportspeople in Benin German expatriate sportspeople in Kenya German expatriate sportspeople in Zimbabwe German expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates West German football managers West German men's footballers West German expatriate football managers Fujairah FC managers {{Germany-footy-forward-1950s-stub