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16 - kassiesa.net
8.06 No 52 – August 2006 Fourth world title for Italy 03 Looking towards EURO 2008 05 Doping Control Officers’ seminar 10 Club competition schedule 16 COVER IN THIS ISSUE Fabio Cannavaro, Italy’s captain, celebrates his country’s fourth World Cup victory. At the same time, Italy took their revenge on France for defeating them in the final of EURO 2000. In the referees’ camp 06 Eleven questions for Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder 09 Stepping up the fight against doping 10 World Cup: the might of Europe 03 Club competition schedule 16 Lessons for EURO 2008 05 News from member associations 17 PHOTO: KAPPELER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Editorial Putting the fans first The World Cup in Germany has ended triumphantly for Europe’s representatives, who, by occupying all four semi-final places, reaffirmed their determination to continue what has become an established tradition – barring Brazil’s 1958 victory in Sweden – of claiming the top honours on the turf of their home continent. This success for European football is, of course, extremely gratifying since it illustrates once again the excellent quality of the work being done within our national associations. It is also a sign of promise for the future: alongside the established stars, many talented young players made a major contribution to the success of their respective teams. Every aspect of the World Cup has been or will be dissected, and this will provide vital information for the next major international competitions, starting with EURO 2008, the qualifying matches for which get under way in August. From a wider perspective and at the risk of being slightly provocative, I could say that, in the end, the name of the winners of a competition such as the World Cup is by no means the most important element – without wishing to devalue the status of world champions or the prestige and positive effects of their victory in the competition. No, in my opinion, it is the overall impact of such an event that really matters. The world may not have changed during the month of the tournament, unlike during the Olympic Games of ancient times, which brought about a temporary cessation of armed conflict. However, the month-long football fest in Germany has enabled prejudices to be overcome, dialogue to be facilitated and, in many cases, closer links to be forged between different sets of supporters, despite the stakes involved. Thanks to technical progress, the festival has embraced the whole world, with vast crowds gathering in front of giant screens to watch the matches. Everything should be done to keep this passion alive, and perhaps the best way of doing so is to put the fans first. Among other things, this means not letting the commercialisation of the game get out of hand and, above all, providing highquality entertainment with teams that are not afraid to go for goal, in the awareness that, ultimately, the success of the tournament has to be the first priority of all those taking part. In Germany the defining images were not of troublemakers but of dedicated fans enjoying themselves. Let us aim to keep it that way in the future. Lars-Christer Olsson The supporters were there to have fun. 02 uefadirect 8.06 EMPICS Chief Executive we care about football World Cup PAVANI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES A triumph for Italy and a triumph for Europe! ITALY BECOMING WORLD CHAMPIONS FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN THEIR HISTORY WAS NOT NECESSARILY WHAT THE BOOKMAKERS HAD PREDICTED. BUT MARCELLO LIPPI’S TEAM DELIVERED THE GOODS WHEN IT MATTERED IN A COMPETITION WHICH SAW THEM CLINCH THE FINAL ON PENALTIES AGAINST FRANCE, WHO ALSO MADE AN EYE-CATCHING RETURN TO THE WORLD STAGE. WITH SEMI-FINALS THAT WERE AN ALL-EUROPEAN AFFAIR, THE WORLD CUP IN GERMANY REAFFIRMED THE FOOTBALLING SUPREMACY OF THE OLD CONTINENT. Even if Italy’s success was not expected, they showed a rare solidity throughout the World Cup. In fact they only conceded two goals in the whole competition, including the final, and two atypical goals at that, namely an own goal against the United States and a penalty against France. This is testimony to the soundness of the defence, which was superbly marshalled by Fabio Can- navaro and made light of the injury to Alessandro Nesta, who was successfully replaced by Marco Materazzi. The Italians also had the best goalkeeper of the tournament in the shape of Gianluigi Buffon, who was the inevitable choice for the Lev Yashin prize. Even though Francesco Totti was not at his outstanding best owing to lack of match practice after fracturing his fibula in February, Andrea Pirlo was dazzling in midfield, especially playing a key role in set-piece situations. Up front, Marcello Lippi had a rich supply of talent at his disposal. Even though little was seen of certain players, such as Filippo Inzaghi, all the strikers (Luca Toni, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Alberto Gilardino and Alessandro Del Piero) scored at least once. Against France in the final, Italy certainly struggled but they resisted French pressure during the second half and showed nerves of steel during the ordeal of the penalty shoot-out. So their winners’ crown is far from undeserved. So near and yet so far for France The re-emergence of France as a leading contender was particularly unexpected given that their first two group matches against Switzerland and South 03 SCHAMBERGER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES SIMON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Korea ended in unconvincing draws. But Raymond Domenech’s team grew in stature as the competition progressed and hit top form in the round of 16 to beat Spain, despite the latter’s brilliant performance in the group matches. But once again, the Spaniards failed to live up to expectations and bowed out prematurely. In this tournament, France possessed a defence which was excep- tionally sound, and in Zinedine Zidane they had a player who had undergone a complete renaissance. It is a great pity that the French maestro spoilt his final appearance and sullied his reputation with an unsavoury action that earned him a red card. Frank Ribery was a revelation, while Thierry Henry confirmed his reputation as one of the fastest strikers on the planet. A successful World Cup for Germany Germany not only staged a perfect World Cup but secured a fully deserved third place with their victory over Portugal. GETTY IMAGES Lilian Thuram’s experience was crucial to the solidity of the French defence. 04 uefadirect 8.06 This World Cup was a real fan fest, in the German stadiums and virtually the world over. After some uneasy warm-up games, Jürgen Klinsmann’s squad put in some extremely positive performances, winning over the public with their attacking football. In their group, they outclassed Costa Rica, Ecuador and a very disappointing Poland. In the round of 16, they made short work of a Swedish team which had been much more dynamic in previous matches and should have done better, with strikers of the calibre of Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. And they continued to astonish everyone by disposing of Argentina – who had been billed as the danger men – in a penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals. It was in the semi-final against Italy that things got tougher for the Germans, who, even so, only lost out in the dying minutes of the second period of extra time. Even though there were star individual contributions from the likes of Miroslav Klose, the tournament’s top goalscorer, it was once again the strength of Germany’s team spirit which shone through. Portugal, who finished in fourth place, produced some fine performances but, as was the case at EURO 2004, Luis Felipe Scolari was unable to lead his team to success in the way he had done with Brazil in 2002. The Portuguese negotiated the group phase without difficulty, winning all three games, before ejecting a below-par Dutch team from the competition in a stormy second-round match. In knocking out England on penalties, Portugal showed great discipline, but in the semi-final against France, their efforts were in vain. A penalty by Zidane overcame their resistance, with their strike force unable to muster an effective reply. Another striking feature of this World Cup was the shock defeats of the top South American teams, A mixture of results Although England had hoped at least to reach the semi-finals and were therefore bound to be disappointed, Ukraine celebrated their presence in the quarter-finals as a historic success, even though their subsequent elimination by Italy came as no surprise. Despite being knocked out on penalties by Ukraine in the last 16, Switzerland also had a fine run in the competition. Shortcomings in attack caused problems, however, though the defence was extremely reliable. But Köbi Kuhn’s team will be out to enhance its reputation during EURO 2008, which Switzerland will be hosting jointly with Austria. Looking at all the European competitors, the biggest sources of disappointment were Poland, as already mentioned, and Serbia & Montenegro, who lost their three group matches and suffered the heaviest defeat of the tournament at the hands of Argentina. Otherwise, the Czech Republic, despite getting off to a good start, had hoped to do better than be pipped by Ghana for second place in what was undeniably a very tough group. André Winckler THE FIFA WORLD CUP IN GERMANY IS ALREADY HISTORY. EURO 2008 LIES AHEAD. MARTIN KALLEN, COO OF EURO 2008 SA, WAS AT THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT AS AN OBSERVER. THE 43-YEAR-OLD SWISS CITIZEN SHARES HIS WORLD CUP EXPERIENCE WITH US. The World Cup caused euphoria all over the world. What did you think of it as an expert? The organisers – led by Franz Beckenbauer and Horst R. Schmidt – have set the bar very high for us. It was an extremely positive experience. The atmosphere in Germany couldn’t have been better. What lessons were you able to learn for EURO 2008? Only certain comparisons can be made. The World Cup involves 64 matches and 32 teams, whereas the European Championship final round is half that size, with just 31 matches and 16 teams. The most striking aspect was the resounding success of the fan zones in the host cities, particularly in Berlin. The cities played an enormous role as far as enthusiasm was concerned. What we saw in Germany during the last few weeks was exemplary in all respects, and showed the way ahead. The number of visitors – some 20 million altogether – exceeded all expectations. The benefits in terms of image and promotion are immense. It was also the first time that there