UEFA gala in Monaco Fifty years of the champions' competition ...

10.04
Including
UEFA gala
in Monaco 03
Fifty years
of the champions’
competition 06
No. 30 – October 2004
Valencia win the
UEFA Super Cup 09
Elections
at the European
Club Forum 12

COVER
Di Vaio gets in front
of Jorge Costa in the UEFA
Super Cup match
between Valencia
and FC Porto in Monaco.
PHOTO: RICHIARDI
IN THIS ISSUE
Prizes awarded at the
UEFA gala in Monaco 03
UEFA Champions League
calendar 07
New UEFA Cup logo 08
Valencia win the UEFA Super Cup 09
Seminars for referees and assistant referees 10
Plenary meeting of the European Club Forum 12
Report from Brussels 13
News from member associations 16
Editorial
Moving with the times
As the flagship UEFA club competition enters its fiftieth season,
it is a good time to reflect on the incredible course that it has taken since it was
introduced.
But I am not going to recall here the exploits that have shaped the
history of the UEFA Champion Clubs’ Cup and UEFA Champions League, from
the domination of Real Madrid in the early years, up to the victory of FC Porto
last season, with periods of Italian, German, Dutch and English supremacy
in between. Nor am I going to recall the unforgettable
moments, such as the sensational reversal of fortunes in the
1999 final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich,
or the dark hours that could have led to the demise of
the competition.
What I want to talk about is the impact of the
UEFA competitions and the demands that they place on the
organisers, UEFA.
Fifty years ago, only the sporting aspect mattered,
and it was thanks to the enthusiasm that existed for the game that the
Champion Clubs’ Cup saw the light of day and took off, bringing the Cup
Winners’ Cup and UEFA Cup along in the wake of its success not long after.
The popularity of these competitions made them a social phenomenon,
and the increasing importance of economic interests in society soon made
itself felt in the world of football.
Nowadays, sporting interest alone is not enough to
ensure the success of a competition. It also has to be economically
sound, so that the participating clubs can get something
out of it. The organisers therefore have to be prepared
to be flexible, to adapt their competitions to new conditions.
But they also have to take care to preserve the tradition on
which the aura of the competitions rests. As a result, UEFA
faces the almost constant challenge of making efficient changes
to its competitions that do not, however, alter them beyond
recognition.
This is what we did last season in the UEFA Champions
League, when we abolished the second group stage. It has
proved to be a judicious decision. This season, after wide
consultation with all interested parties concerned, it is the turn
of the UEFA Cup to take on a new look, with the introduction
of group matches. Let us hope that this facelift will be equally
successful!
Lars-Christer Olsson
Chief Executive
EMPICS
we care about football
02 uefadirect 10.04

Gala in Monaco
Awards time
A relaxed atmosphere
at the Monte Carlo Sporting Club.
UEFA-BOZZANI
THE FOOTBALL WORLD REVOLVES AT A FRANTIC PACE AS TENSION-FILLED MATCHES
AND COMPETITIONS FOLLOW ONE AFTER THE OTHER...
...which is why the annual club picked up four of the five player
UEFA gala is so popular: it offers awards, an unprecedented feat in the
a few hours of relaxation in the
gala’s six-year history!
pleasant surroundings of Monaco
– Vitor Baia was named best
and a chance to talk and pay tribute goalkeeper. His prize was presented
to some of the best players of the by former Danish national goalkeeper
previous season as well as those Peter Schmeichel.
who have helped to promote football
– The award for the best
off the pitch.
defender went to Ricardo Carvalho,
On 26 August, the award who has now left Porto for Chelsea.
ceremony for the 2003/04 club season
featured in particular the players to collect his award in Monaco from
The Portuguese defender was unable
of FC Porto, winners of the Champions
League in May following their
– Another FC Porto player, now
1998 World Cup winner Marcel Desailly.
victory over AS Monaco in the final on the books of FC Barcelona, Deco,
in Gelsenkirchen. The Portuguese received two awards: firstly, he was
named best midfielder, an award
presented by Lothar Matthäus,
former German captain and current
coach of the Hungarian national
team. Deco also won the award for
most valuable player, a prize which
was presented to him by UEFA
Executive Committee member Michel
Platini.
The only award that did
not end up in the hands of an
FC Porto player was presented to
Spaniard Fernando Morientes,
the top scorer in last season’s
UEFA Champions League with
AS Monaco and now back with
Real Madrid. His prize as best forward
was presented by Prince
Albert of Monaco.
03

The gala
hall.
Michel Platini
and Deco.
Sport
for all
Although it makes sense that
most of the money brought in
by professional football should
find its way back to the teams that
FC Porto were also honoured
at the start of the evening,
when they were presented with a
replica of the UEFA Champions
League trophy. Valencia received a
replica of the UEFA Cup, AC Milan
a replica of the UEFA Super Cup and
Greece a replica of the European
Championship trophy. Although the
main emphasis of the evening
was on club football, EURO 2004
also featured, with Theodoros
Zagorakis named player of the tournament
by UEFA’s Technical Study
Group, an award presented in
Monaco by former French international
Didier Deschamps, now coach
of AS Monaco. Otto Rehhagel, the
Greek coach, was also honoured
and, on an evening largely devoted
to individuals, highlighted again the
importance of the team.
President’s Award
In accordance with tradition,
UEFA President Lennart Johansson
paid special tribute to someone
who had made a particularly important
contribution on or off the pitch.
Following in the footsteps of
Jacques Delors, Guy Roux, Juan Santisteban,
Sir Bobby Robson and Paolo
Maldini, Ernest Walker received
this year’s UEFA President’s Award.
Former General Secretary of the
Scottish Football Association, “Ernie”
Walker served UEFA for a quarter
of a century, particularly carving
out a reputation as a leading expert
in stadium safety and security.
make the competitions successful,
UEFA’s role is to ensure that the
game as a whole benefits from this
income and that part of it also
goes to charitable bodies linked in
some way to football. As part of
this task, UEFA presents a cheque
for CHF 1 million to such an institution
every year.
This year, former Italian
international defender Giacinto
Facchetti received a cheque for
CHF 1 million from UEFA Chief
Executive Lars-Christer Olsson on
behalf of INAS-FID. Founded in
1986, this organisation aims to
encourage and help people with
intellectual disabilities to practise
a sport. Operational in 87 countries,
it works hand in hand with
Special Olympics, which UEFA has
been supporting for several years.
Lennart Johansson and Ernest Walker.
04 uefadirect 10.04

Prince
Albert
of Monaco
presents
Fernando
Morientes
with
his award.
Gilberto Madaíl,
President
of the Portuguese FA,
receives his
country’s award
from the
UEFA President.
PHOTOS: UEFA-BOZZANI
He played a leading role in the
construction of the stadiums for
EURO 2004 in Portugal.
Portugal itself also received
an award from the UEFA President
in recognition not only of the vast
stadium construction and renovation
work carried out, but also of the
warm, festive atmosphere created by
the Portuguese people throughout
the championship.
The Monaco gala also
included the award of the UEFA
Order of Merit in Emerald to Jacques
Ferran, who had been unable to
collect this award in Cyprus. Former
star striker for Stade de Reims,
Real Madrid and France, Raymond
Kopa, presented this prize to the
former editor-in-chief of France Football,
one of the founders of the
European Champion Clubs’ Cup.
“The Magnificent Seven”
The gathering in Monaco also provides a chance to remind the
world of elite football that its success depends hugely on the dedication
of countless individuals who, at all levels, devote a large amount of
their time to football, often without being paid.
This year, seven people were again chosen to represent all of
these people who work so hard behind the scenes. Tributes were paid to
them not during the gala evening in Monaco, but on the pitch at the
Stade Louis II before the Super Cup kicked off.
The “Magnificent Seven” who were honoured this year were:
■ Hans Friis (Denmark), founder of the club Strandens Boldklub
in 1950. As player, coach, treasurer and chairman, he has devoted his life
to the club and remains an active supporter.
■ Franco Iacopino (Italy), faithful servant of Reggina Calcio for
40 years, firstly in charge of youth football and then as secretary.
■ Marjory Nimmo (Scotland), founder of the Scottish supporters’
club, which currently has almost 16,000 members who follow the Scottish
team abroad.
■ Leslie Olive (England), on the staff of Manchester United for
more than 60 years as player and then secretary. He has also acted as
an ambassador for grassroots football in the Manchester area.
■ Willem Schoevaart (Netherlands), member of AFC Ajax for
almost 75 years. Named honorary member of the club in recognition of
his numerous contributions in various fields, he is also the official
club archivist.
■ João Silva (Portugal), physiotherapist for the Portuguese
Football Association at 545 international matches over a period of 35 years.
He is still involved with the youth team at his club, Os Belenenses.
■ Jean Van Hauwermeiren (Belgium), player until the age of 52,
then a volunteer serving RSC Anderlecht and the Belgian national team.
A keen photographer, he also owns an impressive collection of footballrelated
photographs.
Seven loyal servants of European football pictured with Lennart Johansson
and Lars-Christer Olsson: João Silva, Marjory Nimmo, Willem Schoevaart, Leslie Olive,
Jean Van Hauwermeiren, Franco Iacopino and Hans Friis (left to right).
05

Friedrich Stickler,
Chairman of the
Club Competitions
Committee,
proceeds with the
draw, assisted by
Michele Centenaro
from the UEFA
Administration.
Michel Platini
reveals
the name
of a
participant as
Lars-Christer
Olsson
looks on.
UEFA
TWENTY OF THE 32 CLUBS INVOLVED IN THE 13TH EDITION OF THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
ALSO PARTICIPATED IN LAST SEASON’S COMPETITION.
Champions
League
A d e g r e e o f s t a b i l i t y
There was therefore a
certain degree of stability as the new
campaign, following the same
formula as in 2003/04, kicked off
with the first group matches played
on 14 September.
The most regular
participants are the current
holders, FC Porto, and
Manchester United, who are
each competing in the UEFA
Champions League for the
tenth time. This is the English
club’s ninth consecutive season in
the tournament, one more than
Bayern Munich, Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiacos,
PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid.
Rosenborg, who achieved the same
feat between 1995 and 2002, are back
in the fold after a year’s absence.
However, another regular participant,
Galatasaray, are missing from
this year’s tournament, ironically in
the year when the final will be held
in Istanbul. The Turkish club has
been involved nine times and
this is the first time they have
been absent since 1997/98.
Of the 12 clubs who
were not involved last year,
only one is a total newcomer:
Maccabi Tel Aviv, the second
Israeli club to qualify, following
Maccabi Haifa in 2002/03. Two other
clubs are returning after a long
absence: Werder Bremen, who
participated in 1993/94, and CSKA
Moscow, whose only previous
involvement came in the competition’s
inaugural season in 1992/93,
when only eight teams played in
the Champions League.
Maccabi Tel Aviv is the
92nd club to take part in the
UEFA Champions League, with
28 different national associations
represented over the years. This
season, 16 associations have at
least one representative. Like last
year, Spain and Italy have managed
to take up the maximum four
places, as have England. In fact, all
the clubs from the top five associations
in the UEFA rankings qualified,
reflecting the shortage of
surprises in this season’s qualifying
rounds.
Children in the colours
of each participating club.
06 uefadirect 10.04

