Obituary: Former Coach Heiko Weber Has Died

Former player and coach Heiko Weber died Monday morning at the age of 61 following a serious illness. The news was announced by his longtime club, FC Carl Zeiss Jena. The sad news was confirmed by Weber’s closest circle, after he had publicly disclosed his serious cancer diagnosis in February of this year. 

“The FCC family, which showed Heiko Weber a wave of sympathy and support after his illness became known, is deeply moved and incredibly saddened. As much as we had to expect this terrible, final news, it still strikes us to the core,” FC Carl Zeiss wrote on its website. 

Weber Scored the Last Goal in DDR Oberliga History

With the former forward’s passing, the Thuringian club loses “a very special person who shaped our club during the reunification and post-reunification eras like almost no one else. It was he who, with the last goal in the history of the GDR Oberliga in Cottbus, propelled us into the 2nd Bundesliga,” the club wrote.

It was also Weber “who, exactly 38 years ago to the day on October 26, October 1988, scored the last goal for our FC Carl Zeiss Jena on the European stage at our home stadium, the Sportfeld, against Sampdoria Genoa, and later, as coach, led our club back from the fourth division to the 2nd Bundesliga with two consecutive promotions in 2005 and 2006.” 

Weber wore the Carl Zeiss jersey in more than 300 games. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends, to whom we wholeheartedly wish much strength during this difficult time,” the Regionalliga club announced.

Most recently, Weber—who had coached at higher levels in Cottbus, Aue, and again in Jena—was on the sidelines for ZFC Meuselwitz until April 2023. This past summer, he took his place on the bench once more at a charity game in Weida—where his coaching career had begun at the turn of the millennium—and spent a pleasant evening with former players and colleagues.