was a special website for the fans, a service that was extremely well received. The matter of security was a topic of great discussion before the event. What is your assessment? In general, there have been no major incidents at World Cup or Euro- pean Championships since 1996. Fortunately, these events are turning more and more into huge parties. In any case, the German police were very well prepared. They were inconspicuous but effective. We were mainly interested in seeing what happened at the stadiums, particularly at the entrances. There were no major problems, not even at huge arenas like Dortmund and Berlin. This was very important for us to see at first hand, and we think we are working along the right lines as far as security and ticketing are concerned. How did you rate the Swiss national team? Very positively. The excitement in Switzerland was hard to beat. After the win against Togo, the whole country was in raptures. There were around 45,000 Swiss fans at the match in Dortmund, and the support in Stuttgart was not much less... So finally, how many Swiss and Austrians will there be in the stadiums for EURO 2008? Ticket sales begin in March 2007 and roughly 75 percent will be on general sale. And we are reserving 20 percent for each of the participating teams per match. In Germany, each participating team received an eight percent share of the tickets. A sea of red in the stadiums in Germany for Switzerland’s matches. GETTY IMAGES MILLAUER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES with Argentina and defending champions Brazil having been among the favourites. After making a strong start, both teams then took their foot off the accelerator. In the quarter-finals, Germany wiped out Argentina’s singlegoal lead with just ten minutes of normal time left on the clock and the South Americans ultimately lost on penalties. Brazil went out with a whimper to France in the quarter-finals, seemingly unable to mount a comeback. Of the African teams, only Ghana emerged from the group stage unscathed, but they came to grief in the last 16 against a Brazilian team which at that point seemed to be well on course. LOOKING AHEAD TO EURO2008 05 I. SANOGO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES HEIMANN/BONGARTS/GETTY IMAGES Physical preparation, including training and warming up before the match, is crucial for referees. The World Cup with the referees The 33rd team THE SHADE OF THE TREES MAKES THE PARK A RELAXING PLACE. WITH THE SUN BARELY RISEN, A FEW BRAVE SOULS ARE OUT JOGGING BEFORE EMBARKING ON AN ACTION-PACKED DAY. THE REFEREES ARE NO LONGER THE AMATEURS IN THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD OF FOOTBALL. Since EURO 2000, the referees have formed the 17th or the 33rd team, depending on the tournament (European Championship or World Cup). They share the same hotel, train together, spend their leisure time together and enjoy what may be an unfamiliar kind of peace and quiet. The Kempinski Hotel Gravenbruch, close to Frankfurt airport, is hosting a delegation of around 160 people, including the 26 World Cup referees and their 52 assistants, members of the FIFA Referees Committee, K. LENTZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES UEFA and FIFA have developed an impressive training programme both for their respective major final rounds as well as throughout the year. Most referees have to juggle the demands of football and professional life. During the season, this combination exposes them to a hectic lifestyle, especially as, in addition to their day jobs and the matches, they follow a specific training programme devised by specialist fitness coach Werner Helsen and his team, in addition to the courses organised by FIFA and UEFA. 06 uefadirect 8.06 two psychologists, coaches, physiotherapists, doctors and even an acupuncturist, plus administrative staff and ten security guards. The referees got together two weeks before the start of the tournament for a period of nearly seven weeks. They have a set programme: breakfast between 7 and 9, training from 9.30 to 12, lunch from 12.30 to 2, with theory sessions to follow. After that, they can to do their own thing until dinner time, which is from 7.30 onwards. Andreas Werz, the referees’ spokesman, says: “It is vital to look at various phases of the game and the decisions taken, whether the latter were correct or not. We analyse them in a constructive way.” These sessions take place in English, the working language of refereeing, and the officials’ linguistic knowledge has been tested twice – a first in itself. As responsible adults in their late 30s/early 40s, the referees are given considerable freedom of movement. They have their own rooms, they have access to a gym, swimming pools and computers. They can take time out alone or go on organised trips. “Even so, life in a group implies certain rules: punctuality, order and wearing a uniform, since we are all members of a team,” says Werz. The family of referees has many different hues but the cultures mingle easily. Greetings and good wishes accompany those going off to referee, congratulations await them when they return. The vast amount of coming and going is head-spinning but it takes place without a hitch. The hotel staff have entered into the spirit of things and form an integral part of the team, performing tasks which go way beyond the call of duty. Enormous attention is paid just to the task of meal preparation in an effort to cater for all tastes. Since EURO 2004, the match officials have formed teams of three from the same country or confederation. They communicate with glances, through body language. Being in such a team also makes it easier to discuss any prob- A tournament on home turf? “Give us a photo, Markus!” The World Cup referees and their assistants are training on the pitches at Neu-Isenburg, shielded from outside scrutiny as they are at their hotel. The stewards, kind souls as they are, have let a few kids through. Markus Merk puts a friendly arm round the children while a physiotherapist takes the photo. Maybe some of them will be inspired to take up refereeing … The ”mentors and talents” scheme Two of the European referees are newcomers to this year’s World Cup. Frank Debleeckere from Belgium, Werner Helsen’s “guinea pig”, who he works with throughout the year, and Massimo Busacca from Switzerland have benefited from the UEFA “mentors and talents” scheme launched in 2001. They were part of the first generation of European “talents”, comprising 30 promising young referees. Some 1,500 training sessions and 200 matches later, their dream has become a reality. With their youthful enthusiasm, they blend in easily with their more experienced colleagues. They have already been part of the referees’ team during youth tournaments and have gained experience officiating at Champions League matches. Although a company director in his day job, Busacca has not been bored during this long “sabbatical”. “The days pass quickly, there’s always something to do: training, video sessions, matches, excursions too whenever possible. We’re a closely-knit team, which is crucial for building trust. I’m learning a lot from the contact with my fellow referees, and the mix of cultures is very enriching too.” P. P. Markus Merk As the referees prepare to return to the hotel at the end of the training session, they all have a kind word for their young supporters. Some of them are trying hard to remember a few words of German. Apart from the countless interviews and the kids’ adulation, Markus Merk does not feel as though he’s officiating in his own country. “In every stadium, I see only foreign flags. When the Dutch play, half the stadium is orange.” The German’s fourth major tournament will also be his last, since he will soon reach the retirement age for referees. “Since EURO 2000, back-up for the referees has been constantly improving. It’s a well-oiled machine. The number of referees has also been reduced, which gives us all more matches. This is a positive development.” A total of 48 potential referees and their assistants have been in special training for 18 months, attending courses and subjected to medical tests, including cardiac monitoring, in the wake of the tragic sudden death of the player Marc-Vivien Foé. P.P. Two days before, we do less physical work. Three days before, the session alternates between speed and endurance training. The day after the match, there is the cool-down session, and the day after that is devoted to rest.” Pascale Pierard EMPICS Massimo Busacca lems that arise and reduces the isolation of the men in black. Self-reliant as they are, they do not give much away, but one thought preoccupies them all: since only the best of them will be kept on to officiate in the later stages of the competition, who will it be? Their fate is being played out on the pitch, under the scrutiny of the referee observers and the billions of TV viewers who watch endless replays of the incidents where the officials have to take instant decisions. “If they wish, the referees can get help from the psychologists with handling stress, media criticism, etc.” Werner Helsen and his team work until the evening to help keep the referees fit. They are fitted with heart monitors to keep track of their progress. “We analyse the data immediately after a training session and, if necessary, we adjust the routine. We’ve been training them for the last 18 months. They are now given weekly programmes via the Internet. Nine weeks before the World Cup, they started on a special preparation routine. The sessions are shorter during the tournament itself.” With the extra physical effort resulting from the heatwave, plenty of water has been needed in addition to the mineral supplements. This has been Helsen’s 11th tournament in six years, but even with his experience, his task is huge. The referees are divided into several groups, as are the assistants, whose programme is not always identical. “The day before the match, we put the focus on speed. M. OESER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES GETTY IMAGES Referees also have to be prepared to deal with the media, as demonstrated by Horacio Elizondo (Argentina). 