Preparatory
meetings for the
season ahead.
PHOTOS: UEFA-BOZZANI
Prize money unchanged
Although the UEFA Champions
League is a familiar competition
for many of the participating
clubs, sponsors and television channels,
it requires detailed preparation,
and numerous meetings were
held before and after the draw on
26 August. The Club Competitions
Committee, chaired by Friedrich
Stickler, also met in Monaco the day
before the draw.
The agenda included
the distribution of revenue from the
Champions League, which is
provisionally expected to reach
around CHF 900 million, a slight
increase compared to last season.
The surplus amount will be paid
into the “Market Pool”, one of the
two main sources of payments to
the participating clubs (the other
being the fixed premiums). The latter
will remain the same as last year, i.e.:
● CHF 2.5 million per club as the starting premium;
● CHF 500,000 per group match played, regardless of the result;
● CHF 500,000 for each victory in the group matches;
● CHF 250,000 for each draw in the group matches;
● CHF 2.5 million for each club that reaches the last 16;
● CHF 3 million for each quarter-finalist;
● CHF 4 million for each of the four semi-finalists;
● CHF 6 million for the losing finalist;
● CHF 10 million for the winners.
Calendar of the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League
Group A Group B Group C Group D
15.09 Liverpool–AS Monaco Bayer Leverkusen–Real Madrid AFC Ajax–Juventus Fenerbahce–Sparta Prague
La Coruña–Olympiacos AS Roma–Dynamo Kyiv Maccabi TA–Bayern Munich Ol. Lyonnais–Manchester Utd
28.09 Olympiacos–Liverpool D.Kyiv–Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich–AFC Ajax Manchester Utd–Fenerbahce
AS Monaco–La Coruña Real Madrid–AS Roma Juventus–Maccabi TA Sparta Prague–Ol. Lyonnais
19.10 AS Monaco–Olympiacos Real Madrid–Dynamo Kyiv Juventus–Bayern Munich Sparta Prague–Manchester Utd
Liverpool–La Coruña Bayer Leverkusen–AS Roma AFC Ajax–Maccabi TA Fenerbahce–Ol. Lyonnais
03.11 Olympiacos–AS Monaco Dynamo Kyiv–Real Madrid Bayern Munich–Juventus Manchester Utd–Sparta Prague
La Coruña–Liverpool AS Roma–Bayer Leverkusen Maccabi TA–AFC Ajax Ol. Lyonnais–Fenerbahce
23.11 AS Monaco–Liverpool Real Madrid–Bayer Leverkusen Juventus–AFC Ajax Sparta Prague–Fenerbahce
Olympiacos–La Coruña Dynamo Kyiv–AS Roma Bayern Munich–Maccabi TA Manchester Utd–Ol. Lyonnais
08.12. Liverpool–Olympiacos Bayer Leverkusen–D. Kiyv AFC Ajax–Bayern Munich Fenerbahce–Manchester Utd
La Coruña–AS Monaco AS Roma–Real Madrid Maccabi TA–Juventus Ol. Lyonnais–Sparta Prague
Group E Group F Group G Group H
14.09 Panathinaikos–Rosenborg Sh. Donetsk–AC Milan Valencia–Anderlecht Paris SG–Chelsea FC
Arsenal FC–PSV Eindhoven Celtic FC–Barcelona Internazionale–Werder Bremen FC Porto–CSKA Moscow
29.09 PSV Eindhoven–Panathinaikos Barcelona–Sh. Donetsk Werder Bremen–Valencia CSKA Moscow–Paris SG
Rosenborg–Arsenal FC AC Milan–Celtic FC Anderlecht–Internazionale Chelsea FC–FC Porto
20.10 Rosenborg–PSV Eindhoven AC Milan–Barcelona Anderlecht–Werder Bremen Chelsea FC–CSKA Moscow
Panathinaikos–Arsenal FC Sh. Donetsk–Celtic FC Valencia–Internazionale Paris SG–FC Porto
02.11 PSV Eindhoven–Rosenborg Barcelona–AC Milan Werder Bremen–Anderlecht CSKA Moscow–Chelsea FC
Arsenal FC–Panathinaikos Celtic FC–Sh. Donetsk Internazionale–Valencia FC Porto–Paris SG
24.11 Rosenborg–Panathinaikos AC Milan–Sh. Donetsk Anderlecht–Valencia Chelsea FC–Paris SG
PSV Eindhoven–Arsenal FC Barcelona–Celtic FC Werder Bremen–Internazionale CSKA Moscow–FC Porto
07.12 Panathinaikos–PSV Eindhoven Sh. Donetsk–Barcelona Valencia–Werder Bremen Paris SG–CSKA Moscow
Arsenal FC–Rosenborg Celtic FC–AC Milan Internazionale–Anderlecht FC Porto–Chelsea FC
07

PHOTOS: UEFA-BOZZANI
The Club
Competitions Committee
at work.
If the eventual winners managed
to win all their group matches,
they would therefore receive CHF
28 million, excluding gate receipts.
Fiftieth edition
The European Champion Clubs’
Cup came into being in 1955, when
16 teams were invited to take part in
the inaugural competition (see insert).
Today, the UEFA Champions League,
as the competition became in 1992/93,
involves 32 teams and its popularity
extends far beyond the borders of the
European continent.
In his speech before the draw in
Monaco, the UEFA President, Lennart
Johansson, paid tribute to the founders
of the competition: “it took passion to
launch the European Champion Clubs’
Cup, passion that emanated from journalists
of France’s ‘L’Equipe’ newspaper
who were curious to know who was
the best club team in Europe.”
Highlighting the quality of the participants
(12 account for 38 of the first
49 editions), he also had spared a
thought for the “the clubs which have
not managed to get through the preliminary
rounds – to whom we pay homage
for doing their best.”
“UEFA,” he concluded, “is proud
that this 50th edition coincides with the
introduction of one of its most important
programmes, the club licensing
scheme. We hope that this measure,
which has generally been well received,
will gradually contribute to improved
club facilities, training and quality
on the field itself.”
In addition to these premiums,
clubs receive a variable
amount, depending on market shares.
For associations represented by
more than one club, the sum available
is divided into two equal
parts, which are distributed in accordance
with:
– each club’s final position
in the previous season’s domestic
championship, whereby the champions
naturally receive a higher percentage;
– the number of Champions
League matches played in the current
season.
In addition, as in previous
years, domestic champion clubs
which failed to qualify for the group
stage of the Champions League will
receive CHF 150,000. Meanwhile,
the clubs knocked out in the Champions
League and UEFA Cup qualifying
rounds and in the UEFA Cup
first round will receive CHF 80,000
for each round they play in.
2006 final venues
to be announced in December
The Club Competitions
Committee also made an initial assessment
of the new system introduced
for the draws for the UEFA
Cup qualifying rounds, where regional
groups were formed so that
that participants do not have to
travel too far. Generally speaking, the
clubs concerned welcomed the
system, which will be refined by the
UEFA Administration.
The Committee also discussed
a number of issues that were
on the agenda of the European
Club Forum in September (see p.12),
such as the Club World Championship
and the development of homegrown
players. It also noted the
candidatures to host the club competition
finals in 2006 and 2007.
The decision for 2006 will be taken
in December by the Executive
Committee, to which the Club
Competitions Committee will submit
a proposal.
The new face of the
UEFA Cup
THE DRAW FOR THE FIRST ROUND OF THE UEFA CUP, WHICH WAS MADE
AT THE GRIMALDI FORUM IN MONACO ON 27 AUGUST, KICKED OFF THE 34TH UEFA CUP,
AN EDITION WHICH MARKS A TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF THIS
UEFA CLUB COMPETITION.
Since it was introduced in
1972, the UEFA Cup has not really
undergone any major change in format
– despite its merger with the
European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1999
– except for the abolition of a twoleg
final in 1997/98 in favour of a
single match played at a neutral
venue. This measure was designed
to enhance the prestige of the final
and of a competition which was not
as popular as the UEFA Champions
League.
The change being introduced
this season is in pursuit of
the same aim but is far more radical,
since the new format includes
group matches between the first
round and a second direct knock-out
phase. The group phase will involve
eight groups of five teams, each
playing each of their opponents only
once, i.e. four matches, two at
home and two away.
The new format is being
combined with revamped branding for
the competition, and the first element
in this package was presented in
Monaco, where the new UEFA Cup logo
was unveiled.
08 uefadirect 10.04

