WE CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL No. 149 | June 2015 IN THIS ISSUE Official publication of the BarceloNA MAKE IT FIVE IN BERLIN 4 Union of European Football Associations On 6 June in Berlin, FC Barcelona won their fifth European Cup. Images Chief editor: Emmanuel Deconche Getty Produced by: GraphicTouch CH-1110 Morges 1. FFC FRANKfurt TRIUMPH IN THE UEFA Printing: WOMEn’s CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 7 Images Artgraphic Cavin SA Following the success of VfL Wolfsburg in 2013 and 2014, CH-1422 Grandson Getty this year it was the turn of fellow German club 1. FFC Frankfurt via Editorial deadline: to take the UEFA Women’s Champions League title, beating 8 June 2015 Paris St-Germain in added time. UEFA The views expressed in signed articles are not necessarily SEVILLA FC HOLD ON to the official views of UEFA. The reproduction of articles THEIR UEFA EuroPA LEAGUE TITLE 8 published in UEFA·direct is authorised, provided the After two consecutive UEFA Cup victories in 2006 and 2007, source is indicated. Sevilla FC succeeded in defending the UEFA Europa League Images title they won last year. Getty TBILISI ALL READY to HOST THE UEFA SUPER CUP 12 On 11 August, FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC will be in the Georgian capital in search of more silverware. GFF Cover: In Berlin, Lionel Messi NEWS froM MEMBER ASSociatioNS 15 outmanoeuvres Andrea Pirlo en route to his fourth UEFA Champions League title technician No. 58 | June 2015 Photo: VI Images via Getty Images SUPPLEMENT EDITORIAL RESPECT A few days ago, I was looking at UEFA.org, to be played – but in some cases the financial where there is a lot of material dedicated to rewards were several zeros beyond single figures coaching and coach education. As so often if the objective of avoiding relegation was happens, something caught my eye. It was near achieved. This trend seems to apply right the the beginning of an article about the UEFA way across Europe, no matter how big the • Coaching Convention – which has since been country or the clubs. It was surprising, for Issue 58 of UEFA technician features a series given a thorough overhaul and made a lot easier example, that a club in the Spanish championship to read. The part that caught my eye was at the recruited a coach for just the last four matches end of a paragraph that set out the basic aims of of the season. the UEFA Coaching Convention, almost as a This situation provokes re flections on the mission statement. One of those aims was to definition of ‘coaching’. Traditionally, team buil­ establish coaching as “a reco­ ding and player devel op ment gnised profession”. I have to have been considered impor­ admit that, if I were given a tant components of the job of articles on ‘educating the educators’. chance to rewrite that state­ descrip tion. How do we recon­ ment, I would make it “a reco­ cile these long­term tasks with gnised and respected pro fes­ the tendency to require quick sion”. fixes? What can coaches do to This reflection about respect command respect from the is inspired by information recei­ people who hire and fire? For ved from various parts of the coaching profession, it is Europe. It is disheartening a worrying fact that a high when a member association percentage of technicians who tells us that there have been are dismissed from their first more than 30 changes to the job are never given a second coaching teams of the top chance. division clubs in a single season. There is no easy solution to Enquiries about the situation in the situation. UEFA has been other leagues produce equally – and still is – encouraging disqui eting replies, about 50% The UEFA Coaching Convention, revised national associations to offer of the division teams having to improve standards even further coaches a level of education changed their head coach during which makes them highly qua­ the season. Many clubs ended their domestic li fied to do the job. In other words, we need to cham pionship with their third boss of the season. ‘educate the educators’ so that the coaches of Some of the coaches’ contracts dealt with only the future are prepared in the best possible way single figures in terms of the number of games for the realities of a very demanding profession. While the top coaches take the limelight, the coach educators perform crucial backstage tasks that often go largely unnoticed. It is with no apologies that this issue of The Technician puts the spotlight on a range of topics related to coach education and all the hard work and IN THIS ISSUE dedication that goes into the training of coaches who, through their level of knowledge and competence, will hopefully help to earn