07 Playing hard but playing fair. An afternoon with a difference for the MEPs. Report from Brussels Special Olympics To u r n a m e n t UEFA AND SPECIAL OLYMPICS ORGANISED THEIR SECOND EU FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT ON 21 JUNE AT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IN BRUSSELS. AROUND A DOZEN SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETES PLAYED IN MIXED TEAMS ALONGSIDE MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (MEPS) AND OFFICIALS FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION. all the teams combined well despite the mix of nationalities and languages. It needed a tense penalty shoot-out to separate the three teams. Peter Vervecken, a FIFA referee from Belgium, kindly took charge of matters on the pitch, and enjoyed the chance to work in a more relaxed environment. “This reminds us what football is really about,” he said, changing back into his civilian clothes at the end of the afternoon. Chris Heaton-Harris, a British MEP and member of the ‘Friends of Football’, played in all positions on the pitch, including goalkeeper, and again impressed with his long-range shoot- PHOTOS: SERGE BRASSINE Following the success of the first such event, which took place in October 2005, UEFA and Special Olympics decided to make the tournament a regular fixture in the European Parliament’s calendar. The games take place on a pitch directly behind the Parliament’s hemicycle, which allows MEPs and their assistants to escape from their offices and see grassroots football in action. This year’s tournament was just as competitive as the previous one, with all teams running and tackling hard on a humid afternoon. Some of the MEPs showed that old legs could still produce a burst of speed or a clever pass, while ing. Before returning to the voting chamber in the Parliament, Mr HeatonHarris used the medals ceremony to remind everyone that “this was a very special afternoon for everyone involved, and another great example of football’s unique power to bring people together.” For Special Olympics, the tournament was a further milestone in their efforts to develop a new attitude in Brussels towards people with intellectual disabilities and their role in sport. For UEFA, the event was a chance to show our stakeholders in the EU that UEFA actively promotes the idea of sport for all, and supports football of all levels and abilities. Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia, based in Brussels, supports development in 57 national programmes. By the end of 2005, more than 400,000 individuals were participating yearround in Special Olympics activities in this region. As he presented the medals at the end of the games, Michael Smith, managing director, commented that the mini-tournament with the European Parliament and Commission “demonstrates how sports improve our understanding of the gifts and abilities of people with intellectual disabilities.” This year’s event also promoted the three-month countdown to the Special Olympics European Youth Games, which will take place in September in Rome. 08 uefadirect 8.06 Germany 3.3.1933 President of the German FA (DFB). Eleven questions for the Executive Committee members IN THE TENTH IN OUR SERIES, GERHARD MAYER-VORFELDER ANSWERS OUR ELEVEN QUESTIONS. Your first contact with football? My first football memory goes back a long way. It must have been at the end of the 1930s, when my father took me to watch our home club Walldorf Astoria near Heidelberg for the first time. Two players were sent off and I remember clearly being totally baffled at the time that they were not allowed to take any further part in the game. First experience of UEFA? This was a disciplinary case concerning a UEFA Cup match. The player Bernd Förster had passed himself off as his brother Karl-Heinz to receive the yellow card which the latter had been shown – both played for VfB Stuttgart at the time – and it all came out during the proceedings. Unfortunately they were both penalised by UEFA... A player? Asgeir Sigurvinsson from Iceland, who I signed from Bayern Munich when I was president of VfB Stuttgart. He felt very much at home at VfB and became one of the best attacking midfielders in the Bundesliga at that time. A memorable match? For me, the biggest match was the 1954 World Cup final in Berne which Germany won 3-2. As a student in Heidelberg, I watched the match on a small black-and-white TV in a pub. The match had a huge effect on us youngsters in Germany because the World Cup victory and people’s reac- Member of the UEFA Executive Committee since 2000. Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder tion to it was a step towards Germany’s reintegration in the international community after the Second World War. A memory linked to a UEFA activity? Again it’s connected with disciplinary proceedings. I was representing one of our players and before the proceedings opened, the judge told me that I would be allowed to speak twice. Since I’d already asked witnesses two questions, he wouldn’t let me argue my carefully constructed case on the grounds that I’d already spoken twice. It’s a good example of how UEFA’s disciplinary proceedings have also had to conform to changes in civil law. Defender or attacker? Neither. Right midfielder. We give you a ball, what do you do with it? I play football with my sons. A town? Stuttgart. It’s the city with which I had the closest links as a politician and still do as a sports administrator. It’s my home. Detective story or economic treatise? What I like best is a history book or at least a historical novel. Sea or mountains? I grew up in the Black Forest, so it has to be the mountains. In the past I used to go on a skiing holiday every year – today I still like hiking in the Allgäu. A dream? A recurring dream is to win the World Cup with the German national team. Maybe next time! PHOTOS: UEFA PORTRAIT GERHARD MAYER-VORFELDER 09 Dr Jacques Liénard, member of UEFA’s DCO Panel. UEFA UEFA The doping control officer’s equipment. Anti-doping measures Well-trained and reliable DCOs THE ANTI-DOPING UNIT RECENTLY HELD THE SECOND UEFA SEMINAR FOR DOPING CONTROL OFFICERS (DCOS) IN NYON. On 11 and 12 June, 34 current DCOs and 11 candidates, all medical doctors, gathered at UEFA’s headquarters for an initial training course or refresher course accordingly. The agenda was a busy one, combining practical tests, written examinations, language tests, the presentation of the latest detection techniques and role playing in stressful or tense situations. The need to remain at the top The mission is clear: UEFA wants the best DCOs. It is taking a stand and making no secret of its determination to fight doping in football. To this end, it is calling on professionals already working for NADOs (national antidoping organisations) and national team doctors. It wants to train them and give them the support they need to operate in a professional manner, as well as helping them to pass on the prevention message. As well as the tests themselves, a great deal of attention is paid to education and training. ”These are the main starting points. You have to make contact with the players and coaches, and particularly with the doctors,” said Dr Jacques Liénard, member of the Anti-Doping Panel, who also referred to all the work carried out over the past two years. Positive dialogue Group discussions gave the DCOs a chance to tell UEFA about some of the problems they encounter in their day-to-day work. What can UEFA do to help them? What can be done to improve the understanding and collaboration of team doctors and players themselves? When travelling by air, how can boarding procedures be simplified when luggage contains samples? What should be done if the tested player seals the A sample before the end of the procedure? What if the testing room is not up to the required standard? What do you do if no witnesses are present when the envelopes are opened, and so on? So many UEFA The DCO seminar in Nyon in June. 10 uefadirect 8.06 NENAD DIKIC NENAD DIKIC The DCO has a difficult job. Question of mentality Although the task seems easy, the reality is quite different. A DCO’s work is totally confidential. Unlike UEFA delegates or referees, they are not looked after by the host association or club. They have to make their own travel arrangements, find the stadium, make initial contact on arrival at the stadium, set up the testing procedure, prepare the testing room, prepare the draw, manage the end of the match and the arrival of the players, deal with the different reactions of the players, take the samples, send the samples to the laboratories and write the reports to be sent to UEFA. Mattia Piffaretti, a sports psychologist who has assessed different situations while accompanying DCOs, recreated those scenarios in order to suggest precise, specific solutions. Although apparently simple, a DCO’s tasks can be stressful, and this may have a clear impact on the outcome. According to Mattia Piffaretti, there is a risk of burnout and fatigue and it is important to provide DCOs with psychological tools that can help them to adopt the best strategies and use as little energy as possible. It is a matter of being an effective leader, taking control of the situation, whatever opposition and unforeseen events may get in the way. When required to undergo a doping test, all players react differently. Some will be assertive and sure of themselves, others will be in a hurry, or even worried, anxious or aggressive. The DCO therefore needs to use the most appropriate tool for the type of person they are dealing with. “When they are working, DCOs are under constant stress; during the seminar, the practical work concentrated on specific situations which the DCOs are very familiar with, but in which they might sometimes still be hesitant,“ added DCO Dr Pavel Malovic. 2005/06 test results During the 2005/06 season, the 32 teams in the UEFA Champions League were all visited by UEFA DCOs, who tested Latest developments Dr Martial Saugy, director of the doping laboratory in Lausanne, described the latest detection techniques to the participants, explaining that the fight against doping would, in future, involve blood tests as well as urine tests. “Information about new laboratory testing techniques is extremely inspiring; it is something we need to discuss and understand,“ said Dr Malovic. ten players in almost all cases. None of the 423 players tested during 43 visits tested positive, including in the 361 analyses for EPO, a substance used to boost endurance and physical strength. The club officials and players were very cooperative. In-competition testing produced seven positive cases among the 925 players tested More tests The number of tests will rise next season. While 925 tests were conducted in 2005/06, no less than 1,100 will be carried out in 2006/07 across all UEFA competitions, including the qualifying phase for EURO 2008, youth, women’s and futsal competitions, in addition to out-of-competition testing. UEFA is therefore demonstrating its desire to promote prevention and education. The panel will continue to pursue these goals. Its members have recently benefited from the arrival in their midst of representatives of the professional leagues and FIFPro. (including 289 EPO tests). Four of these cases involved the use of recreational drugs by youth players, while two occurred at women’s tournaments in which players had failed to declare the use of Beta-2 antagonists to treat asthma. The final case concerned the Middlesbrough FC player Abel Xavier, who tested positive for anabolic steroids at a UEFA Cup match and was suspended for 18 months by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body. In recognition of his 27 years of collaboration with UEFA, Dr Hans-Joerg Eissmann was presented with an engraved plaque by Dr Urs Vogel, Chairman of the UEFA Medical Committee. Dr Eissmann was a member of the Anti-Doping Study Group between 1979 and 1986, Chairman of the Medical Committee from 1986 until 1998, expert adviser to the same committee between 1998 and 2000 and, finally, a DCO since 2000. NENAD DIKIC questions need to be answered in order to make the whole process even more professional. Dr Hans-Joerg Eissmann with Dr Jacques Liénard (left) and Dr Urs Vogel, chairman of UEFA’s Medical Committee. 