The first
goal, scored
by Baraja.
A dangerous
moment in front
of the Valencia
goal, but the
Spanish side
survived the
onslaught, much
to the relief
and delight of
its supporters.
PHOTOS: SABATTINI
UEFA
Super Cup
Valencia win the Iberian challenge
EVEN THOUGH IT BRIDGES THE OLD SEASON AND THE NEW, THE UEFA SUPER CUP
IS MORE OF A FORETASTE OF THE NEW SEASON THAN AN AFTERTASTE OF THE OLD,
SINCE IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE WINNERS OF THE PREVIOUS SEASON’S UEFA
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND UEFA CUP TO PARADE THEIR NEW LINE-UPS.
Winning the UEFA Champions
League has had its repercussions
on FC Porto, who start
the 2004/05 season with a new
coach and without some of the
players who shone last season.
The 17,000 or so spectators in
the Stade Louis II were, however,
able to see that the Portuguese
side have not abandoned the
principles on which their success of
last season was built. Their game
remained compact, the ground was
well covered, and the opposition
had a hard time opening up any
space for themselves. But, in this
opening match of the new UEFA
club competition season, reactions
were not quite as fast as they could
have been, particularly in attack,
where Porto struggled to take the
Valencia defence by surprise.
Likewise, the Spanish
champions and reigning UEFA Cup
holders have not changed their
style, despite also being under a new
coach, and they are not used to
leaving space wide open for the
opposition either. Consequently, the
first half was not always as intense
as the encouragement from the two
sets of supporters. The fact that
neither team is yet back into the
swing of domestic football certainly
played a role too.
By opening the score
just after the half-hour mark,
with a powerful header from
Ruben Baraja, Valencia, who
had already made some good
fast attacking moves, took
an important step towards victory,
and in the 67th minute, another
headed goal, this time from new
recruit Marco Di Vaio, more or less
sealed it, even though Porto’s
hopes were revived when Ricardo
Quaresma drove the ball into the
back of the net in the 78th minute,
thereby keeping interest in the
game alive until the final whistle.
Valencia have therefore
won their second UEFA Super Cup in
two appearances, following their
first win against Nottingham Forest
in 1980. After winning the UEFA Cup
in 2003 and the UEFA Champions
League last season, FC Porto missed
the opportunity to win the three
principal UEFA club competition trophies
one after the other. But they
do still have the chance to win more
than a consolation prize when they
meet Once Caldas from Colombia in
the European/South-American Cup
in Tokyo on 12 December.
This latest UEFA Super Cup
match was the twenty-ninth since
UEFA recognised the event in 1974.
It was the seventh time that it had
been played in Monaco, where victory
shone on the winners of the UEFA
Cup/Cup Winners’ Cup for the fifth
time, putting them also in the lead
in the all-time stakes, but only just,
with 15 wins compared to the
champion clubs’ 14.
27 August 2004 – Stade Louis II in Monaco
FC Porto – Valencia CF: 1-2 (0-1)
Goals: Baraja (32nd) and Di Vaio (67th)
for Valencia; Quaresma (78th) for Porto.
Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway).
Lennart Johansson
presents the trophy
to captain David Albelda.
ALBERTO LINGRIA
09

Scenes from
EURO 2004
were analysed
in plenary
session.
UEFA
UEFA
Seminars in Nyon
Referees and assistant referees stay on the ball
AT THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER, UEFA’S ELITE AND TOP-CLASS REFEREES, AS WELL AS 37 ASSISTANT REFEREES,
MET AT UEFA’S HEADQUARTERS IN NYON. THE MAIN TOPIC ON THE AGENDA WAS A REVIEW OF EURO 2004.
The UEFA Referees Committee
was very satisfied with the performances
of the referees and assistant
referees appointed for the European
Championship final round in Portugal.
However, this was no excuse for them
to rest on their laurels. Remaining
on the ball also meant ferreting out the
smallest weaknesses. Under the
guidance of the members of the Committee,
the match officials analysed
Physical exertion
under the spotlight
Prof. Werner Helsen, who has
been entrusted by UEFA with the
physical fitness of its referees and
assistant referees for some years
now, used the European Championship
final
round in Portugal
to take a
closer look at
the physical
exertion of the
match officials.
“During a
match, the referee
and assistant
referees
are put under
Werner
Helsen
UEFA
enormous pressure,
marked
by significant
changes of direction and pace”,
he summarised. His records show
that a referee covers 12-15 km in
a match and changes direction or
pace every four seconds. An assistant
referee covers between six and
eight kilometres and changes direction
or pace as often as a player –
about every six seconds on average.
a selection of critical situations from
EURO 2004, discussed problems and
sought solutions.
Trends on the field
“It happens more and more
that the referee is faced with the
question of whether a player was
really brought down or whether he
is trying to win a free kick or penalty
that he does not deserve,” stated Ken
Ridden, vice-chairman of the Referees
Committee, introducing the session
on simulation. An exchange of views
led on to the subjects of holding and
pushing, and the illegal use of hands,
arms and the body, as often seen on
corner kicks. The discussion then
expanded to situations outside the
penalty area, when players use their
bodies against the rules, namely by
committing bodychecks, which have
become a new tactical trend. Excessive
goal celebrations, particularly when
players remove their shirts, were also
illustrated with examples.
Emphasis on cooperation
A united team is the basis for
good referee performances, or as
former Portuguese referee Vitor Manuel
Melo Pereira, now a member of the
UEFA Referees Committee, put it:
“Three pairs of eyes are better than
one.” He went on to underline the
importance of the team knowing each
other well and regularly officiating
together. Before every match it was
essential to make it clear who would
assume what responsibility and what
the priorities were. For example, the
assistant referees had to be clear
about when the referee expected signs
of agreement from them. In offside
10 uefadirect 10.04

EMPICS
The assistant
referee
provides vital
support.
UEFA
Anders Frisk,
Markus Merk
and
Lubos Michel
during their trip
to Sierra Leone
as part of
the UEFA/ICRC
campaign.
situations especially, discreet signs
from the side line could be of great
help to the referee.
The eternal offside issue
Offside decisions regularly
give rise to heated discussions.
Consequently, the assistant referees’
session focussed on this topic in
particular. The participants considered
being in the right position as critical
for being able to assess the situation
correctly.
Offside questions had already
been dealt with thoroughly prior to
EURO 2004. UEFA produced a video
with examples for interpreting and
applying the offside rules, which was
used for referee and assistant referee
courses, and also sent to the associations,
coaches and media representatives.
Good marks for EURO 2004
The feedback of the referees
and assistant referees to the EURO
2004 organisers was very positive.
They were thoroughly satisfied with
the preparations and the way they
were looked after during their stay in
Portugal. They also praised the
UEFA
medical care and training that was
organised for them. The number
of matches in the group phase was
rated as ideal – enough matches
to feel confident but not so many
that there was not adequate recovery
time.
They were enthusiastic about
their involvement in the UEFA/ICRC
Children in War campaign. “The
campaign has given us the opportunity
to convey a positive image,” said
Markus Merk, one of the project
ambassadors.
The victory of the 17th team
It was as far back as November 2001 that Yvan Cornu, Manager
for Refereeing Matters in the UEFA Administration, made his first trip to
Portugal to select a centre for the EURO 2004 referees. Special attention
had to be paid to its geographical situation, to ensure that journeys to
stadiums were as short as possible during the tournament.
The Solverde hotel near Espinho, 30 km south of Porto, was chosen
as the venue. This five-star hotel met all the referees’ needs in terms of
training facilities, meeting rooms for briefings and analyses, press conferences,
treatment and relaxation.
On 4 December 2003, after a closely conducted
evaluation process lasting several months, the UEFA
Referees Committee appointed 12 teams of referees,
each composed of a referee and two assistant
referees. For the first time in a European Championship,
the three team members came from the same
nation. Four substitute referees were also appointed,
to complete the group.
A really close-knit team was formed, with
Pierluigi
Collina
BONGARTS
the common aim of achieving the best possible performances
throughout the 31 final-round matches.
The Referees Committee gave clear and precise
instructions at the preparatory course held in Espinho at the end of April
2004. All the match officials went through a fitness test and received a
six-week training programme to ensure that they stayed fit and were in
peak condition when the tournament started on 12 June.
In a competition of such importance, the performance of the team
of referees in the opening match sets the tone for the whole competition.
For the first time in his career, Pierluigi Collina, assisted by Marco Ivaldi and
Narciso Pisacreta, took charge of an opening match. The excellent performance
of the referees got the tournament off to a perfect start for the
17th team.
The 24 assistant referees appointed for the tournament were all used
to regularly officiating top-level international matches with the same
referee. They did a first-rate job and took courageous and consistent offside
decisions. Their performances were outstanding, and numerous goals were
scored in extremely borderline situations, where the striker was exactly
in line with the last defender when his team-mate passed the ball to him.
After 30 matches during which the refereeing was never called into
question, the only team left at the Solverde hotel was the German trio
of Markus Merk, Christian Schräer and Jan-Hendrik Salver, who were to take
charge of the final on 4 July. But when the final whistle was blown,
all 40 match officials were entitled to celebrate a successful tournament.
11

The Forum’s
plenary
meeting was
a mix of
presentations
and
discussions.
Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge
was re-elected
Chairman of
the European
Club Forum.
European Club Forum
Election time
THE EUROPEAN CLUB FORUM, THE CONSULTATIVE BODY SET UP IN 2002 TO REINFORCE DIALOGUE BETWEEN UEFA
AND EUROPE’S TOP CLUBS, HAS ELECTED ITS NEW BOARD FOR THE 2004–2006 PERIOD.
The Forum is composed of
102 clubs selected on the basis of their
national association coefficient (as far
as the number of clubs per association is
concerned) and their own club coefficient.
Clubs which have won a minimum of five
UEFA trophies are also entitled to a seat
if they are not selected on the basis of the
coefficients. Among this term’s contingent,
30 percent are newcomers to the
round table.
For its second term, the Forum is
also open to all of the clubs which qualify
for the UEFA Champions League, even
if they do not meet the aforementioned
criteria, as is the case this season of Paris
St-Germain, Werder Bremen, CSKA Moscow
and Fenerbahçe. Such clubs do not,
however, have the right to vote. From now
on, participating clubs must also be in
their country’s top division and hold a
UEFA-endorsed licence. And any club
which misses two plenary meetings of the
Forum will in principle be replaced by
another club from the same association.
One of the main purposes of
the recent plenary meeting held in Nyon
on 9 and 10 September was to elect the
board of the Forum. It was also the first
time that the board had been elected by
the Forum itself. For the Forum’s first
term, the members of the board were
selected on the basis of the coefficients
for practical reasons.
The Forum is divided into four
groups, again on the basis of the coefficients.
The first group – clubs from the six
national associations with the best coefficients
– is entitled to five representatives
on the board; the second group to three,
the third to two, and the fourth to one.
Each group elects its own representatives.
After the Forum meeting, the new
board met to elect its officers, who are:
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich,
re-elected Chairman), Peter Kenyon
(Chelsea FC, First Vice-Chairman); Pedro
Lopez Jimenez (Real Madrid, Vice-
Chairman) and Umberto Gandini (AC Milan,
Vice-Chairman). The members are John
Borg (Birkirkara), Marino Faccioli
(Olympique Lyonnais), Fernando Gomes
(FC Porto), Niels-Christian Holmstrøm
(FC Copenhagen), John McClelland
(Rangers FC), Arie van Eijden (AFC Ajax)
and Damir Vrbanovic (Dinamo Zagreb).
The four members of the Forum
proposed to represent it on the Club
Competitions Committee are Umberto
Gandini, John McClelland, Damir
Vrbanovic and Arie van Eijden. Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge and Fernando Gomes are
already members of the Committee,
having been appointed by the Executive
Committee.
The meeting in Nyon also discussed
the FIFA Club World Championship,
which will be launched in 2005 and
replace the European/South American
Cup. The Forum supported the position
adopted by the previous board and
agreed that the competition should involve
only six clubs (one from each confederation),
that participation should not be
compulsory and that it should be up to
the clubs to negotiate the financial aspects
for themselves with FIFA. The clubs also
supported RSC Anderlecht’s proposal that
PHOTOS: UEFA
yellow cards received in UEFA Champions
League qualifying matches should be cancelled
before the start of the group phase
as from the 2005/06 season. Yellow
cards received in the qualifying rounds of
the UEFA Cup should be given the same
treatment.
Assorted topics
The Forum also discussed financial
questions and took note of a study
undertaken by UEFA on the release of
players for the national teams. In the
group discussions that followed this presentation,
the participants were unanimous
that they should receive compensation
and that it was not up to them to
insure players during major international
tournaments. They also reiterated the
importance of maintaining a balanced
international calendar.
The development of home-grown
players – as presented to the presidents
and general secretaries of UEFA’s member
associations at their conference in Lisbon
at the beginning of July – was another
subject on which the Forum was consulted.
The idea is to set a minimum number of
players in a squad who have to have been
trained by the club itself or by another
club in the same association. Although
the Forum participants recognised the
importance of training and were generally
in favour of clubs being better protected
against the transfer of young players
in whose training they had invested, opinions
were divided. A majority agreed to
the creation of a working group to examine
the proposed measures more closely.
A report was presented to the
Forum on the introduction of the club
licensing system. For the current season,
644 clubs went through the licensing
procedure, 528 successfully.
Chairman Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge concluded the meeting by
stressing the need for dialogue between
UEFA and the clubs, dialogue which, as
underlined by the UEFA Chief Executive,
Lars-Christer Olsson, will be facilitated by
the new consultative body involving
representatives of the leagues, clubs and
UEFA Executive Committee.
12 uefadirect 10.04

