Who are this season's UEFA Technical Observers?
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
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The UEFA Technical Observer Group for the 2025/26 season contains a wealth of coaching experience.
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The UEFA Technical Observer Group will be monitoring UEFA's club competitions in depth, with stats and video assistance enabling them to deliver detailed reports on the latest developments in coaching which are shared among the footballing community to give a dynamic account of the state of the game.
Who are the UEFA Technical Observers for the 2025/26 Champions League?
Sir Gareth Southgate
A defender and midfielder who won 57 caps for England, Southgate moved from playing to coaching at Middlesbrough in 2006, then managed England's U21s before taking the senior job in 2016. He led his side to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of the 2020 and 2024 EUROs.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær
A renowned striker who won six Premier League titles at Manchester United, and scored the winner in the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League final, Solskjær steered Molde to two league titles in his native Norway then reached the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League final as United boss.
Roberto Martínez
The Spanish midfielder shone in England as a player then as a coach with both Wigan and Swansea, but a spell in charge of Premier League Everton heralded even higher-profile work. Belgium boss from 2016–22, he then took the Portugal helm, overseeing their 2024/25 UEFA Nations League triumph.
Rafa Benítez
Benítez made his name by winning two league championships and the UEFA Cup with Valencia in the early 2000s before steering Liverpool to a famous victory in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final. He subsequently won the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League at Chelsea.
Rui Faria
Rui Faria worked as assistant to José Mourinho, winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League at Porto, multiple domestic titles with Chelsea and Real Madrid, the 2009/10 Champions League with Inter and then the 2016/17 Europa League with Manchester United.
Steve Cooper
A coach who always urges his teams to play with courage and flair, Cooper took charge of the England Under-16 and U17 teams before accepting his first senior role at Swansea. He went on to manage Nottingham Forest and Leicester, and has recently been appointed at Danish side Brøndby.
Frank de Boer
The 112-cap Netherlands defender lifted multiple domestic titles at Ajax and Barcelona, as well as the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League with the Amsterdam club. He won four more Dutch league crowns as Ajax coach from 2010–16, and later led the Oranje to UEFA EURO 2020.
Roy Hodgson
One of the most experienced Technical Observers, Hodgson has managed a total of 22 different teams in eight countries, including four national sides: Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland and England. The well-travelled veteran also speaks five languages.
Avram Grant
A youth coach since his teens, Grant guided Maccabi Tel-Aviv to two Israeli titles before coaching Israel from 2002–06. He took Chelsea to the UEFA Champions League final in 2007/08, won a league title in Serbia with Partizan and is currently Zambia's national team boss.
Claude Makélélé
A player so influential that the 'Makélélé role' has become a common phrase in football's lexicon. Regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders of all time after starring for Real Madrid, Chelsea and Paris among others, Makélélé has also managed in France, Belgium and Greece.
Aitor Karanka
A Liga and UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid between two spells at Athletic Club, defender Karanka became Spain's Under-16 coach after hanging up his boots, and has since occupied the hot seat at Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham, Granada and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Michael O'Neill
A midfielder for Newcastle, Dundee United and Hibernian among others, O'Neill won 31 caps for Northern Ireland. He steered Shamrock Rovers to back-to-back championships in the Republic of Ireland, and is in his second spell as Northern Ireland boss, having taken his side to UEFA EURO 2016.
Gaizka Mendieta
A two-time UEFA Champions League runner-up with Valencia, midfielder Mendieta also played in Italy and England and was capped 40 times by Spain. Since hanging up his boots in 2008, the former Barcelona player has been doing media work and a spot of DJing.
Steve Holland
Having gained his FA coaching badge at 22, Holland spent 17 years working in Crewe Alexandra's famous footballing academy. He was assistant to a series of successful managers at Chelsea and served as Gareth Southgate's second-in-command as England reached the final of UEFA EURO 2020.
Ioan Lupescu
A composed and intelligent midfielder, Lupescu enjoyed a successful career in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen and was a key figure in Romania's revered 1990s generation. After retiring, he transitioned into football administration, serving with UEFA for many years.
David James
Capped 53 times by England, the goalkeeper spent long spells in the Premier League with Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, Manchester City and Portsmouth. Subsequent adventures have taken him to Iceland and India, while he has combined coaching with work as a television pundit.
Steffen Freund
The hard-working midfielder won EURO '96 with Germany and helped Dortmund to secure two Bundesliga titles and the 1996/97 UEFA Champions League. He coached Germany's U16 and U17 teams and worked as assistant coach at Tottenham from 2012–14, having played for the club from 1998–2003.
David Adams
Chief football officer at the Football Association of Wales, Adams oversees the senior men's and women's national teams. Formerly a sports science lecturer, he was head of coaching at Swansea City and assistant head coach at Middlesbrough before assuming his current position.
Wayne Allison
After a 20-year playing career in England, Wayne Allison took behind-the-scenes coaching jobs before gaining a doctorate for his work on how high-intensity exercise effects decision-making in football. He is currently coaching director at PGMOL, the body for England's professional referees.
Aljoša Asanović
The midfielder started and finished his career at Hajduk Split, his travels taking him to France, England, Spain, Italy, Greece, Austria, Australia and Canada, as well as to EURO '96 with Croatia. He assisted former team-mate Slaven Bilić with Croatia from 2006–12 and more recently coached Zambia.
Patrick Bonner
Capped 80 times by the Republic of Ireland, goalkeeper Bonner made close to 650 senior appearances for Celtic and won five Scottish titles. Since playing his final game in 1995, he has taken on a number of roles with the Football Association of Ireland, including a spell as technical director.
Dušan Fitzel
A defensive midfielder who spent the bulk of his playing career at Dukla Praha, Fitzel made his name as a coach with Czechia's youth teams, then enjoyed a successful spell in charge of Malta's national team from 2006–09.
Stefan Kuntz
A forward, Kuntz was one of the stars of the Kaiserslautern side that won the 1990/91 Bundesliga and then featured in Germany's EURO '96-winning team. As a coach, he led Germany to two U21 EURO triumphs and then coached Türkiye. He is currently sporting director at Hamburg.
Mixu Paatelainen
After a successful playing career as a striker in Scotland and England, the 70-cap Finnish international moved into coaching. He took the reins at Hibernian, Kilmarnock and Dundee United and also coached the Finland, Latvia and Hong Kong national teams.
Willi Ruttensteiner
Ruttensteiner established himself as a senior coach and youth expert in Austrian football, culminating in a six-year stint as Austria U21 boss from 1999. He was the Austrian national association's sporting director from 2001–17, and subsequently sporting director, then coach, of Israel.
Vasilis Tsiartas
An attacking midfielder, Tsiartas represented AEK Athens and Sevilla, and delivered two crucial assists in Greece's triumphant UEFA EURO 2004 campaign. Since retiring in 2005, he has been a player agent and, briefly, sporting director at AEK Athens.