11 An emblem for the city FC Utrecht: a regional reference point MORE THAN A DECADE AFTER THE BOSMAN RULING, THERE IS A GREAT TEMPTATION TO NEGLECT THE DEVELOPMENT OF TALENTED YOUNG LOCAL PLAYERS, WHO ARE INEVITABLY LURED AWAY TO RICHER PASTURES, WITH OTHERS REAPING THE REWARDS FOR THE HARD WORK DONE. The development of players costs a great deal of money and effort, and disappointment often ensues at the departure of a promising young player, who is sometimes barely out of adolescence. The youth academies in France have a reputation PRO SHOTS/RUUD VOEST Nassir Maachi (red), one of Utrecht’s young homegrown players. 12 uefadirect 8.06 that goes before them, but the Dutch schools are not so far behind. Who can forget the dazzling football played by Ajax in the 1970s, for example? Other, smaller Dutch clubs can also EMPICS DE SWART/AFP/GETTY IMAGES FC Utrecht cannot vie with the great Dutch teams but are still capable of shining against them, as they did when they beat Ajax last season. boast considerable achievements on the educational and social fronts and let nothing stand in their way in this respect. Take FC Utrecht. Even though they enjoy a certain status in the domestic championship and qualify regularly for European competition, they cannot rival the three customary leaders, Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. They tend more towards flashes of brilliance, for example in the Dutch Cup. However, they do not succumb to the temptation of recruiting masses of average foreign players who they could immediately put in the team because of their experience. No, in a squad of about 28 players, there are around 15 Dutchmen, including a few from Suriname, the former Dutch colony. A glance at the players’ profiles reveals that most of them were born in Utrecht or the surrounding area and started their professional careers in the club which is the emblem of the city. Regional identity Koos van Tamelen, head of the FC Utrecht academy, has a whole team of assistants involved in training young players in the hope that they will play for the first team one day. “We all do a lot of scouting and recruitment work in the Utrecht area. We then train the youngsters in the hope that they will make the breakthrough with us. It’s essential for the supporters. They love to encourage footballers from their own city. People who live near a player who does well want to go and see him play in the first team. It gives the team an identity.” FC Utrecht has five teams for different age groups comprising about 100 children in all: the D team (children born in 1993/94), C2 (1992), C1 (1991), B (1989/90) and A1 (1988). “All the teams operate according to the same system: 4-3-3 with a forward-pointing midfield triangle. From the second year in the youth A team, the best players can join our B team, Jong Utrecht, the “young hopefuls”. If they do well here, they can join the first team.” These are not PRO SHOTS/RUUD VOEST PRO SHOTS/RUUD VOEST In Daan Huiskamp, FC Utrecht are putting their trust in a young player between the posts. A family-oriented club With some 275,000 inhabitants, the city of Utrecht does not have the same potential as Amsterdam or Rotterdam, but it has considerable plus points of its own and its flagship club reflects its identity. Founded in 1970, FC Utrecht is a young, dynamic and familyoriented club. The tragic death of the player David Di Tommaso last autumn affected the whole squad. The club will never assign his shirt number to any other player. It organised a moving ceremony in memory of its French player and a few months later, coach Foeke Booy said: “His death affected us deeply. The grief we felt brought us closer together. This solidarity worked in our favour in the league. David was very much in our thoughts all the way through the season.” PRO SHOTS/R. HOOGENDOORN empty words. Last season’s squad included a number of budding young stars: Daan Huiskamp, Rick Kruys, Nassir Maachi, Kees van Buuren and Dwight Tiendalli are all only 20, Bas Mooy is 21, Leen van Steensel 22 and Edson Braafheid 23. Most of them already have gained plenty of experience playing in the Dutch top flight, the Eredivisie. Although the French academies and Ajax, for example, also take care of their young footballers’ schooling, FC Utrecht does not have an official working arrangement with the schools but concentrates just on the football. Based in a medium-sized city with negligible problems of delinquency or poverty, it does not have a specific integrationorientated project. Regardless of their circumstances, the children playing at FC Utrecht are united by their passion for football, a passion which keeps them away from other sources of temptation. “Our children speak their minds, they don’t beat about the bush, but they aren’t difficult. These are not problem kids.” Utrecht do not dwell too much on the perverse effects of the Bosman ruling. “Clearly we cannot keep our youngsters when richer clubs come in for them. It’s easy for Heerenveen, Feyenoord, AZ Alkmaar and others to attract our most talented players. We’re resigned to this and we try to adopt a positive attitude. The development of young players in itself has not become more difficult. In any case, our philosophy has not been influenced by this development in football. We want our fans to come and watch FC Utrecht, even if there are a number of Belgian and French players in the first team. Our foreign players have to bring real added value to the team, by plugging a gap in the squad or being able to coach young players.” Pascale Pierard Edson Braafheid and Dwight Tiendalli join forces to block an FC Twente opponent. FC Utrecht’s coach, Foeke Booy, pays homage to David Di Tommaso. FC Utrecht have won the Dutch Cup three times and the Dutch Super Cup once. Any qualification for European competition is welcome not just in financial but also in sporting terms, as Koos van Tamelen says: “In this way, our players gain valuable international experience, which is then reflected in the domestic championship. Unfortunately, this season we lost the play-offs so we won’t be playing in Europe in September.” Even if the academy’s greatest success is the regular breakthrough of young Utrecht players into the first team, the youth teams have also won various competitions, such as the C1 cup in 2000/01, the C1 championship in 2003/04 and 2004/05, and the C2 championship in 2005/06. P. P. 13 Thomas Partl (Austria) takes over from Josep Lluis Vilaseca Guasch (Spain) as chairman of the Control & Disciplinary Body. UEFA/PEPLER UEFA J.-P. CLATOT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Lennart Johansson: feeling fit to carry on the good work. Meetings and other activities Lennart Johansson seeks another term THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MOVED ITS FOURTH MEETING OF THE YEAR FROM REYKJAVIK TO BERLIN, WHERE IT MET ON 11 JULY age limit of 70 laid down in the UEFA Statutes. The new terms of office started on 1 July and, exceptionally, run for three years, to bring them into line with the new timing for Executive Committee elections, which will now take place at UEFA Congresses in odd-numbered years. There is no change in the number of committees (eleven), which, in principle, each comprise eleven members: ■ Assistance Programmes, new chairman Pekka Hämäläinen (Finland) UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF LENNART JOHANSSON. The Swede, who was elected UEFA president at the Malta Congress in 1990, informed the committee of his intention to stand for a fifth term of office in next January’s elections in Düsseldorf following all the encouragement he has received to do so, as well as out of a desire for continuity, combined with the energy and commitment to carry on. Of the two associations bidding to host the final round of the 2007- 09 European Women’s Championship, Finland and the Netherlands, the committee decided that it wanted to allow as many associations as possible to host UEFA events and therefore opted for Finland. It also approved the regulations Pekka Hämäläinen (Finland) replaces Jan Peeters (Belgium) as chairman of the Assistance Programmes Committee. for this competition, which will now conclude with a 12-team final round. The Executive Committee also approved the Under-19, Under-17 and Women’s Under-19 Championship regulations for 2007/08. ■ Club Competitions, chaired by Friedrich Stickler (Austria) ■ Futsal, chaired by Petr Fousek (Czech Republic) ■ Medical, chaired by Dr Urs Vogel (Switzerland) ■ National Teams, chaired by Lars-Åke Lagrell (Sweden) Committees and panels The terms of office of UEFA committee and panel members finished at the same time as the 2005/06 season and at its meeting in Scotland in May, the Executive Committee decided on their new compositions, respecting the upper ■ Professional Football, chaired by David Richards (England) ■ Referees, chaired by Volker Roth (Germany) Stadium & Security, chaired by Michael van Praag (Netherlands) ■ Technical Development, chaired by Vlatko Markovic (Croatia) ■ Women’s Football, chaired by Karen Espelund (Norway) ■ ■ Youth & Amateur Football, chaired by Jim Boyce (Northern Ireland) In addition to these eleven committees, there are the three disciplinary bodies, whose members are usually elected for four years but whose terms will exceptionally run until 2011 this time: EMPICS ■ Control & Disciplinary Body, new chairman Thomas Partl (Austria) ■ Appeals Body, chaired by Michel Wuilleret (Switzerland) ■ Disciplinary inspectors The European Women’s Championship is gaining steadily in popularity, as demonstrated by these young English supporters. 