WHEN THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM OF 1993 VOTED JOSÉ MANUEL BARROSO
“GLOBAL LEADER FOR TOMORROW”, IT COULD NOT HAVE KNOWN HOW SOON THAT
FORECAST WOULD COME TRUE.
Report
from Brussels
Background
briefing
European Court
of Justice
The European Court of Justice
is one of the main institutions of the
European Union, together with the
Commission, Council and Parliament.
Its job is to ensure that EU law
is applied in the same way in each
member state. Comprising one judge
per member state, the Court has
the power to settle legal disputes
between EU institutions, member
state governments, businesses and
individuals.
In June of this year, the
25 government leaders of the European
Union chose Mr Barroso to
be the new President of the European
Commission. The former Prime
Minister of Portugal will begin his
five-year term on 1 November.
The selection of Mr Barroso
for such an important post could
be good news for European football.
Mr Barroso is a keen fan himself,
attending this year’s final of the UEFA
Champions League as well as
Portugal’s matches in EURO 2004.
José Manuel Barroso was born
in Lisbon on 23 March 1956, and
he is married with three children.
He holds a Master’s
degree in Political
Science from the
University of
Geneva, and was
also visiting professor
at Georgetown
University, Washington
DC. He is an
impressive communicator and, in
addition to his native Portuguese,
speaks fluently English, French and
Spanish.
Prime Minister of Portugal
from 1992 until this year, Mr Barroso
will head a new team of 25 commissioners,
one from each member
state. He has already won sincere
applause for his diplomatic team
selection, which managed to satisfy
all 25 national capitals. The new
team includes a number of political
heavyweights who have held the highest
posts in national government.
These include three prime ministers,
five foreign ministers and four
finance ministers.
The 25 members of the Barroso
Commission held their first informal
session in Brussels on 20 August.
Calling for a sense of enthusiasm
combined with realism for the “exciting
but tough journey” which lies
ahead, Mr Barroso stressed the need
for vision and teamwork and underlined
the importance of communicating
with Europe’s citizens about what
the Commission does and why.
The two most important
commissioners for European football
are those responsible for sport and
competition policy. Mr Ján Figel, from
Slovakia, will take on the role of
Commissioner for Education, Training,
Culture and Multilinguism, which
includes sport. Mrs Neelie Kroes, from
the Netherlands, will serve as Commissioner
for Competition.
Only time will tell how long
Mr Barroso’s ‘honeymoon’ will last.
He will need to display all of his political
skills in the coming months, as
the EU faces a busy and challenging
agenda. The Commission must
publish its assessment of Turkey’s
readiness for membership negotiations,
while the member states are
to start difficult negotiations over
the future EU budget. At the same
time, all 25 member-state parliaments
must approve the
new EU Constitutional
Treaty, a
process that threatens
to be long
and painful, particularly
in those
countries that will
put the decision
to a national
referendum.
Ján Figel, new EU
Commissioner for Sport
For European football, the
Court’s most important decision was
the famous Bosman ruling of 1995,
which upheld two of the EU’s most
basic freedoms: the free movement
of workers and non-discrimination
between EU nationals. Article 39 of
the EU Treaty states that freedom
of movement means the “abolition
of any discrimination based on
nationality between workers of the
Member States”.
The Bosman ruling affected
two regulations in European football,
which until then had played an
important role in the game.
First, it prohibited any system
“under which a professional footballer
who is a national of one Member
State may not, on the expiry of
his contract with a club, be employed
by a club of another Member State
unless the latter club has paid to
the former club a transfer, training or
development fee.” In other words,
transfer fees were prohibited for
players at the end of their contracts.
Second, the Bosman ruling prohibited
any regulation “under
which…football clubs may field only
a limited number of professional
players who are nationals of other
Member States.” This put an end to
the UEFA regulation by which the
number of non-national players in a
team was limited to a maximum of
three, plus two assimilated players.
13

OSC Lille
(black shirt)
and Schalke 04,
winners of the
2004 UEFA
Intertoto Cup.
AFP/RIOPA
BONGARTS
Meetings
and other activities
Dialogue
with the coaches
THE 6TH ELITE CLUB COACHES’ FORUM TOOK PLACE AT THE HOUSE OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL IN NYON ON 3 SEPTEMBER.
Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan),
Fabio Capello (Juventus), Sir Alex
Ferguson (Manchester United), Vahid
Halilhodzic (Paris St-Germain), Javier
Irureta (Deportivo La Coruña), Paul
Le Guen (Olympique Lyonnais), Felix
Magath (Bayern Munich), José
Mourinho (Chelsea), Claudio Ranieri
(Valencia CF) and Arsène Wenger
(Arsenal FC) joined UEFA’s Technical
Director Andy Roxburgh and Gérard
Houllier, representing UEFA’s Technical
Study Group, to discuss some
of the topical issues surrounding elite
club football. The fact alone that
they found the time in their busy
Villarreal
(with Roger Garcia,
in Yellow)
will be trying
to repeat their exploits
of last season
in the UEFA Cup.
schedules to attend this meeting
shows the importance that they
attach to such an opportunity to
express their ideas and opinions to
the competition organisers directly.
Even though all of their suggestions
are not necessarily adopted, because
the points of view of other parties
are also taken into consideration,
the coaches have already won the
case in matters such as increasing the
number of doping controls and
revamping the UEFA Cup.
This year, the coaches
expressed their views on subjects such
as passive offside, yellow-card sus-
AFP/JORDAN
pensions, the number of players
on the bench and double penaltyred
card punishment.
The next edition of The
Technician, which will be published
with the November issue of
uefadirect, will provide a detailed
report on the forum. It will also give
an account of the 6th European
National Coaches’ Conference in
Stockholm from 20 to 22 September.
UEFA Intertoto Cup
winners
The finals of the UEFA
Intertoto Cup were played on 10
and 24 August. Two of the three
winners also qualified for the
first round of the UEFA Cup by
the same route last year.
By repeating their
success of last year,
Schalke 04 and Villarreal
– who beat Slovan
Liberec and Atletico
de Madrid respectively in this years’
finals – join VfB Stuttgart, winners
in 2000 and 2002, as the only clubs
to have won this summer competition
twice.
The third winning club of
this season is OSC Lille, who beat
Leiria in the finals, making it the
tenth win in the UEFA Intertoto Cup
for French clubs, a record which is
all the more unique for having been
established by ten different clubs.
For Germany, it was the sixth win
(by four clubs), while Spain has won
14 uefadirect 10.04

AFP/GARCIA
A bronze
medal for Italy
in the Athens
Olympic Games.
Special
Olympics
footballers
and Slovenian
cup winners
FC Maribor.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS SLOVENIA
the UEFA Intertoto Cup on five occasions
(four clubs).
Last season, Villarreal
went on to do remarkably well in
the UEFA Cup, making it as far as
the semi-finals, which they lost
against winners-to-be Valencia.
Two Olympic medals
Europe’s representatives
returned from the Athens
Olympics with two bronze
medals and a fair play prize.
In the men’s tournament,
the European teams were not especially
at ease. Apart from Greece,
who qualified automatically as host
nation, the continent’s other representatives
were the top three from
the last European Under-21 Championship,
namely, Italy, Serbia and
Montenegro, and Portugal.
Only reigning Under-21
champions Italy managed to put on
a good show. Finishing second in
their group, ahead of future finalists
Paraguay, they eliminated Mali in
the quarter-finals (1-0 after extra
time), before losing 3-0 in the semifinals
against Argentina, who went
on to win the tournament without
conceding a single goal in the whole
competition. In the match for
bronze medal, Claudio Gentile’s
team beat Iraq 1-0.
In the women’s tournament,
Greece did not make it past the
group matches, but Germany and
Sweden confirmed their place
among the world elite in women’s
football by each winning their
group. In the semi-finals, Germany
Kicking racism out of football
From 14 to 26 October, the FARE (Football Against Racism
in Europe) network will be running its fifth national week of action
against racism and discrimination in European football.
FARE is providing assistance
for local activities that will be taking
place within the context of this
action week by producing material,
and arranging debates, tournaments
and other events.
■ At the end of last season,
Special Olympics footballers were
invited to attend the Slovenia Cup final
in Dravograd between FC Dravograd
and FC Maribor. At half-time, the
lost to the USA (2-1 after extra
time), while Sweden were beaten 1-0
by Brazil. The USA took gold (2-1
after extra time) and Germany went
home with the bronze medal after
beating Sweden 1-0.
However, Sweden did not
go home empty-handed; they shared
the fair play prize with Japan.
In the men’s tournament, Argentina
played as fairly as they did successfully,
and also won the fair play
prize, which they share with Iraq.
Special Olympics players went
onto the pitch to take part in a small
demonstration match. They were
joined by Darko Milanic, Special
Olympics football ambassador and
former national team captain, as
well as by coaches Marijan Pusnik
and Joze Prelogar. It was the third
time that Special Olympics footballers
had been invited to the cup
final.
UEFA Jubilee
UEFA’s golden jubilee continues to be celebrated throughout Europe.
On 1 September, it was the turn of UEFA’s staff to commemorate the event.
On that occasion, a time capsule was buried in the grounds of
the House of European Football. It contains a variety of objects,
including souvenirs produced for the jubilee, such as a pen,
pennant and stickers, as well as objects which recall life as it is
today and documents which UEFA staff wished to leave for those
who will open the capsule 50 years from now.
TEAM Marketing, the agency which has been UEFA’s UEFA
Champions League partner since the competition began, has also marked UEFA’s
golden jubilee by offering a mini-pitch to the city of Lucerne, where the agency
is based, thereby contributing also to UEFA’s grassroots
development programme. The mini-pitch was
inaugurated on 28 August in the presence of the
UEFA President and CEO.
Continuing with its jubilee features on each of UEFA’s
member associations, uefa.com will be presenting the
football associations of Romania, Russia, San Marino
and Scotland in October.
Not to be
opened until
2054!
Inaugural
match
in Lucerne.
TEAM
UEFA
15

