UEFA 60 Years at the Heart of Football 60 Years at the Heart of Football UEFA
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
UEFA 60 years at the heart of football UEFA UEFA football of heart the at years 60 UEFA 60 years at the heart of football André Vieli DES MATIERES Published by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Route de Genève 46 1260 Nyon, Switzerland Design Messi associés Sàrl, Lausanne, Switzerland Printing Artgraphic Cavin SA, Grandson, Switzerland Translation from French Susan Angel, Paul Green and Catherine Wilson With the support of UEFA archivist Nicolas Bouchet @ 2014 UEFA Printed in Switzerland CONTENTS 4 Foreword by the UEFA President 6 Preface 60 years at the heart of football 9 I. The birth of the union 19 II. A European cup for national teams 25 III. The Champion Clubs’ cup leads the way 33 IV. From Paris to Berne 39 V. Initial assessment and further development 61 VI. From Gustav Wiederkehr to Artemio Franchi 73 VII. Before and after the Heysel tragedy 89 VIII. The Champions League is born 101 IX. Associations from the east 109 X. The Bosman case 119 XI. Much-coveted club competitions 129 XII. Closer dialogue with the European Union 133 XIII. Entering a new era 147 XIV. Parallel activities Gaining ground 153 I. The rapid rise of women’s football 159 II. The long journey from indoor football to futsal 165 III. A coaching licence recognised throughout Europe At the heart of UEFA 169 I. Member associations 172 II. Congress 173 III. Presidents 184 IV. Executive Committee and honorary members 192 V. General secretaries and CEOs 3 60 YEARS AT THE HEART OF FOOTBALL Neither soothsayers nor revolutionaries Some say that there is no point dwelling on the past. We cannot change it, after all. However, it is useful, essential even, to be aware of it. Unless you know, for example, why an organisation was created in the first place, how can you be sure that the direction in which you are taking it is in line with its original objectives? Those who founded UEFA 60 years ago were no soothsayers, and none of them could have imagined what the organisation they created would become. Football has changed in step with a society whose lightning-quick evolution means that many parents today have more in common with their ancestors than with their own children. Neither were UEFA’s founders revolutionaries. They had absolutely no intention of turning the football world upside down or challenging the established institutions. All they wanted was to better protect Europe’s interests at a time when its position within FIFA was being weakened by the continuous arrival of new members. They also wanted to create a continental competition, because, in short, a football organisation without any competitions of its own makes about as much sense as an airport without aeroplanes. In this respect the pioneers would delight in the vast range of competitions that UEFA organises today, their global reach and their incredible popularity throughout the world. But what would they think of UEFA’s position in the world of football? They would doubtless understand, broad-minded individuals that they were, that UEFA’s role is not to dominate but to set an example, to cooperate with the other confederations; in short, to make a decisive contribution to the health and prosperity of our sport. 4 FOREWORD BY THE UEFA PRESIDENT This book shows that, over the years, UEFA has constantly endeavoured to continue the work begun by its founders, that it has managed to adapt to the constant changes going on around it, and that it is aware that the job is never done; we must remain vigilant if pitfalls are to be avoided and, where possible, anticipated. This book presents UEFA as seen from the inside by an author who worked for the UEFA administration for more than 31 years and who, as the long-standing editor of our official publications, was ideally placed to observe and inform about UEFA’s inner workings and myriad activities. Michel Platini 5 PREFACE The history of football is of course written by the players, on the pitch and in the stadium. However, their feats would go largely unnoticed, or soon be forgotten, if they were not achieved in competitions with such a vast reach. It is the game’s pioneers who created these competitions and their successors who continue to shape them; administrators and leaders whose main concern is to protect the interests of the game, enhance its popularity and promote values that extend far beyond the world of football and sport as a whole. This book is not meant as yet another in the long line of publications, pictures and video footage that retrace the history of the European competitions, the top players and their accomplishments. Rather, it seeks to recall the main stages of the development of European football’s governing