14 uefadirect 8.06 Referee Certification ■ Refereeing Guidelines ■ Stadium Construction & Management All-Spanish UEFA Super Cup Although the new UEFA club competition season actually got under way right in the middle of the World Cup with the first rounds of the UEFA Intertoto Cup and continued in July with UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifying matches, the official kick-off to the 2006/07 UEFA season will take place in Monaco again. As usual, the highlight of the week – during which a number of draws and various meetings are on the programme – will be the UEFA Super Cup, which will take place on 25 August at its regular venue of the Stade Louis II. This year, it will be an all-Spanish affair, with the reigning UEFA Champions League title-holders, Barcelona, meeting the winners of the 2005/06 UEFA Cup, Sevilla. It is the first time since the Super Cup has been staged in Monaco that it will involve two teams from the same national association. Before 1998, it happened twice, involving Italian clubs on both occasions and AC Milan in each case – versus Sampdoria in 1990 and Parma in 1994. Sevilla will be making their first appearance in the UEFA Super Cup, while Barcelona are old hands, having already taken part four times, with two wins (1993 and 1998) and the same number of defeats (1983 and 1989). The draws for the preliminary and main rounds of the 2006/07 UEFA Futsal Cup were made at UEFA headquarters on 6 July. The sixth edition of this competition has beaten the record twice over in terms of participation, seeing the number of clubs taking part go up from 34 last season to 40 this time round, and the number of associations represented increasing from 33 to 39. Spain is the only association to have two clubs taking part, its domestic futsal champions and the title-holders, Boomerang Interviú. The preliminary round, which will take the form of mini-tournaments, involves 16 teams, six of whom come from associations who are making their debut in the competition: Austria, Germany, Malta, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland. The draw produced the following groups for this stage: Group A: Futsal Mad Max (Finland), Adana Yerevan (Armenia), Roubaix Futsal (France), Scottish futsal champions Group B: Granvalira FC Encamp (Andorra), Toligma Chisinau (Moldova), Doncaster College (England), Uni Futsal Bulle (Switzerland) Group C: FC Mladost Sofia (Bulgaria), KF Tirana (Albania), Hibernians FC (Malta), Skövde AUK (Sweden) Group D: FK Nafta Mazeikiai (Lithuania), Parnassos Nicosia (Cyprus), Uni FC Münster (Germany), USC Eugendorf (Austria) The mini-tournaments will take place from 9 to 17 September and be hosted by the clubs highlighted in bold. The group winners qualify for the main round, where they will be joined by 20 other participants in the following groups: Group 1: Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan), Arzignano Grifo (Italy), Slov-Matic Fofo Bratislava (Slovakia), KMF Partizan Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Group 2: MNK Split (Croatia), Athina ’90 (Greece), Araz Naxçivan (Azerbaijan), winner Group C Group 3: Sporting Clube de Portugal, Clearex Chorzow (Poland), KMF Alfa Parf Skopje (FYR Macedonia), winner Group A Group 4: Dorozhnik Minsk (Belarus), Iberia 2003 Tbilisi (Georgia), CC LKW Jistebnik (Czech Republic), winner Group D Group 5: FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), FC Raba Riga (Latvia), Gödölloi FK (Hungary), winner Group B Group 6: KMF Marbo Belgrade (Serbia), FC Marlène Kras Ster (Netherlands), GIP Beton MTO Zagorje (Slovenia), CIP Deva (Romania) From the main round, which will take place from 9 to 15 October, the group winners and runners-up progress to the elite round, for which the top four clubs in UEFA’s futsal rankings – Boomerang Interviú, DFK Dinamo Moscow, Action 21 Charleroi and El Pozo Murcia – qualify automatically. The draw for the elite round will be made on 31 October and the four group winners will take part in the new-style final round in the form of a tournament including the semi-finals and the final. Petr Fousek, chairman of the Futsal Committee, conducted the draw. UEFA ■ Record number of entries for the UEFA Futsal Cup UEFA GETTY IMAGES The Executive Committee also decided on the composition of the panels. They abolished the Disability Football, External Legal Experts, Players, Ticket Management & Distribution, and Youth & Amateur Football panels and created three new ones: All ready for the Futsal Cup draw. The players of France and Brazil join the referees in sending out a message against racism, which the World Cup certainly did its bit to help eliminate. 15 After the draw, a workshop was organised for the hosts of the Women’s Cup mini-tournaments. UEFA Karen Espelund, chairwoman of the Women’s Football Committee, announces the results of the draw for the UEFA Women’s Cup. UEFA 2006/07 club competition schedule UEFA Women’s Cup kicks off in August Like last season, 43 clubs representing 42 national associations will be taking part in the 2006/07 UEFA Women’s Cup. Germany is the only association with two clubs taking part in this sixth edition: title-holders 1. FFC Frankfurt and the domestic champion women’s club, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam, former winners of the UEFA women’s club competition. The third club to have won the competition to date, Umea IK, are also in the starting line-up. Thanks to their UEFA rankings, these three clubs, along with Brøndby IF, Arsenal LFC, Kolbotn IL and Sparta Prague, are able to sit it out until the second qualifying round, having earned a bye for the first qualifying round, which will consist of nine groups of four teams that the draw fashioned as follows: Group A1: Saestum (Netherlands), Cardiff City LFC (Wales), Dinamo Maksimir (Croatia), Dundalk WFC (Republic of Ireland) Group A2: FCF Juvisy (France), Hibernian LFV (Scotland), KI Klaksvik (Faroe Islands), RCD Espanyol (Spain) Group A3: SV Neulengbach (Austria), SU 1. Dezembro (Portugal), Newtonabbey WFC (Northern Ireland), Breidablik (Iceland) Group A4: KS AZS Wroclaw (Poland), Zuchwil 05 (Switzerland), ZFK Shkiponjat (FYR Macedonia), HJK Helsinki (Finland) Group A5: Universitet Vitebsk (Belarus), ZNK SFK 2000 Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Gintra Universitetas (Lithuania), ASD Fiammamonza (Italy) Group A6: Masinac-Classic Nis (Serbia), KFC Rapide Wezemaal (Belgium), Pärnu JK (Estonia), ZNK Pomurje (Slovenia) Group A7: Alma KTZH (Kazakhstan), Clujan Cluj Napoca (Romania), WFC Rossiyanka (Russia), FK Slovan Duslo (Slovakia) Group A8: Legend-Chekseal Chernigov (Ukraine), Maccabi Holon (Israel), Kokkinochovion Famagusta (Cyprus), FC PAOK (Greece) Group A9: Gömrükçu Baku (Azerbaijan), Femina Budapest (Hungary), NSA Sofia (Bulgaria), Narta Chisinau (Moldova). (Mini-tournament hosts marked in bold.) The first qualifying round will take place from 8 to 13 August and the second – where the seeded clubs are joined by the nine group winners from the first qualifying round – from 12 to 17 September. The results of the draw for the second qualifying round will be published in a future edition of uefadirect as well as on uefa.com. 16 uefadirect 8.06 UEFA Champions League 11/12 July 2006: first qualifying round, first legs 18/19 July: return legs 25/26 July: second qualifying round, first legs 28 July, Nyon: draw for the third qualifying round 1/2 August: return legs 8/9 August: third qualifying round, first legs 22/23 August: return legs 24 August, Monaco: group match draw 12/13 September: group matches, matchday 1 26/27 September: matchday 2 17/18 October: matchday 3 31 October/ 1 November: matchday 4 21/22 November: matchday 5 5/6 December: matchday 6 15 December, Nyon: draw for the first knockout round 20/21 February 2007: first knockout round, first legs 6/7 March: return legs 9 March, Athens: draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals 3/4 April: quarter-finals, first legs 10/11 April: return legs 24/25 April: semi-finals, first legs 1/2 May: return legs 23 May, Athens: final UEFA Cup 13 July 2006: first qualifying round, first legs 27 July: return legs 28 July, Nyon: draw for the second qualifying round 10 August: second qualifying round, first legs 24 August: return legs 25 August, Monaco: first round draw 14 September: first round, first legs 28 September: return legs 3 October, Nyon: group match draw 19 October: group matches, matchday 1 2 November: matchday 2 23 November: matchday 3 29/30 November: matchday 4 13/14 December: matchday 5 15 December, Nyon: draws for the rounds of 32 and 16 14/15 February 2007: round of 32, first legs 22 February: return legs 8 March: round of 16, first legs 14/15 March: return legs 16 March, Glasgow: draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals 5 April: quarter-finals, first legs 12 April: return legs 26 April: semi-finals, first legs 3 May: return legs 16 May, Glasgow: final News from member associations Peter Persidis, Andreas Herzog and Josef Hickersberger watched nearly all the group matches involving European teams and by the final they had attended 40 matches in person altogether. Barbara Kontner BELGIUM ARMENIA New president The proud winners of the tournament show their elation. The tournament motto was “Wish a win for your school team”. The young participants will remember the event for a long time, especially those that went away as winners. Arayik Manukyan AUSTRIA Observation trip to Germany During the World Cup in Germany, the Austrian FA sent a delegation to Germany from 8 to 26 June to witness such a massive event at first sight. Two Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (centre, with Friedrich Stickler, president of the Austrian FA on his right) receives one of Austria’s highest sporting distinctions. years ahead of EURO 2008, which Austria is co-hosting with Switzerland, the Austrians were able to see for themselves the enthusiasm that such a tournament stirs up, enthusiasm and enjoyment that visitors to EURO 2008 should also experience in the two host countries. The World Cup final round was a unique chance for the Austrian FA to show the host city authorities, politicians and colleagues what an incredible opportunity the staging of EURO 2008 represents for Austria and Switzerland. As well as gaining experience, the delegation also attended matches in Munich, Stuttgart and Nuremberg, and, of course, were also able to convey their enthusiasm and eager anticipation about hosting the next European Championship final round. On the day of the opening World Cup match, Gerhard MayerVorfelder, president of the German FA, received one of the highest Austrian honours that can be awarded in sport from the state secretary for sports, Karl Schweitzer, at a reception hosted by the Austrian FA at Schloss Aufhausen. This was the Austrian FA and Austria’s way of thanking Gerhard MayerVorfelder for the personal and friendly cooperation with which