News
from member associations
BELGIUM
Ringing the changes
for Division 2
As the National League celebrated its
40th anniversary, moves were afoot to
bring it out of the shadow of the Pro
League, by improving communications
and relations with the media, increasing
sponsorship, developing youth training
at clubs and encouraging dialogue with
the Pro League (first division clubs) in
order to take a prominent role in the
restructuring committees of the URBSFA,
the national association. In terms of the
sport itself, an overhaul of the second
division championship is planned. The
proposal is to split the division on a geographical
basis for the first time. The top
teams from each region will enter a group
to decide which team or teams are promoted
to the first division. Another group
will decide relegation issues. Bonuses for
high scoring are also envisaged. Fixtures
may also be switched so that they do not
clash with first division matches. Subject
to the approval of the reforms by the
General Assembly, the new formula could
take effect from the 2005/06 season.
François Vantomme
CROATIA
A successful start
for Croatia in the
World Cup qualifying
competition.
Darijo Srna grapples
with Hungary’s
Denes Rosa (No. 8).
Légende
Légende Lége
Légende
Légende Lége
Légende
Légende Lége
Légende
AFP/LOVROVIC
BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA
Disappointing results
Better performances had been expected
from the teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina
taking part in the UEFA club competitions
this season. However, champions
NK Siroki Brijeg did not make it past
the early UEFA Champions League qualifiers,
falling to Azerbaijani champions
FK Neftchi.
Two clubs from Bosnia and
Herzegovina have been involved in the
UEFA Cup qualifiers. FK Zeljeznicar
and FK Modrica Maxima made it easily
through the first preliminary round.
BHZ cup winners FK Modrica Maxima beat
Andorran champions FC Santa Coloma,
while FK Zeljeznicar beat S.S. Pennarossa,
champions of San Marino.
But in the second preliminary
round, the BHZ representatives both
came up against Bulgarian opposition, in
the form of PFC Levski from Sofia and
PFC Litex from Lovech respectively, with
disastrous results, the Bulgarian teams
netting a grand total of 17 goals in their
four victories.
The defeat of FK Zeljeznicar in
Lovech (7-0) was a huge disappointment
to the fans in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Not only that, but it was the worst ever
defeat of a Bosnian club in the UEFA
competitions.
These defeats will be a good
lesson for next season, serving as a
reminder that only well-prepared teams
can hope to progress in the UEFA competitions.
On a positive note, these UEFA
matches did help the teams concerned to
reconstruct their stadiums to meet UEFA’s
requirements.
Football fans in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, as well as in Croatia, have
also been greeted with the news that
current Bosnia and Herzegovina national
coach Blaz Sliskovic has agreed to be
head coach of Croatian club NK Hajduk
Split. Sliskovic is still head coach of the
Bosnia and Herzegovina national team,
which makes him perhaps the only coach
in the world who presently works in two
countries.
Fuad Krvavac
F. KRVAVAC
CROATIA
F. KRVAVAC
BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA
Blaz Sliskovic,
who currently wears
two coach’s hats,
and FK Zeljeznicar’s
stadium.
New leadership
The beginning of a new season and
of a new series of qualifiers always sets
us the same goal, in this case, to qualify
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in
Germany and for the final round of
the 2004/06 European Under-21 Championship.
New head coaches have been
appointed in order to realise these goals.
The senior national team has been
placed in the hands of Zlatko Kranjcar,
former international and a very successful
coach. The under-21s will be guided
by Slaven Bilic, member of our famous
national team who won bronze at the
1998 World Cup in France, and a graduate
of the Football Academy of the Croatian
Football Association. It is our wish
to involve as many players from this
generation in the activities of different
clubs and of the association. Our new
challenge in the forthcoming qualifiers
lies in the fact that, for the first time
ever, we will be meeting Sweden, Hungary
and Iceland.
During our summer football
camps, which have a great tradition
within our association, we have also been
preparing new generations of youth
players for our under-17 and under-19
national teams. Now we are also looking
forward very much to their forthcoming
qualifiers.
The Football Academy of the
Croatian Football Association is being
involved in different issues in respect of
the work of its experts, especially as far
as youth football is concerned.
The domestic league has got
off to a good start. Most of the clubs
have rejuvenated their teams.
The coaches have also been
preparing well. They have shown good
results in terms of fitness preparation
as well as theoretical knowledge. Our
refereeing lists have also been rejuvenated
and several organisational changes
have been made. Referees and referee
observers are now being appointed by
former FIFA referee Damir Matovinovic,
currently a FIFA/UEFA referee observer.
The initiative to change the competition
system has not been accepted.
This is therefore the third year of a fouryear
cycle in which the existing competition
system will be in force.
Expert conferences organised
by the association in several different
regions on work with youth players have
revealed that we have to re-examine
the youth competition system. Every-
16 uefadirect 10.04

AFP/HERTZOG
CROATIA
Slaven Bilic
is in charge
of the
under-21 team.
FINLAND
The
domestic cup
competition
is 50 years old.
A. BIBARD/FEP/PANORAMIC
FRANCE
FFF President
Claude Simonet
and new
national coach
Raymond Domenech.
thing needs to be built around the fact that
youth competition is not the goal but only a
tool for realising the goal, which is to produce
high-quality players.
Ante Pavlovic
ENGLAND
FA online course
attracts international acclaim
Since launching “Psychology for Soccer
Level 1” on line in January, the Educational
Division of The FA, FA Learning, is
delighted to report that more than 200 of
the 1,200 students are from overseas.
Students from more than 20
countries are now taking part in the course,
including students from New Zealand,
Australia, Canada, USA, Hong Kong, Jamaica
and Iceland.
Aimed at coaches, parents and
teachers of young players, the course looks
at the key aspects of psychology that can
assist coaches at all levels, including motivation,
assessing the needs of players, and
the role of the supportive coach.
The feedback below is from an
Icelandic student and is testament to the
views of many students that complete
the course.
“This is a great learning experience
for coaches and parents. The learning
environment is attractive and the course
material is enlightening and very useful.
As a parent of children in soccer I found it
very helpful to go through the course material,
which reminded me of what is most
important for my children’s development
as soccer players and as individuals”.
For more information on the online
course and The FA’s educational activities,
visit www.TheFA.com/FALearning.
Jane Bateman
FINLAND
Finnish Cup celebrates in October
The 50th Finnish Cup will reach its peak
when the final is played at Helsinki’s Finnair
Stadium on 30 October. An all-time record
number of teams have been aiming to
conquer the Cup, 386 sides having entered
the competition on 1 April.
Sixteen teams are still in contention
for a place in the final ahead of the
seventh round on 16 October. As the
remaining rounds have already been drawn,
it is certain that a first or second division
club will qualify for the semi-final. However,
a total of eight league clubs are still in
the competition, including FC Haka and
HJK Helsinki, the most successful clubs in
competition’s history.
The Finnish Cup final will end the
domestic top-flight season, as the Finnish
league ends on 2 October. The final four
cup rounds will be played in the space of
two-week period in late October, thus condensing
the suspense.
“We are happy with the 50th
Finnish Cup, as a record number of teams
have participated in the competition. It is
also great to see at least one lower division
team in the semi-finals, giving extra
flavour to the celebrations. Moreover, the
last rounds will gather football enthusiasts
together, as the Cup ends the season”, Petri
Heikkinen, the Finnish FA’s Head of Competitions,
stated with satisfaction.
Sami Terävä
FRANCE
Zidane bids farewell
as Domenech arrives
Even before a ball was kicked in EURO 2004,
Jacques Santini announced that he would
be coaching Tottenham in the new season.
Who would succeed him as French national
coach became the hot topic of the summer
in a country which has at least 50 million
selectors!
Although it seemed to be a twohorse
race between Laurent Blanc and Jean
Tigana, it was eventually an outsider, who
had not even officially applied to FFF President
Simonet for the job, who pipped them
at the post – Raymond Domenech.
An unusual character, Domenech
has built up a solid football reputation.
Aged 52, he had an illustrious playing
career as a defender (Olympique Lyonnais,
Strasbourg, Paris SG, Girondins de Bordeaux)
notching up 432 matches in the French
first division, plus 8 caps for France, before
turning his skills to management at Mulhouse
and Olympique Lyonnais.
In 1993 Domenech joined the
French Football Federation (FFF) as a
National Technical Director where, among
other tasks, he was the coach and selector
of the national under-21 team for 11 years.
So the new coach of les “Bleus” is
an insider with expert knowledge of the
next generation of French footballers who
will take up the challenge after the double
disappointment of the 2002 World Cup
and EURO 2004.
The era of the “Zidane generation”,
1998 World Champions and 2000 European
Champions, is well and truly over.
After Deschamps, Blanc, Djorkaeff,
Petit, Dugarry and company, it was the
turn of Zidane, Desailly, Thuram and Lizarazu
to take a final bow this summer, leaving
behind a host of fabulous memories,
but also feelings of frustration and
doubt.
In particular, how was it that
Santini’s French squad, so reliable and
efficient – brilliant even – between July
2002 and June 2004: 24 matches, 20 wins,
three draws and just one defeat, without
conceding a single goal in the 11 matches
before arriving in Portugal – how was it
that this team could lurch through its EURO
campaign in Portugal so badly, conceding
nightmare goals and guilty of gross
inconsistency
All eyes are now on Vieira, Pires,
Henry and Trezeguet as the heirs to the
golden age of French football. This core
of players offers the promise that French
football will once again shine as a result
of its excellent policies on bringing young
talent through. Although now the burden
of responsibility, all the responsibility in
fact, is on the shoulders of these stars.
The team must not look back.
The sole ambition must be to raise the
French flag high in the 2006 World Cup.
Qualifying would be a good start!
Philippe Tournon
FRANCE
Zidane’s retirement marks the turning of a page.
ICELAND
Making history
History has been made in Icelandic football
this summer, and perhaps even on an
international scale. Equality of the sexes
is something that is widely discussed in
AFP/SORIANO
17

