Salpointe's Wolfgang Weber back, better than ever following surgery

Although no o›cial record is kept nationally, some have estimated that Weber is now No. 9 in history. Getting to No. 1, which is owned by Missouri prep coach Terry Michler — he surpassed 900 two years ago — isn’t going to happen. It would probably take another 15 years to hit 900, and Weber is 69. He is, in his own words, “lucky to be alive.” You would never know he is lucky about anything. When the state 4A playo€s begin Tuesday, the 17-3-1 Lancers open as the No. 3 seed. If they win a seventh state title for Weber in February, few will be surprised. In late September, while coaching his Tucson Soccer Academy team in Phoenix, Weber felt discomfort in his chest. He took “a little baby aspirin” and resumed his routine. Later that day, the chest pains returned. He took a bigger aspirin. About a week later he was in the emergency room at Banner-UMC. He was soon undergoing surgery, a triple-bypass for what doctors discovered was a 90 percent blockage of the passages to his heart. “I escaped, if you will,” he says. “I honestly never panicked, maybe I should have. My mother died of a heart attack when she was 65.” What’s remarkable is that Weber was out of the hospital in •ve days and was cleared to attend a much-anticipated Rolling Stones concert in Phoenix two weeks later. When Salpointe’s soccer workouts began shortly thereafter, he was in his customary spot on the sidelines. “The doctors told me I’m probably good for another 20 years, although I’ll be happy with 10,” he said with a laugh. Weber’s current Salpointe team has a promising mix of eight seniors and three sophomore standouts: Alfonso Cabrera, who has scored 18 goals; Francisco Manzo, who has 10 goals; and Eric Galindo, who leads the team in assists. This looks to be the start of another championship-era run for Weber, who is in his 35th year coaching the Lancers.

If ever he was going to retire, it might’ve been in 2013. A few months after the Lancers went 26- 2 to win his sixth state championship, his wife of 34 years, Nina, died. That makes the inability to play state tournament games on the Salpointe 㼟eld this week — it is being 㼟tted with a new arti㼟cial turf in time for spring football drills — a minor inconvenience. (Salpointe will play Phoenix Metro Tech at Tucson High School). “I’m going to keep at it,” he said. “I 㼟nd it as enjoyable as ever and I think I am still capable of... Read more.