he has always assisted the Austrian FA. The sports department of the Austrian FA, headed by national coach Josef Hickersberger, was also busy at the World Cup. Willi Ruttensteiner, 24 June 2006 was an important date in the history of Belgian football as it was the day that the Belgian FA (URBSFA) elected a new president, following the announcement made by Jan Peeters a while ago that he wished to step down from the top office. The many people present at the association’s headquarters on election day were eager to know who was going to take over at the helm. However, they had to bide their time as a general meeting – the last with Jan Peeters in the chair – preceded the elections that were so eagerly awaited by the executive committee and the announcement of the new president of the association. Apart from its usual business, the general meeting was also an opportunity for various figures, including Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to look back at the outgoing URBSFA president’s term in office and to praise his merits. In a crowning accolade, an emotional but composed Jan Peeters received the Great Order of Baron Laveleye, the highest award of the URBSFA. Once the business of the general meeting was out of the way, the executive committee embarked on the process of electing the association’s new president. The winning candidate was François De Keersmaecker. It is a fitting promotion for this 48-year-old lawyer from Mechelen who has been a member of the association for many PHOTO NEWS FFA Coca-Cola and the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) have organised the first inter-school tournament in Yerevan involving 12 schools. Over 160 boys and girls took part. The 16 teams were divided into four groups. Coca-Cola provided the balls and kit. Professional referees took charge of the tough and interesting matches. The FFA, the organisers and the local authorities thought it was very important to ensure that the tournament was a festival of football, so it was played on mini-pitches constructed with the aid of UEFA’s mini-pitch programme. The final match was played on 9 June – the same day as the World Cup opening match – at the Pyunik stadium, home of the Armenian champions of the same name. GEPA Wish a win for your school team François De Keersmaecker is the new president of the Belgian FA. 17 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA New season begins F.KRVAVAC The new Bosnia and Herzegovina premier league championship kicks off on 5 August. All the teams started their preparations for the new season at the end of June. Amar Osim is one of the first holders of the Pro coaching licence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. FK Zeljeznicar, NK Orasje and NK Posusje have hired new coaches, in the persons of Nenad Starovlah, Anton Josipovic, and Dragan Jovic respectively, and if past experience is anything to go by, there could be a few more changes by the time the new season starts. NK Zrinjski were the first Bosnian team to get going in UEFA competition and they made in through to the second round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup, eliminating Marsaxlokk from Malta in the 18 uefadirect 8.06 first round, who they defeated 3-0 in the first leg in Mostar and achieved a 1-1 draw against in Malta. In the second round, NK Zrinjski came up against Maccabi Petach Tikva from Israel. NK Siroki Brijeg contested the first preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League against FC Shakhtyor Soligorski from Belarus, while FK Sarajevo and NK Orasje played Ranger’s from Andorra and NK Domzale from Slovenia respectively in the first preliminary round of the UEFA Cup. The Bosnia and Herzegovina women’s team played their last World Cup qualifying match against Malta, drawing 1-1, and finishing sixth in the group. All the domestic junior, youth and women’s competitions have finished. The NK Siroki Brijeg junior team followed their seniors and won the Bosnia and Herzegovina championship, beating their counterparts from NK Jedinstvo from Bihac 2-0 at the Pecara stadium in Siroki Brijeg. Third place went to NK Modrica Maxima, who beat NK Zrinjski 4-1. The finals of the youth competition took place in Bijeljina. The winners in this category were FK Sarajevo, who beat FK Borac from Banja Luka 7-6 in a penalty shoot-out. The score at the end of regular time was 2-2. In the match for third place, FK Sloboda performed better than NK Zrinjski and secured a 3-2 win. The women’s finals were held in Travnik. For unknown reasons, ZFK Borac from Banja Luka did not show up, so the players of SFK 2000 from Sarajevo defended their title and beat ZNK Iris from Zenica 6-0. At the training centre of the Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first intake of trainee coaches completed the fourth term of the UEFA Pro licence programme, and sat their final exams. Subsequently, the first coaches to hold the Pro licence are Abdulah Ibrakovic, Ratko Ninkovic, Dragan Jovic, Ivo Knezevic, Husnija Arapovic and Amar Osim. In a last friendly match before the beginning of the EURO 2008 qualifiers, the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina will play France at the Asim Ferhatovic Hase Olympic stadium in Sarajevo on 16 August. In Cetinje and Bar, the junior teams of Montenegro and of Bosnia and Herzegovina played the first inter- national matches in the now independent country of Montenegro. In Cetinje, the result was 1-1, while the match in Bar ended goalless. Fuad Krvavac CROATIA Sports act passed Summer is always a busy time, with lots of different competitions going on, particularly in the youth sector. We are proud to have staged the 54th annual “Kvarnerska rivijera” youth tournament, the second oldest of its kind in Europe. This year the winners were the host team, NK Rijeka. We are also very happy that numerous other youth tournaments are being organised covering the U-10 to U-14 categories and that some of them are becoming international. It is interesting to follow the talent and performance of our boys and to compare them with the visiting teams. This year we paid special attention to the clubs founded by Croats outside of the homeland. Everywhere where larger group of Croats emigrated, they founded football clubs. In some countries, especially overseas, they contributed greatly to the development of football. One of the most successful clubs – FC NK Metros-Croatia Toronto – came to Croatia to celebrate their 50th HNS years and who has already held important offices within the association for a long time, as well as enjoying the support of the amateur football sector. His enthusiasm was visible on his face, and his desire to modernise the association and to simplify the way it is run is more than heartening. In other elections, Roger Vanden Stock, Jean-Pierre Notelteirs, David Delférière and Michel Preud’homme become vice-presidents, Antoine Vanhove is the new chairman of the technical committee, and Jean-Pierre Notelteirs takes charge of the futsal committee, replacing Pierre Schiepers, who had decided to step down from the executive committee. We are confident that Belgian football as a whole will benefit from this new setup and continue to progress. Pierre Cornez FC Croatia Toronto visit the Croatian FA’s offices in Zagreb. FRANCE National violence watchdog French football is taking a firm stand against violence, racism and other forms of antisocial behaviour with the support of the public authorities and by means of appropriate tools. The national violence watchdog for amateur football has been set up by the French Football Federation (FFF) to record every kind of incident that occurs in order to quantify and study them, and, above all, in order to be able to respond to them and prevent them happening again. The watchdog is managed by the Amateur Football League (LFA) chaired by Fernand Duchaussoy. The antisocial behaviour, threats, abuse, assaults, vandalism, acts of racism and so on that are far too common a sight on football fields and in stadiums are putting football at risk and undermining GEORGIA We are one team On the initiative of the Georgian Football Federation (GFF) a national football team fan club has been set up in cooperation with the Ultrastepcom group. The inauguration ceremony took place at one of the main cinemas in Tbilisi. Besides the fans, the ceremony was attended by the GFF management, the head coach of the national team, Klaus Toppmöller, government officials and many other well-known personalities. A clip presentation of the national team’s anthem was shown at the event. The producers have also been working on a documentary film about the Georgian national team. The organisers of GFF its social and educational role, and therefore more than justify the creation of this instrument as part of the national fight against violence and racism. In the face of these phenomena, clubs, managers, instructors, referees, players and spectators often find themselves powerless and helpless, for want of training, information and knowledge of where to turn or how to respond. By setting up this watchdog (tested in five leagues and five districts), the FFF and the LFA aim to safeguard football and all of those involved in it, to strengthen its social integration role, to provide solutions suited to its decentralised structure (clubs, districts, leagues), to propose concrete aid to victims of violence or racism and, ultimately, to make a significant contribution to halting these trends. For the purposes of the watchdog, each league and district is being asked to appoint a liaison person to report to the LFA. The information will be obtained from official match sheets, referee and delegate reports, and incident report sheets provided to the clubs, as well as from local press reports, casual information and various forms of correspondence. Thanks to having access to the federal intranet, the liaison persons can record their information and transmit it directly to the LFA. After a two-month pilot phase in ten local football organisations and subsequent evaluation, a detailed users’ manual for the computer application was sent to all the leagues and districts in May. It will serve as reference material for the different meetings organised by the liaison persons in each region, which someone from the LFA will attend if necessary. The aim is to have the watchdog up and running by the start of the 2006/07 season. All the information and reports from the field will be processed with a view to improving the welcome extended by clubs, providing training for all the parties involved in football, and giving consideration to new ways of running and organising competitions so as to prevent and raise awareness about violence and racism. Press service