Europeans we preach too much, we should be more modest

Alexander Cheferinthe first man of the European Football Federation (Uefa), is known for the number of carefully restricts personal interviewsthey write with a German sports newspaper Kicker. Nevertheless, the day before the women’s Champions League final in Lisbon took time for a German newspaper and in a relaxed, but determined style revealed their thinking about key issueswhich mark contemporary football and the world.

When the word applies to unforgettable moments, Cheferin admits that the passion of a football fans often prevails in it. He described the semi -final match of the Champions League between Inter and Barcelona as the most exciting he has ever seen, and was particularly impressed by the outstanding goal defender Acerbi. The adrenaline was so powerful that even his wife, who was not a big football enthusiast, admitted that she couldn’t fall asleep after the match. He also shared an anecdote with a smile about his « happy » announcement of the finals between Inter and PSG, which he sent to a friend on 21. His hunt at the time was based on the feeling that PSG simply could not play worse than in the group work, and Inter stand out with an iron defense that received only one goal.

He touched on the success of new formats of European competitions, which, he said, exceeded all expectations. He emphasized the European League and the Conference League, where Slovenska Celje reached the quarterfinals with an eight million budget and competed equally with Fiorentina, whose budget goes back to € 200 million. « The new format gives more opportunities such clubs, » he stressed. According to him, Uefa also invests a lot in solidarity, distributing EUR 440 million annually (ten percent of EUR 4.4 billion), but is aware that « even if ninety percent of its revenues were distributed, some would still say that it is not enough. »

Ceferin also evaluated the Euro 2024 very positively, which took place in Germany. « First: a great organization, » he stressed. He especially praised the work of the police: « The police were fantastic – strict but friendly, confident but friendly. » He described the tournament as « unity and friendship festival ». Among the memories that remained most vivid in consciousness, he mentioned: “That Slovenia lost to Portugal, but we should not be sad because we had the opportunity to win and lost only after eleven. Spain deserved the title. For the second time in a row, England came to the finals and proved to be an exceptional team. And people should not forget that Germany was very close to the finals.  » Also, for the future of the League of Nations, it announces innovations that are expected to make the competition even more interesting without increasing the number of matches. They are also considering rewarding the best teams from the league part of competitions, for example with the advantage of domestic terrain in elimination fighting, but the decision has not yet been made.

When the word applies to unforgettable moments, Cheferin admits that the passion of a football fans often prevails in it. Photo: Jose Breton/Reuters

He rejected the idea of ​​abolishing extensions in club competitions and strongly emphasized that new leagues such as Kings League represent no serious danger to traditional football. “They can try with Kings, Queens or any leagues. I wish them success, « he said, but added that football is » part of our DNA « and that nothing can replace the feeling when you hear the Champions League anthem.

He talked about Fifi

He described the relationship between UEFA and FIFO as complex but in principle functional. “I wouldn’t say we are rivals. It’s just that we sometimes have different opinions, which is normal, since Uefa is not a member of Fife. We are a separate organization, « he explained. He stressed that in 99 percent of cases they agree, but that one percent where no is not attracted to the media and the public. He cited the congress in Belgrade in April, which people said was boring because there were no conflicts between him and Gianni InfantinFife President. He emphasized the independence of Uefa: “We are in a different position than confederations that are completely dependent on Fife. We are not and our members are not.  » He said how Uefa is sometimes perceived: “Sometimes we are perceived as arrogant Europeans with money protesting against everything that comes from others. But we sincerely want to have good relationships with other confederation and also with Fifa. « 

Regarding the expansion of the World Cups, he was very critical of the latest FIFE ideas. « From the beginning, we have been skeptical that more teams mean better quality, » he said. He explained that Uefa’s task was to protect European football and that with only nine of the sixties of sixties, it is difficult to stop some suggestions. Although Uefa believes that « it makes no sense to have more and more teams, » they agreed on forty -eight teams in men and women’s World Cup because it « does not hurt European football ». However, he described the new proposal for forty -four teams as « absolute nonsense », against which they will « fight », as the tournament would be too long and qualifications would become pointless, which would be « funny for football quality ». Despite these differences, he stressed that organizations had a functional attitude, that their administrations are in constant contact and that Fife President Gianni Infantino will be invited to the Champions League final. He concluded his position by saying, « I am old enough to understand that you have to choose battles, not to fight just because of the fight itself. »

Regarding the expansion of the World Cups, he was very critical of the latest FIFE ideas. Photo: Filipe Amorim/AFP

In integrating the opinions of coaches and players in decisions, he mentioned that they had consulted several top coaches before the reform of the competitions, who were initially very positive. « One later replaced the club and changed your mind – but I won’t tell who, » Ceferin added.

He also pays a lot of attention to the development of women’s football, which, according to him, is growing rapidly and represents an important investment for the future, although big competitions like the Euro women are still a financial challenge for UEFA. Instead of the same payment that Uefa cannot impose on the same standards in all areas.

Ceferin was cautious about the new, widespread club FIFE World Cup. « It’s hard to comment on a tournament that has not started yet, » he said. He admitted that the tournament wanted clubs, especially large. He also expressed the thought: « Now we are facing five weeks long tournaments at the end of the season – but then the new season starts immediately … We will see, it’s hard to say. »

Towards the end of the conversation, Ceferin also expressed serious concern over the current global political situation, wars and double criteria of European governments, which treat the same situations differently in terms of political interests. He believes that politicians have never seemed so alienated from people. In this context, he criticized the European attitude towards the rest of the world: “We Europeans preach too much to other continents, while we have a lot of problems in the EU ourselves. We are too incident. We should be more modest and understand that we are not the center of the world – the whole world should be the center.  » Nevertheless, he reiterated his view that the Russian U17 youth teams should be allowed to play, as these are children who should not be victims of adult political decisions.

Finally, he shared with a smile his experience by playing in the UEFA promotional film, where he found out that the acting profession was « difficult work » but enjoyed the company of legends such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Luís Figo