Vietnam on Monday named German coach Falko Götz to lead the national football team, hoping he can inject vitality into a side which have often struggled to meet the high hopes of their passionate fans.

The 49-year-old, who signed a two-year deal at a news conference on Monday, is tasked with leading the team in qualifying rounds for the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup.

Vietnam’s eighth foreign coach since 1995, he will also oversee the under-23 squad in November’s SEA Games between regional nations in Indonesia.

Vietnam Football Federation deputy chairman Pham Ngoc Vien said he hoped Götz would bring "a new vital force" to Vietnamese football.

He declined to divulge details of the coach’s salary but local media have reported he will earn $22,000 a month.

"I start my work today," said Götz, whose playing career included stints at Bayer Leverkusen and other German clubs as well as Turkish side Galatasaray.

He coached German first division team Hertha Berlin for three years until April 2007 when he was sacked after they sank from top place to ninth in the Bundesliga.

Most recently he coached German third division side Holstein Kiel.

Vietnam’s former coach Henrique Calisto, of Portugal, resigned in March blaming media pressure stemming from the team’s failure at last year’s Southeast Asian AFF Suzuki Cup. Vietnam were eliminated in the semi finals by the tournament’s eventual winners Malaysia.

Calisto earlier led Vietnam to regional victory, taking the Suzuki Cup in 2008 after he rejoined the national side he had first coached in 2002. He is now the coach for Thailand’s Muang Thong United.