FFF anniversary. In 1976, the professional club FC Croatia Toronto won a professional Canadian championship. These clubs are showing great interest in taking part in the first world championships for immigrant clubs scheduled to take place in Zagreb in 2007. The German city of Essen will host a European championship first, from which the top three will qualify for the world championship. Preparations for the new championship season are under way. The competition system has been changed significantly. The first division still consists of 12 clubs, but from now the teams will play each other three times. There will now be only one second division, composed of 16 clubs, and three third divisions, each comprising 16 clubs. In an important development, the Croatian parliament has passed a sports act. We look forward to the new opportunities this will open up, mainly with regard to the development of football, especially in schools, the protection and construction of new football pitches, as well as financing. Professional clubs may also now be organised as commercial sports companies. Well-established grassroots activities are also under way, including the “Open Fan Football School” and the “Youth Games”. Ante Pavlovic A live national team mascot. the event presented the fans with CDs of the different versions of the clip as well as T-shirts with the national team’s slogan, “We are one team”. There was another surprise for the fans – a live wolf cub mascot was presented. The guests and players attending the meeting expressed the hope that the twelfth member of the team – the fans – would heartily support the national team driven by the conviction that We Are One Team. Bakar Jordania HUNGARY First diplomas in football management The first group of students successfully passed the Hungarian Football Association’s (MLSZ) basic course in football management last month. 19 MLSZ The football management graduates. Thanks to a long accreditation process between the state and the FA, these diplomas are all approved by the Hungarian state as well. Many regional FA leaders and club managers took part in the first edition of the football managers’ course. Given the high level of interest, the FA will start running a second course come the autumn. Showing how important this project is to the MLSZ, the diplomas were presented by István Baranya; Ildikó Kmety, MLSZ general secretary; and two vicepresidents, Antal Dunai and Ferenc Nemes. Márton Dinnyés ICELAND Sponsorship contracts extended The importance of sponsorship and marketing in today’s football world can never be underestimated, as the sport of football is a very effective tool for companies to improve brand awareness and image. 20 uefadirect 8.06 Earlier this year, the Icelandic FA introduced a new sponsorship structure. Sponsors are now fewer than before, the contracts are bigger than ever, and more emphasis will be laid on marketing operations within the FA, in cooperation with the companies that now form the FA’s group of sponsors. In recent years, the number of sponsors consisted of over a dozen companies, but that has now been decreased to seven carefully selected partners, an elite group of major players that, together with the FA, form a very solid team. The seven companies are Icelandair, Vodafone, VÍS insurance, Coca-Cola, Landsbanki, Mastercard and the Icelandic Football Pools company. Also, the FA has negotiated contracts with several other companies to act as the FA’s official service providers in their respective sectors. Since the 2004 season, both the men’s and women’s top divisions in Iceland have been sponsored by Landsbanki, and the respective domestic cups by VISA. Earlier this year, four-year extensions to these sponsorship contracts were signed, valid until the end of the 2009 season. Prize money in these competitions is equal for both sexes, without a shred of doubt a unique situation in the world of football today. Again, the importance of solid sponsorship, complemented by good marketing, in today’s competitions must not be underestimated. Ómar Smárason of football coverage. With support from the LFF and adidas, all World Cup games in June and July were shown live in the largest cinema in Latvia. Two Latvian television channels also showed the matches live, with commentary provided by national team players and officials. LATVIA Focus on football at media sports event As in previous years, the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) sponsored the 12th Media Games held in mid-July with a special focus on football. A total of 40 teams from nearly all the major Latvian media went to live in tents and play a variety of sports for three days at a venue some 50 kilometres outside Riga. Football, volleyball, hockey, relay races, tugof-war, bobsleigh, water sports, darts, car pulling, chess and golf were among the sports and games played according to specially adapted rules by the media representatives taking part. The event represented a break for the journalists after a hectic month LFF KSI The graduation ceremony at the beginning of June was the end of a long process during which the 28 students learnt how to manage a club successfully. The course included economics, management and basic legal studies. “Football leaders have to be aware of their responsibilities and therefore have to learn from the western European examples and from qualified teachers,” explained István Baranya, head of the MLSZ’s adult education institute. “The FA is also aware of its role in this process, which is why we have turned our attention to the education of managers as well such as referees, coaches and physiotherapists.” Media representatives at the stadium in Skonto. Otherwise, the LFF board decided at its last meeting to set up a social fund for Latvian football, as a new social responsibility initiative. This will be an instrument for providing financial help for any former footballers who are now living in difficult circumstances. Clubs and other corporate partners of the Latvian FA will be invited to make a donation to the fund. Moreover, in addition to its partnership with UNICEF, the LFF bought a number of footballs autographed by David Beckham which it plans to present in the area of youth football. It is also supporting the beach soccer tournament in the resort city of Jurmala, where the season is now at its peak with temperatures rising above 30 degrees. Otherwise, the Latvian national team is preparing for the match in Moscow on 16 August. Before that, Lithuanian clubs FHK Liepajas Metalurgs and FK Ekranas and the Estonians of FC TVMK will compete in the Baltic Champions Cup in Liepaja from 10 to 12 August, during which event the LFF will also be organising a conference on club football. Martins Hartmanis LITHUANIA A tournament for children’s home On 8 and 9 July, the Lithuanian Football Federation brought together 300 children from children’s homes for a tournament in Kaunas modelled on the World Cup and staged under the slogan “The World on the Football Field”. Each team represented a different national team participating in the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the youngsters (10-14 years old) wore the colours of their respective teams. The tournament also included a cultural programme, with visits to the zoo and the cinema on the agenda. On the last day, they watched a live broadcast of the World Cup final in Lithuania’s national stadium. The tournament was sponsored by the Germany embassy in Lithuania. The winners received a glass replica of the real FIFA World Cup. Vaiva Zizaite MALTA Capping a season In Maltese football, the 2005/06 season has given way to another tenmonth stretch which is due to start in August with the BOV national leagues. RYS/BONGARTS/GETTY IMAGES Malta v Japan in Düsseldorf. It was yet another cycle full of activity both on the field of play and administratively. Like any other association, the Malta Football Association (MFA) has no respite and work even goes on more intensely during the short interval between one season and another. The main honours were shared between Birkirkara and Hibernians, with the former winning the championship and the latter landing the knockout competition, the U*BET FA Trophy. The three other minor honours in the top sphere were won by these two teams and Sliema Wanderers. A minimal 1-0 defeat at the hands of Japan in a friendly match early in June helped Malta’s national team end the season on a hopeful note, just as they had started it when they held Croatia and Bulgaria to 1-1 draws in the 2006 World Cup qualifying matches. Two 2-1 defeats against Georgia in a European Championship play-off brought an end to the only competitive commitments for the Malta Under-21 team during the year. On the other hand, several satisfactory results obtained in overseas competitions by the island’s national youth teams in different categories suggest that these youngsters are being groomed along proper lines. The MFA annual general meeting in late July brought the administrative curtains down for the season. The stage is now set for 2006/07, a season which promises to open new horizons in the various sectors of Maltese football, as a number of technical and infrastructural projects are in the pipeline. Alex Vella MOLDOVA Moldova Cup gets bigger The 7th Moldova FA International Football Tournament – otherwise known as the FA of Moldova Cup – was dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Moldova. This time the number of participating teams was increased to six. Apart from the host nation, the other participants were the Under-17 national teams of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cyprus, Romania and Ukraine. Moldova and Romania met in the final for the second time. It was time for Romania to take their revenge on Moldova, who won the final five years ago in a penalty shoot-out, which they did in spectacular style, winning 5-1. The players of the tournament were: Usman Umarov (goalkeeper), Azerbaijan; Paschali Michalis (defender), Cyprus; Stanislav Pricinenko (mildfielder), Ukraine; Vitalii Rusnitschii (striker), Belarus; Marius Alexe (leading scorer), Romania and Ion Leagu (best player), Moldova. The awards ceremony was attended by Valery Tchoukri, head of the FIFA development office in Moscow, who said: “It is worth mentioning that the importance and value of this tournament have grown enormously, as shown by the fact that many countries now want to take part in this tournament. I am also pleased to see that the training and development level of young football players from the competing countries has increased.” In other news, the following events have been held in Moldova as part of the UEFA Summer of Grassroots Football: – the Gugutsa U-14 and U-15 competitions, in which 