A. SABATTINI
ICELAND
A record crowd
for Iceland
and, what is
more, a win
against Italy!
FSM
FYR MACEDONIA
Hope for the
national team.
all sectors of society, and football is
no exception. The Icelandic FA, with the
help of Landsbankinn, sponsor of the
men’s and women’s top division, has
taken a huge step in this direction by
announcing that the prize money for
the women’s top division will be the
same as in the men’s top division. This
will be a huge boost for the women’s
game and make the importance of
achieving success even greater. Until
now, no one could have ever believed
that one day the prize money would
be equal for both sexes in Iceland’s top
division.
In July, the FA and its sponsors
launched a campaign to attract as many
people as possible to attend an international
friendly against Italy at the Laugardalsvöllur
stadium in Reykjavík on
18 August. The aim was to beat the previous
attendance record for a football
match in Iceland, set in 1968 when
18,194 people came to see Benfica and
Eusebio play Icelandic champions Valur
in the European Cup at the same
Laugardalsvöllur stadium. Few actually
believed this would be possible, but one
hour before kick-off, a total of 20,204
tickets had been sold, crushing the
record set 36 years ago, and making the
match a complete sell-out. Seating
NETHERLANDS
Johan Cruyff,
elected by
an overwhelming
majority of fans
as best player of
the last 50 years.
KNVB
capacity in the Laugardalsvöllur stadium
is only 7,000, which meant that over
13,000 spectators had to pack onto the
terraces. The record will probably not
be beaten again, as plans are afoot to
renovate the stadium and make it an allseater
venue with room for around
15,000 spectators.
To make it a perfect night for
all those in attendance, as well as the
viewers at home and football in Iceland
in general, the Italians were beaten convincingly
2-0, something that no one
had dared to dream of. It is therefore a
date that will be well documented in
Icelandic football history.
Ómar Smárason
KAZAKHSTAN
First World Cup qualifiers
as UEFA member
On 8 September, the national team of
Kazakhstan embarked on the qualifiying
round for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
when they played Ukraine at home in
Almaty. Kazakhstan’s other rivals in
Group 2 are Denmark, Greece, Turkey,
Georgia and Albania.
Previously, Kazakhstan, as
a member of the AFC, took part in the
qualifying competitions for the 1998
and 2002 World Cups. In 1997, at the
first stage, Kazakhstan outstripped
Iraq and Pakistan, but faltered at the
second stage, finishing last in their
group, behind the Republic of Korea,
Japan, the United Arab Emirates and
Uzbekistan. Four years later, Kazakhstan
again had to meet Iraq at the first stage,
as well as Nepal and Macao. In the end,
the contest for top place in the group
was between Kazakhstan and Iraq. Both
of their games ended in a 1-1 draw,
but Iraq came out on top thanks to their
superior goal difference.
Kazakhstan are now making
their third attempt to reach the World
Cup finals, this time as a member
of UEFA.
Alexander Keplin
LITHUANIA
Family tournament
The Lithuanian Football Federation’s
district of Kaunas Football Federation has
organised a football tournament for the
family, schools, streets and other football
teams. It was the first grassroots
project of its kind to be held in Lithuania.
In all, 31 teams took part in the
tournament. The organisers were very
surprised, but equally delighted, that so
many people were interested in this
tournament.
Among the participants were
LFF General Secretary Julius Kvedaras
with his daughter and son. Mr Kvedaras
finished as the leading scorer. After the
event, the national federation decided
without hesitation to organise another
such tournament, this time in the
capital, Vilnius.
The main goal of the tournament
is to get more families and children
involved in football and to reduce
delinquency on the streets.
Vaiva Zizaite
FYR MACEDONIA
Championship kicks off
Even though it was holiday time, the
FA of The former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia has been busy.
The twelfth championship got
under way in the first week of the hottest
month, with new regulations in force,
according to which the bottom two teams
will be relegated directly into the next
division down, while the two teams
which finish third and fourth from the
bottom of the table will contest play-offs
against the third and fourth teams from
the second division. If the second division
teams win the play-offs, they will be
promoted. After five rounds, representatives
of all the clubs, meeting with the
president of the association, Haralampie
Hadzi-Risteski, expressed their satisfaction
that the standard of play is higher
and referee performances better.
In the middle of August, the
under-21 and senior national teams
played their first qualifying matches for
the 2006 European Under-21 Championship
final round and World Cup finals
respectively. The two excellent results
achieved – 4-0 win for the under-21s
and 3-0 for the seniors – raises hopes
that our national teams will do better in
these qualifying competitions than in
the past.
At the end of September, the
association will host a mini-tournament
in the first qualifying round of the European
Under-19 Championship. The
other teams involved are France, Armenia
and Azerbaijan. The tournament is
being organised on the shores of Lake
Ohrid.
Zoran Nikolovski
18 uefadirect 10.04

D. AQUILINA
D. AQUILINA
MALTA
Reidar
Bjornestad (left)
and the seminar
participants,
with Malta
FA President
Joseph Mifsud.
MALTA
Looking ahead
The role played by the referees in football
is of paramount importance. The Referees
Board of the Malta Football Association
(MFA) is forward-looking in this respect and
aware of its responsibilities to keep abreast
with new developments in all aspects of
refereeing.
The Board, working within the
Referees’ Department of the MFA, organises
annual seminars, where the latest interpretation
of rules and practices are examined
and discussed in the light of instructions
from UEFA and FIFA.
This activity, directed by Tom A.
Restall, Head of the Referees’ Department,
this year had as guest speaker the Norwegian
ex-international referee, R. Bjornestad,
currently a member of UEFA’s Referees
Committee.
All Maltese top-class referees and
assistant referees, besides several others,
including match inspectors, participated in
this four-day seminar, which turned out to
be very interesting and useful.
Mr Bjornestad covered several
topics, including communication between
match officials, determining offside, prematch
talk and reading the game. The participants’
contribution reflected the Maltese
referees’ high degree of awareness of new
trends in the role of match officials.
Talks by other speakers touched
on psychological and medical factors connected
with the game. ‘The Referees and
the Media’ and the ‘Referee-Coach Relationship’
were other themes dealt with.
There was also a practical session
and two workshops followed by group
reports. MFA President Joseph Mifsud made
the concluding address, stressing the usefulness
of such seminars as part of UEFA’s
efforts to improve the quality of refereeing
and aim at uniformity in the interpretation
of the Laws of the Game.
Alex Vella
NETHERLANDS
Representatives from each of
the five decades formed teams that played
tailor-made matches in accordance with
the age of the players. Thus a first division
representative side from the fifties
played their contemporaries from the premier
division, coached by the big names
of those days and officiated by equally
well-known former referees. It was just
one of those days where former rivals
turned out to be friends for eternity and
where anecdotes from the past became
hilarious short novels, all to the amusement
of the protagonists and their
audience.
Faas Wilkes was one of the key
stars on the day that was most appropriately
called the ‘battle of the legends’.
Wilkes was one of the first Dutch players
to join a foreign club and he was top
national team scorer for more than three
decades, until Dennis Bergkamp, and
later Patrick Kluivert, overtook his remarkable
tally of 36 goals in 42 matches. Kees
Rijvers (successful coach with PSV Eindhoven
and the national team) still managed
to impress the spectators with his
skills and dummies at the age of 77.
It was a day when the generation
that won the European championship
in 1988 came eye to eye with their
legendary predecessors. The premier
division team of the nineties counted
such names as newly appointed national
team coach Marco van Basten, Ronald
Koeman, John van ‘t Schip, John Bosman,
Hans van Breukelen and Sonny Silooy.
Football fans elected their
favourite player, club, administrator,
referee and coach. Not surprisingly,
Johan Cruyff turned
out to be the individual player
who has impressed most during the
past fifty years. Ajax were the most
popular club, Rinus Michels the
favourite coach and Mario van der Ende
got the majority of votes in the match
officials’ category. Finally, PSV president
Harry van Raay, who left the club on
1 September, was the most remarkable
football administrator in the eyes of
the fans.
Rob de Leede
work that goes on. However, over the last
two to three years, the Northern Ireland
fans and the IFA’s community relations
department have moved from being on
the back foot with regards to community
relations issues to being more proactive
and dynamic. The Northern Ireland fans
and groups like the Amalgamation of Official
Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs
have embraced the IFA’s community relations
message and driven the work in this
area forward to a level that few could have
predicted only a few years ago. Today the
Northern Ireland fans are at the heart of
all our best community relations work and
it is a real honour to be in a position to
support their initiatives such as the Sea of
Green project. This initiative was aimed at
encouraging all Northern Ireland fans to
wear green on Saturday, 4 September at
Windsor Park when Northern Ireland took
on Poland in the World Cup qualifiers.
Northern Ireland football legend
Mal Donaghy was fully behind the fans efforts:
“After watching this year’s EURO
2004 competition where the fans were
bedecked in their team colours, it would
be great if the Northern Ireland fans
could turn Windsor Park into a Sea of
Green. I know the fans are working hard
behind the scenes to create a carnival
atmosphere and I also know how important
it is to the Northern Ireland football
Legends meet again
It was a rare sight in the Olympic Stadium
in Amsterdam on Saturday 7 August. Five
decades of legendary football players joined
hands to celebrate fifty years of professional
football in the Netherlands. No suits, no ties,
no shining shoes, but plain football boots,
specially designed jerseys with laces and
white shorts down to the knees. Great and
still greater legends of Dutch football
returned to the pitch, some of whom had
not played for more than three decades.
NORTHERN
IRELAND
Sea of Green initiative
From a community relations point of
view, the Irish Football Association and
the Northern Ireland fans have learnt a
great deal over the last four years. Community
relations work can be a fragile
business and obviously bad news makes
the headlines more than the positive
FYR MACEDONIA
A win against Armenia for The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (in red).
FSM
19