coaching INTERVIEW – HOWARD WILKINSON 2-5 the respect that the profession deserves. l RAISING THE BAR 6-7 Ioan Lupescu HANDLING GOALKEEPERS; UEFA Chief Technical Officer KICK-STARTING FUTSAL 8-10 ‘B’ HAPPY 10-11 PUTTING SMILES BACK ON FACES 12 UEFA • technician | 06.15 | 1 2 | UEFA •direct | 06.15 Editorial UEFA Football SHARES AND CARES The curtains have now closed on another club One of the foundation’s future initiatives was competition season, one which provided fans announced in Paris earlier this month and will all over the world with countless unforgettable allow 20,000 disadvantaged children to attend moments of excitement and joy. Teams from far games throughout UEFA EURO 2016 in France. and wide battled for the titles throughout an The tournament is less than a year away and arduous campaign, hoping to emerge victorious. I can guarantee that, through a variety of projects, When the dust settled, it was FC Barcelona, we will showcase UEFA’s commitment to social Sevilla FC and 1. FFC Frankfurt claiming the responsibility. We believe it proves how football trophies in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA can be a force for good at a time when the Europa League and UEFA Women’s Champions behaviour of some of the game’s administrators League respectively. I congratulate not only the has tarnished its image. I trust that better days winners of these competitions, but also those will surely come. who triumphed in our national youth team tour- naments, and I take the opportunity to thank everyone who made these events a success. The three club finals were truly magical and yielded a total of 12 goals, proving that attacking football in Europe is alive and kicking. The atmosphere in the stadiums in Berlin and Warsaw Michel Platini was electric and I am so happy that we were able UEFA President to share that experience at the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League finals with the hundreds of disadvantaged and vulnerable children who were able to be there thanks to an initiative of the UEFA Foundation for Children. The foundation has only been operating for a few weeks but it is already making a difference, and we truly hope that it can have a real impact on the lives of young people around the globe. UEFA •direct | 06.15 | 3 UEFA Champions League BERLIN TRANSFORMED AS BARÇA MAKE HISTORY Often referred to as the city “condemned to forever becoming and never being”, Berlin once again transformed for the 2015 UEFA Champions League final between Juventus and FC Barcelona. When Xavi Hernández held the Massimiliano Allegri’s side then enjoyed their UEFA Champions League trophy best spell of the match but were floored midway aloft at Berlin’s famous Olympia- through the second period as Barcelona broke stadion on 6 June, not only did the with Lionel Messi. Gianluigi Buffon could only 35-year-old FC Barcelona captain parry the Argentinian’s thumping shot into the bring the curtain down on an unparalleled path of the arriving Luis Suárez, who made no 17-year career with the club, he also capped an mistake. Juve valiantly fought in search of a late unprecedented era for the Spanish giants, who leveller, but the Spaniards made sure of their have now won Europe’s premier club competition fifth European crown seven minutes into added four times in the last ten years. time, Suárez teeing up Neymar to slot a third Xavi, who joins Qatari club Al-Sadd in the past Buffon. summer, wrote his own personal piece of compe- It was heartbreak for the Juve goalkeeper as tition history too. The universally revered mid- the continent’s top club prize once again eluded fielder became the first player to make 151 UEFA him, while another veteran, Andrea Pirlo, shed Champions League appear ances, replacing man rueful tears after the final whistle in front of the of the match Andrés Iniesta in the 78th minute magnanimous Bianconeri support. But the night of a thrilling finale which his side deservedly won belonged to Barcelona, whose players and fans 3-1 against Italian title holders Juventus. celebrated with typical exuberance, a third UEFA Champions League title in six years completing a treble of league, domes tic cup and European Cup for the second time in their history – a first for any club. A historic venue The Olympiastadion pro - vided a fitting backdrop for such a historic night. Built originally for the 1936 Olympic Games, the arena retains its antique feel but boasts a fully modern interior, having been refurbished for the 2006 World Cup. This blend of old and new reflects a city which is famously “con demned to Getty Images forever be coming and never to being”, a ref- e rence to its constant evo- lution through the ages.