5,000 children participated. The preliminary competitions were played in April and May. The finals were held in the city of Balti from 15 to 19 May, in which 148 children competed. – the Gugutsa U-12 and U-13 competitions, again involving 5,000 children. The preliminary competitions were played in April and May. The finals were held in the city of Drochia (situated in the north of Moldova) from 31 May to 4 June, with 132 children taking part. Both of the above-mentioned competitions attracted great interest from the local authorities. And with their help we were able to run these events with a holiday atmosphere. All participants received gifts from UEFA and the FA of Moldova. Vasile Vatamanu and Ghenadie Scurtul 21 ROMANIA FRF Given the complexity of today’s football and the context of Romanian club football, in which a lot of foreign coaches work with their own technical staff (including physios from various football schools), the federal coaching school of the Romanian FA felt the need to take action. Under the leadership of Dr Viorel Cojocaru, professor at the national sports academy and also secretary of the Romanian FA’s technical committee, the first course for professional physiotherapists was organised. The aim was to train Romanian physios who are able to develop and to run training sessions and turn them into professional football physiotherapists. The school decided to organise the course in 30 eight-hour modules consisting not only of classroom lessons but also practical sessions, led by some experienced foreign physios, such as Jacques Devismes, Marco Onetto and Diego Longo. Some of the classroom teaching was also provided by experienced coaches. In addition, the physios watched several videos and took part in several training sessions of Bucharest first division clubs. The first course of its kind for physios. As a result, 27 physios graduated with flying colours. They join the two physios who graduated from a similar course in Coverciano as Romania’s first professional physios. Other courses are now planned. Paul Zaharia / Viorel Cojocaru SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO A historical meeting On 28 June, the FA of Serbia and Montenegro held its last general meeting in Belgrade in its current composition comprising the Football Association of Serbia and the Football Association of Montenegro and adopted a decision to dissolve this association. In this way, football followed the political will expressed 22 uefadirect 8.06 The 2006 World Cup final round was the swan song of the national team of Serbia and Montenegro. by the people of Montenegro on 21 May in favour of independence and the creation of a state of their own. All the delegates present – 24 from the FA of Serbia and 13 from the FA of Montenegro – voted for the dissolution of the former FA of Serbia and Montenegro, leaving in its wake two separate football associations, the FA of Serbia and the FA of Montenegro. On a political and sporting level, the FA of Serbia is the legal successor of the former FA of Serbia and Montenegro. The FA of Montenegro has, however, already applied for membership of FIFA and UEFA. On this basis, the national team of Serbia will play in the EURO 2008 qualifying round in Group 1. Their first match is scheduled for 2 September against Azerbaijan in Belgrade. Meanwhile, Serbia’s first friendly match will be on 16 August, when they play the Czech Republic in Prague. The dissolution of the old association was easy and peaceful. Football officials understand and respect the will of the people of Montenegro. The union of Serbia and Montenegro succeeded the old Yugoslav federation which was founded on 19 April 1919. Now, nothing remains of Yugoslavia and every former republic has an independent football association and national team. The last president of the FA of Serbia and Montenegro, Tomislav Karadzic, said: “I am glad that we finished everything in a very professional manner. We had some success but also some disappointing situations. Maybe we could have done something better in the World Cup in Germany, but we could not fulfil our expectations. I wish both sides all the best and many happy times in the future. We will maintain our close and good relationships.” The president of the FA of Serbia is Zvezdan Terzic, a former OFK Belgrade midfielder and director. His counterpart in the FA of Montenegro is Dejan Savicevic, a former international midfielder who also played for FK Buducnost Podgorica, EMPICS First course for physios FK Crvena zvezda, AC Milan and Rapid Vienna. Both new association presidents have terms that run until 2009. At the last joint general meeting, a FIFA/UEFA delegation headed by UEFA vice-president Per Ravn Omdal was also present, and Omdal said: “We are delighted to have seen such friendly and highly professional proceedings. Serbian-Montenegrin football has given so many brilliant players and results to European and world football and I am sure that both sides will have success in the future. We are ready to help and support both football associations.” Aleksandar Boskovic TURKEY Football villages The Turkish Football Association (TFA) is starting a very important project with the help of the government and ministry of education. The association is going to set up football villages in several parts of Turkey where children can get football training in the summer months. The project will first start in the eastern regions of Turkey before moving further west. In the first year, the TFA is planning to reach around 500-600 children. The Turkish national team will play an away friendly game against Georgia on 7 February 2007 in Tbilisi. The Under-21s will also play a friendly on the same day. The Under-16 national team took part in the traditional Viktor Bannikov tournament in Ukraine and finished fourth in the friendly tournament. A UEFA delegation conducted a site visit to the Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu stadium, which is a candidate to host the 2008 UEFA Cup final. The delegation had meetings with officials from the TFA, the local authorities, the police, Fenerbahce club and the airport authorities. The TFA invited Turkish international referees and referee committee members for the FIFA World Cup final on 9 July. Ilker Ugur UEFA Communications Birthdays – Calendar Birthdays Ioannis Economides (Greece), member of the Futsal Committee, celebrates his 60th birthday on 23 August. Also celebrating birthdays in August are: ● Theodore Theodoridis (Greece, 1.8) ● Sheila Begbie (Scotland, 1.8) ● Süheyl Önen (Turkey, 2.8) ● Philippe Diallo (France, 2.8) ● Andreas Schluchter (Switzerland, 3.8) ● Lamberto Perugia (Italy, 5.8) ● Yehuda Wilk (Israel, 5.8) ● Konstantin Eremenko (Russia, 5.8) ● Piet Hubers (Netherlands, 6.8) ● Stefano Braschi (Italy, 6.8) ● Pierino Lardi (Switzerland, 7.8) ● Peter Donald (Scotland, 8.8) ● Plarent Kotherja (Albania, 8.8) ● Nico de Pauw (Belgium, 8.8) ● Pierre Schiepers (Belgium, 9.8) ● Odd Flattum (Norway, 9.8) ● Roy Hodgson (England, 9.8) ● Heinz Fahnler (Austria, 10.8) ● Keith Burge (Wales, 10.8) ● Ettore Mazzilli (Italy, 10.8) ● Dr Urs Vogel (Switzerland, 11.8) ● Jean-Marc Puissesseau (France, 13.8) ● Roger Vanden Stock (Belgium, 13.8) ● Joseph Mifsud (Malta, 13.8) ● Cornel Cristian Bivolaru (Romania, 13.8) ● Jacques Lagnier (France, 16.8) ● Alan Hutchings (England, 16.8) ● Dane Jost (Slovenia, 18.8) ● Vitalijs Liholajs (Latvia, 19.8) ● Patricia Gregory (England, 19.8) ● Hans Reijgwart (Netherlands, 19.8) ● Frantisek Laurinec (Slovakia, 19.8) ● Per Ravn Omdal (Norway, 20.8) ● Carmelo Bartolo (Malta, 21.8) ● Kazimierz Oleszek (Poland, 22.8) ● Geoffrey Thompson (England, 23.8) ● Enrique Gonzalez Ruano (Spain, 24.8) ● Nicolae Grigorescu (Romania, 24.8) ● Thomas Slosarich (Denmark, 24.8) ● Josef Poucek (Czech Republic, 25.8) ● Giancarlo Abete (Italy, 26.8) ● Regina Konink-Belksma (Netherlands, 26.8) ● Karl Hopfner (Germany, 28.8) Joseph McGlue (Republic of Ireland, 28.8) Askar Akhmetov (Kazakhstan, 28.8) Pedro Manuel Correia Magro (Portugal, 30.8) ● Paulo Sousa (Portugal, 30.8) ● Christer Fällström (Sweden, 31.8) ● Aivaz Kaziakhmedov (Russia, 31.8) ● Pedro Dias (Portugal, 31.8) ● ● ● Upcoming events Meetings 23.8.2006, Monaco Club Competitions Committee 24.8.2006, Monaco Draw for the UEFA Champions League group matches 25.8.2006, Monaco Draw for the first round of the UEFA Cup 29-31.8.2006, Nyon Seminar for Elite Referees 30.8.2006, Nyon Seminar for Assistant Referees 31.8-1.9.2006, Nyon Elite Club Coaches’ Forum Competitions 1-2.8.2006 UEFA Champions League: second qualifying round (return legs) 8-9.8.2005 UEFA Champions League: third qualifying round (first legs) 8-13.8.2006 UEFA Women’s Cup: first qualifying round 10.8.2006 UEFA Cup: second qualifying round (first legs) 22-23.8.2006 UEFA Champions League: third qualifying round (return legs) 24.8.2006 UEFA Cup: second qualifying round (return legs) 25.8.2006, Monaco UEFA Super Cup Notices ■ On 19 June, the executive committee of the Albanian FA appointed Roland Mici as the new general secretary of the association. His predecessor, Arben Bici, becomes head of the international department. ■ On 24 June, the Belgian FA elected a new president, François De Keersmaecker. ■ On 28 June, the FA of Serbia and Montenegro was officially dissolved. The new FA of Serbia is its legal successor. ■ Antonio Di Sebastiano is the new general secretary of the Italian Football Federation. Match agents The Licensed UEFA Match Agents Panel has granted licences to: Iñigo Ocariz Gaubeca Go Sport S.L. Errebitarte, 7 – 1° Dpto 6 ES-48930 Getxo Spain Tel.: +34 944632286 Fax: +34 944022995 Mob +34 600927029 Email: [email protected] Mohamed Segueni L’AJAACS Maison Q. Kennedy Rue André Faucher FR-28100 Dreux France Tel.: +33 237642181 Fax +33 237642181 Mob +33 629469732 Email: [email protected] Ignacio Funes Sports & Stages, Sport Tourism S.L. Nestor de la Torre, n° 5 ES-35006 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Spain Tel.: +34 609530813 Fax: +34 902364474 Email: [email protected] WE CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL Editor André Vieli Official publication of the Produced by Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 Gland Union des associations européennes de football Printed by Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson Communications and Public Affairs Division Editorial deadline: 12 July 2006 The views expressed in signed articles are not necessarily the official views of UEFA. The reproduction of articles or extracts of any information published in uefadirect is authorised, provided the source is indicated. UEFA Route de Genève 46 CH-1260 Nyon Switzerland Phone +41 848 00 27 27 Fax +41 848 01 27 27 uefa.com Union des associations européennes de football