SLOVAKIA
Children’s
football
festival.
SFZ
SLOVENIA
Jalen
Pokorn
(in white)
make his
international
debut against
Serbia and
Montenegro.
team for all the fans to be 100% behind
them. This Sea of Green initiative is
the perfect opportunity for the fans to
show their support for Lawrie and the
boys,” he said before the game.
Michael Boyd
REPUBLIC
OF IRELAND
A new image
Wednesday, 25 August 2004, was an
historic day for the Football Association
of Ireland. This was the day a completely
new image was launched for football in
the Republic of Ireland, as the association
unveiled a brand image including a
new Irish logo.
In quite a revolutionary design,
the new logo incorporates the basic
emblem of Ireland, the shamrock, and
replaces the old image which contained
the shamrock, a football and the letters
FAI.
The FAI had managed to keep
the design of its new logo very much
under wraps during its preparation
stage and it was not until the official
launch ceremony, held in a Dublin hotel
on 25 August, that the new image was
revealed.
In a glittering, colourful and
well-orchestrated ceremony, embellished
with very impressive video images, Football
Association Chief Executive Officer
Fran Rooney unveiled what he termed
“a new brand strategy which heralds
the many changes in football and the
commencement of a new and exciting
period for football in Ireland.”
The new brand strategy includes
a new brand image, website, fans network
and merchandise. It recognises the core
objectives of the Football Association of
Ireland, which are to support the development
of all its teams and affiliates and
to market its brand worldwide.
The new brand image represents
the very essence of Irish football,
NZS/TAKA
inclusive of all who enjoy football. As
well as embracing a long tradition with
the shamrock, the new logo is a fresh,
modern reflection of Irish heritage and
the bright talent who star in the game
in Ireland at all levels.
In the new design, the basic
colours of green and orange have been
retained, as these two colours reflect the
significant relationship with the Irish
national colours.
The new logo has been incorporated
in a new Republic of Ireland crest
and this will worn on all playing gear. It
is primarily the public identity associated
with representative Irish football teams
at all levels of the game, under-age,
junior, women and senior.
As such, it will open worldwide
opportunities for promotion, publicity
and merchandising.
Said Fran Rooney, “for every
organisation, its brand is a valuable
strategic asset and is the primary
source of its competitive advantage.”
“For our part in the Football
Association of Ireland, our new brand
strategy gives us the opportunity to
develop an image, both within and outside
football, which reflects an association
that is modern, yet with traditional
values, is progressive, professional,
business focussed and about football.”
The design work for the new
brand image was developed by an inhouse
project team from the Football
Association of Ireland with the support
of a design agency, Source.
The new logo was seen on the
Irish playing gear for the first time when
the Republic of Ireland began their series
of qualifying games for the 2006 World
Cup against Cyprus and Switzerland at
the beginning of September.
Brendan Mckenna
ROMANIA
Presentation of Pro licences
Previous articles in uefadirect described
the first course held in Romania through
which coaches could obtain a Pro
licence. This qualification is recognised
by all the signatory countries of the
UEFA Convention.
Conceived in 1992, the first
Pro licence course took place in 2004.
On Monday 23 August, the Romanian
Football Federation (FRF) held a special
ceremony at its headquarters for the
presentation of Pro licences to 18 toplevel
Romanian coaches who had
passed the examinations of this first
Pro course.
The ceremony was attended
by Jozef Venglos, Vice-Chairman of the
UEFA Technical Development Committee,
and Michel Sablon, Technical Director
of the Belgian Football Association and
the UEFA instructor who oversaw the
first Romanian Pro course.
Representing the Romanian
football authorities were Mircea Sandu,
FRF President, Anghel Iordanescu,
Romanian National Team Coach, Mircea
Radulescu, Director of the National
School of Coaches, Cristian Bivolaru,
FRF Deputy Secretary-General, and
Cornel Dinu, member of the FRF Executive
Committee and Managing Director
of Dinamo Bucharest, the current
Romanian champions.
In his speech, Jozef Venglos
highlighted the progress made by the
Romanian School of Coaches and the
positive manner in which it has implemented
UEFA recommendations.
The 18 coaches awarded the
Pro licence are: Ioan Amdone (currently
at Dinamo Bucharest), Gavril Balint (Assistant
Coach at Galatasaray Istanbul),
Sorin Cartu (Otelul Galati), Ilie Dumitrescu
(currently out of contract), Gheorghe
Hagi (Galatasaray Istanbul), Marin Ion
(FC Oradea, 2nd division), Marius Lacatus
(Assistant National Coach), Nicolae
Manea (national under-21 team), Florin
Marin (Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt, 2nd division),
Ion Moldovan (FC Arges Pitesti),
Costel Orac (FC Botosani, 2nd division),
Dan Petrescu (Sportul Studentesc
Bucharest), Gheorghe Poenaru (Laminorul
Roman, 2nd division), Mircea Rednic
(Universitatea Craiova), Ioan Sabau
(Gaz Metan Medias, 2nd division), Emil
Sandoi (Pandurii Tg.Jiu, 2nd division),
Gabriel Stan (out of contract), Mihai
Stoichita (out of contract).
In addition to these 18 elite
coaches, the Pro licence was also
awarded to the former Romanian national
team coaches who were instructors on
the course: Angelo NIiculescu, Emerich
Jenei, Anghel Iordanescu, Mircea Lucescu,
Mircea Radulescu, Victor Piturca and
Cornel Dinu.
The second Pro course for
2004/05 started on 6 September with
20 participants. The course finishes
in June 2005.
Dan Cristea
SLOVAKIA
Football for children
The Slovakian FA has launched a project
called “Football for Children”. The goal
is to encourage more youngsters to take
20 uefadirect 10.04

SWITZERLAND
A girls’
training
centre.
TURKEY
The Iraqi
referees
at the Turkish
FA’s centre.
UKRAINE
Off to a
good
start on
the sand.
ASF
TFF
FFU
up the game. Every first Sunday of the
month, children can meet current and
former Slovakian internationals, top
coaches and international referees at the
national training centre in Senec and test
their skills. The coaches explain what they
do, how referees prepare for matches,
etc. The highlight of the project so far
was the “Football Day” held at the centre
in August. It is the biggest event of the
grassroots project. This year, 150 children
from different clubs took part in the activities
(shooting practice, accurate direct
passing, etc.). At the end of the day,
the children and their parents watched a
match involving former internationals,
and afterwards had the opportunity to collect
autographs and meet the McDonald’s
mascot Ronald. They went home with
some souvenirs, including badges and
pennants from UEFA, FIFA and the Slovakian
FA, as well as football books. As a
parting gesture, tomorrow’s footballers
released UEFA Golden Jubilee balloons.
Karolina Ducka
SLOVENIA
Starting anew
For the start of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers,
Slovenia has rejuvenated its national
team. For the friendly match against
Serbia and Montenegro in Ljubljana,
coach Oblak selected 18 players, among
them six debutants: goalkeeper Samir
Handanovic, defender Branko Ilic, midfielders
Andrej Komac and Jalen Pokorn,
and forwards Zlatko Dedic and Borut
Semler. The last five also had the opportunity
to try themselves on the pitch –
and they did their job well, achieving a
final result of 1-1.
The new generation now faces a
great challenge – qualifying for the World
Cup in a group that also comprises Italy,
Norway, Scotland, Belarus and Moldova.
With the help of ‘the old brigade’, headed
by captain Aleksander Knavs, they certainly
do not lack the will and inspiration.
The opening match against Moldova (3-0)
was played at the new stadium in Celje.
Irena Ilesic Cujovic
SWITZERLAND
Girls’ training centre opens
In mid-August, the Swiss FA (SFV) opened
a training centre for girls in Huttwil. Thirteen
girls aged 14 and 15 will be coached
by Béatrice von Siebenthal (responsible
for women’s football in the SFV) and
Claudio Taddei (Technical Director of
the regional football association in
Solothurn).
SFV President Ralph Zloczower,
who announced when he was elected
on 10 February 2001 that he wanted to
improve football training for girls and
invest more money into it, said at the
inauguration: “I am certain that Swiss
women’s football has a rosy future
ahead of it. Performances in recent
years have been steadily improving.
And now, by setting up this training
centre, and creating a third national
team, the under-17s, I am sure we will
be moving up the ranks before long
and getting closer to the best women’s
teams in Europe. The way in which
the grassroots sector is progressing is
also pleasing. In the last twelve
months, the number of registered girls
and women has risen by thirty percent
no less, from 9,000 to 11,700. What’s
more, I am delighted that we have
managed to find two sponsors – principal
sponsors Swisscom and media
partners Blick/Sonntagsblick – who
are ready to support our efforts.”
The SFV president also expressed gratitude
to UEFA: “Thanks to its HatTrick
assistance programme, UEFA has
made it possible for us to set up this
girls’ training centre.”
Pierre Benoit
TURKEY
Training camp for Iraqi referees
Within the framework of the cooperation
between our football association and
the Iraqi Football Association, 27 top
Iraqi referees have attended a training
camp in Turkey. Led by Turkish referee
instructors, the following topics were
studied during the camp, which was
held at the TFA’s Trabzon Haluk Ulusoy
facilities from 15 to 28 August:
● Amendments to the Laws of the
Game
● Analysis of referee decisions taken
in European, Turkish and Iraqi league
matches
● Criteria for standardised refereeing
● Cooperation among referees and
creating a team spirit
● Practices for increasing the physical
capacity of referees and preparing for
the new season from a mental, physical
and psychological aspect
● Importance of cooperation between
the referee and the assistant referees.
The Turkish Football Association
is ready to and will always cooperate
with other football associations that
would like to profit from its knowledge
and experience.
Mustafa Kemal Artalan
UKRAINE
Mini-pitches
in the whole country
Within the framework of UEFA’s HatTrick
programme, the Cabinet of Ministers is
supporting the “Our Future” programme,
which aims to provide all regions with
artificial mini-pitches for year-round use.
In August, the Ukrainian Government
gave instructions for state financial support
to be provided and every region
to be equipped with mini-pitches in the
next two months. In cooperation with
the Football Federation of Ukraine, the
Cabinet of Ministers will install 350 minipitches
for children and young people in
the densely populated districts of cities,
in villages and on school premises by
mid-October.
The national beach soccer team
had a difficult assignment in Spain from
6 to 8 August – to win a place in the
2004 European Championship. Also
competing for the place at stake in the
final round were Hungary, Sweden,
Slovenia, the Netherlands, Poland,
Greece and Monaco. These teams have
good experience of international competitions,
while for the Ukrainian team,
the qualifying round in Spain was only
their second international tournament
since the Beach Football Association was
founded. But that did not stop them;
the Ukrainians achieved three runaway
victories and returned home as group
winners. The crucial test for the team –
the final round of the championship –
started in Monaco on 1 September.
Valeriy Nykonenko
FFU
21

