Top coaches to attend UEFA forum

A star-studded list of European club coaches is set to attend the fourth UEFA Elite Coaches' Forum at the House of European Football in Nyon on 4 September. European football’s governing body is currently finalising the list of participants at this major gathering to herald the start of the new UEFA club competition season.

Issues of importance
Many of Europe’s biggest coaching names will be coming to the shores of Lake Geneva for a day of discussions dealing with issues of importance to European football and the coaching profession. The list of invitees includes the coaches of the 2002 UEFA Champions League finalists, Vicente Del Bosque (Real Madrid CF) and Klaus Toppmöller (Bayer 04 Leverkusen).

Other guests
The other guests are expected to include coaches from clubs who reached the closing stages of last season’s Champions League, and coaches who have won European club football’s most prestigious competition in previous seasons. They will be hosted by senior UEFA officials and members of the UEFA Technical Development Committee.

Champions League and World Cup
In what has become an annual event on the UEFA calendar, the coaches will be reviewing the 2001/02 Champions League and looking back at key points which marked this summer's FIFA World Cup in Japan/Korea.

Source of dialogue
UEFA considers the forum as an essential source of dialogue, and has responded to the views put forward by the technicians at previous gatherings.

Champions League format
The recent decision to modify the Champions League format, reducing the number of matches by abolishing the second group stage from the 2003/04 season, is in line with last year's request by the coaches for UEFA to closely consider the demands being placed on top players.

Golden Goal request
At last year's gathering in Geneva, the coaches also called for alternatives to the 'golden goal'. In March, the UEFA Executive Committee dropped the 'golden goal' format for the new season’s UEFA club competition finals, opting for a format under which, if the finals end in a draw, 15 minutes of extra time will be played. If a team is leading at the end of the 15 minutes, that team will be declared the winners. If the two teams are level, a second 15-minute period will be played, and if the match is still tied at the end of the two 15-minute periods, a penalty shoot-out will take place.