body, from its birth 60 years ago to its current position as a major force on the international stage. It does not set out to examine every aspect of UEFA’s activities, the range of which has become as vast as it is complex. Neither is it intended to emulate UEFA’s golden jubilee publication, which presented the organisation in its sociological, economic and political context. This book simply aims to pay tribute to the pioneers of the past and to all those members of committees, the administration and other bodies who have followed in their footsteps, acting not for themselves but in the interests of football and UEFA’s good name. This work is largely based on Congress and committee meeting minutes, accounts by some of the most prominent figures in UEFA’s history, and various official UEFA publications. Thank you to everyone who has contributed in one way or another. André Vieli 6 60 years at the heart of football 7 © PHOTO© KEYSTONE 8 I. 60 YEARS AT THE HEART OF FOOTBALL The birth of the union The Union of European Football Associations was founded a mere 50 years after the creation of world football’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Although half a century may seem like a long time, it should be remembered that this was a period marred by two world wars that hampered the growth of all organisations, sporting or otherwise. Furthermore, not all European national football association officials saw the need to establish a European grouping within FIFA, which had been founded by seven European associations (Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) in Paris on 21 May 1904, had set up its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and had always had a European president at the helm, Jules Rimet of France having followed in the footsteps of his compatriot Robert Guérin and Englishman Daniel Burley Woolfall. By 1954, the 31 European associations were by far outnumbered within FIFA, which welcomed another four new members that year, bringing the total to 85, and at whose congresses the principle of one vote per association, whatever its size, history or record of success, applied then as it does today. Nonetheless, as French journalist Jacques Ferran wrote in UEFA 50 Years, the book published by UEFA to commemorate its golden jubilee, FIFA remained “a federation charged with the task of governing world football, but which was actually dominated by Europeans.” With all the excitement of the World Cup match between Belgium and England in Basel on 17 June 1954, the creation of European football’s governing body two days previously went virtually unnoticed. 9 I. 60 YEARS AT THE HEART OF FOOTBALL The three pioneers Ottorino Barassi (1898-1971) Although Italy’s Ottorino Barassi played a fundamental role in the creation of UEFA and chaired its founding meeting in Basel in 1954, he was not among the continental confederation’s future leaders. Paradoxical as this may seem, the Italian Football Federation president was seeking re- election to the FIFA Executive Committee and simultaneous membership of both committees was not allowed at that time. Ottorino Barassi joined the FIFA Executive Committee in 1952 PA and was a FIFA vice-president from 1960 until his death in 1971. He also played an important role in the organisation of the 1934 World Cup in Ottorino Barassi his home country and of the 1950 tournament in Brazil. However, he is perhaps best known for hiding the Jules Rimet trophy, won by Italy at the 1938 World Cup, in a shoe box under his bed during the second world war to keep it safe from the German occupying forces. Henri Delaunay (1883-1955) As one of its founders and its first general secretary, Henri Delaunay holds a prominent position in UEFA’s history, and his role would no doubt have been all the greater if serious illness had not cut his life short on 9 November 1955. Having helped to create the World Cup at the end of the 1920s, Henri Delaunay was also a fervent advocate of a European national team competition and, in collaboration with Austrian Hugo Meisl, had, at that time, already suggested a specific competition for European national teams. It took 30 years for that idea to become reality AFP and Henri Delaunay was no longer alive when the competition finally came into being, but the trophy awarded to its winners bears his name, Henri Delaunay in recognition of his visionary ideas. If we are to show proper reverence for Henri Delaunay, we should also give him the title that is duly his: in UEFA publications he heads the list of UEFA general secretaries but never appears in the list of Executive Committee members. And yet, at both the 1954 founding meeting and the assembly in Vienna, it was clear to everyone that Henri Delaunay was a fully fledged member of the Executive Committee, on which he acted 10 I.