GEPA-PICTURES
GEPA-PICTURES
Lennart
Johansson,
Joseph S.
Blatter
and Friedrich
Stickler
at the Vienna
Opera House.
Austrian Football
Association
Centenary party
in two acts
ON 17 AUGUST, THE AUSTRIAN FA CELEBRATED ITS CENTENARY WITH
A “SOUND OF FOOTBALL” GALA AT THE VIENNA STATE OPERA HOUSE, FOLLOWED
THE NEXT DAY BY A MATCH BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND GERMANY AT THE
ERNST HAPPEL STADIUM ATTENDED BY SOME 38,000 SPECTATORS. IT WAS A TWO-DAY
CELEBRATION THAT WILL LONG BE REMEMBERED.
Around 300 football officials
from 48 nations travelled to Vienna
to offer their congratulations to
Austrian FA President Friedrich Stickler
and General Secretary Wolfgang
Gramann in person. EURO 2008
Tournament Director Alfred Ludwig
was also there for the visitors to
greet. It was Ludwig who arranged
for the Austrian FA to be allowed to
make a non-programmed guest performance
at the opera for the first
time in its 135-year history.
For the “Sound of Football”,
the Vienna Boys Choir, Belgian singer
Helmut Lotti, Italy’s star export
Zucchero and famous Russian tenor
Sergej Nayda performed a fabulous
mix ranging from classical music to
rock and roll. But the leading roles
at this momentous evening were
played by other characters. UEFA
President Lennart Johansson paid a
posthumous tribute to Ernst Happel,
calling him the “Coach of the
Century”, recalling that in the last
year of his life, despite being seriously
ill, Happel still took on the job
of national coach. As a player, he
won 51 caps for his country and
played in Austria’s bronze-winning
team in the 1954 World Cup. He
was equally successful as a coach,
winning no less than 17 national
and international titles, including
the European Cup with Feyenoord
and Hamburg. “Ernst didn’t say
much but he was a great player and
Fireworks
for the centenary.
GEPA-PICTURES
a great coach!” The trophy in his
honour, made by Silvio Gazzaniga,
who also designed the FIFA World
Cup, was received by Happel’s grandchildren
Christina and Philipp.
Franz Beckenbauer, head of
the 2006 World Cup organising
committee, announced the “Player
of the Century” with the words
“Herbert, for the next hundred years,
you don’t have to worry about anyone
taking your place!” Herbert
Prohaska, still known affectionately as
“Schneckerl” because of the amazing
haircut he used to sport, was one
of the dominant footballers of the
1970s and 1980s. He was the national
team’s playmaker and brains. He
scored his most important international
goal on 30 October 1977 in
Izmir, putting Austria through to
the World Cup finals in Argentina.
“I always dreamed of winning the
World Cup or European Cup,” the
49-year-old beamed. “But I never
reckoned on becoming Footballer of
the Century. I would also like to
accept this award on behalf of others
who would have been just as worthy
winners, great players like Hans
Krankl, Matthias Sindelar, Franz
Hasil and Bruno Pezzey, to name
but a few.”
In other tributes, FIFA President
Joseph S. Blatter described
20-year-old captain Andreas Ivanschitz
as an “outstanding talent”, Michel
Platini praised Austria’s record scorer
Toni Polster (44 goals in 95 internationals),
while “host” Friedrich Stickler
extolled the merits of record
national-team player Andreas Herzog
(103 caps/26 goals).
The centenary match the
next day was refereed by Pierluigi
Collina. But it did not produce the
happy end that the Austrian FA would
have liked on the occasion of its
centenary. In their first match under
Jürgen Klinsmann, Germany won 3-1.
The scorers were Kevin Kuranyi
(2nd, 61st and 72nd minutes) and
Martin Amerhauser (10th minute).
Wolfgang Eichler
22 uefadirect 10.04

UEFA
Communications
Birthdays – Calendar
Birthdays
Former UEFA General Secretary Pierre
Delaunay (France) celebrates his 85th
birthday on 9 October. Jan C. Huijbregts
(Netherlands), who, like Pierre Delaunay,
is a member of the circle of former committee
members, will be 70 on 23 October.
Joan Gaspart (Spain), member of the Administrative
Experts Panel, will be 60 on
11 October. Jean-Marie Philips (Belgium),
vice-chairman of the Professional Football
Committee, joins him at the milestone
on 17 October. Celebrating their 50th birthdays
in October are Andrzej Wach (Poland),
member of the circle of former committee
members (2nd), Stefan Capralov (Bulgaria),
member of the Match Delegates Panel (25th),
and Ramiz Mirzayev (Azerbaijan), member
of the National Teams Committee (27th).
UEFA also wishes many happy returns to:
● Levent Bicakci (Turkey, 2.10)
● Paolo Taveggia (Italy, 2.10)
● Léon Schelings (Belgium, 3.10)
● Wilfried Heitmann (Germany, 4.10)
● Khennet Tallinger (Sweden, 4.10)
● Aaro Mõttus (Estonia, 4.10)
● Kaare Inge Lindboe (Norway, 6.10)
● José João Mendes Pratas (Portugal, 6.10)
● Armand Duka (Albania, 7.10)
● Sergey Zuev (Russia, 9.10)
● Ellert B. Schram (Iceland, 10.10)
● Peeter Küttis (Estonia, 10.10)
● Milovan Nikolic (Slovenia, 10.10)
● Leonard Nokes (Wales, 10.10)
● David Petriashvili (Georgia, 10.10)
● Frits Kessel (Netherlands, 12.10)
● Bo Karlsson (Sweden, 12.10)
● Eduardo Herrera Jimenez (Spain, 12.10)
● Willy Goovaerts (Belgium, 13.10)
● George Brian Smith (Scotland, 14.10)
● Dusan Krchnak (Slovakia, 14.10)
● Tom van der Hulst (Netherlands, 15.10)
● Michel Piraux (Belgium, 15.10)
● Jean-Marc Puissesseau (France, 18.10)
● René Hüssy (Switzerland, 19.10)
● Christian Müller (Germany, 19.10)
● Imre Bozóky (Hungary, 20.10)
● Joseph Bertram Worrall (England, 21.10)
● Philip Pritchard (Wales, 22.10)
● Arie Wolf (Israel, 22.10)
● Mircea Sandu (Romania, 22.10)
● Michel Vautrot (France, 23.10)
● Dragutin Karlo Poljak (Croatia, 23.10)
● Antonin Herzog (Czech Republic, 24.10)
● Pekka Hämäläinen (Finland, 25.10)
● Javier Lozano Cid (Spain, 28.10)
● Rui Cacador (Portugal, 29.10)
Upcoming events
MEETINGS
5.10.2004, Nyon
Draw for the UEFA Cup group matches
12.10.2004, Nyon
Club Competitions Committee
14.10.2004, Nyon
Artificial Turf Experts Panel
Women’s Football Committee
15.10.2004, Nyon
Stadium and Security Committee
18–22.10.2004, Oslo
5th UEFA Course for Grassroots
Instructors and Coordinators
26.10.2004, Nyon
Club Licensing Panel
27.10.2004, Madrid
Jira Project Panel
28.10.2004, Madrid
Technical Development Committee
COMPETITIONS
19-20.10.2004
UEFA Champions League: group matches
(match day 3)
21.10.2004
UEFA Cup: group matches (match day 1)
Publications
HANDBOOK –
SEASON 2004-2005
This handbook, compiled by The Football
League, contains the addresses of its
member clubs and information about
them, as well as competition regulations
and fixture lists.
(Football League Headquarters,
11 Connaught Place, GB-London, W2 2ET
– or www.football-league.co.uk)
ENCICLOPEDIA
DEL CALCIO MONDIALE
This impressive 1,300-page work published
by Giuseppe Sicari and Alexia
Giusti at the SEP publishing
house in Milan analyses
the development
of football in all countries
and logs the performances
of the national
teams. It also contains a
wealth of statistics, listing
all the winners of the
domestic championships and cups, World
Cups, Olympic tournaments, and of the
continental club and national-team competitions.
(SEP Editrice Srl, Via Roma 74,
IT-20060 Cassina de Pecchi – or
www.sepeditrice.com)
LEGIA TO POTEGA
This encyklopedia pilkarska publication
is devoted entirely to one of Poland’s most
prestigious clubs, Legia Warsaw. Apart
from the history of the club (in Polish),
the work contains the club’s results in the
domestic championships since 1916,
a list of players and coaches, as well as
numerous photos. (Wydawnictwo Gia,
PO Box 2772, 40-357 Katowice 14, Poland)
PALOTAI – AZ ELSÖ
MAGYAR SZTARBIRO
This book in Hungarian by Papp Gyözö,
with a preface by the UEFA President,
Lennart Johansson, is dedicated to the
most well-known
Hungarian referee, Karol
Palotai, who, when he
retired from playing after
a career crowned with an
Olympic gold medal in
1964, went on to officiate
at three World Cup final
rounds and as many
Olympic tournaments. (Györi ETO FC,
Nagysandor J u31, HU-9027 Györ)
we care about football
Official publication of the
Union des associations
européennes de football
Communications and Public Affairs Division
Editor André Vieli
Produced by Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 Gland
Printed by Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson
Editorial deadline: 10 September 2004
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.

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