Three members of the Malta Football Coaches' Association (MFCA), namely Joe Micallef, Jimmy Briffa and Godfrey Grima, participated in the 25th UEFT (Union of European Football Coaches) Symposium, held in Portugal late last month.

The 220 participating coaches from all FIFA confederations, including many national and top club coaches, were initially addressed by Dr Jozef Venglos, president of the UEFT, Jose Pereira, president of the Portugal Coaches Association, and Dr Gilberto Madail, head of the Portuguese FA.

Otto Rehhagel, the German coach who guided Greece to their outstanding triumph in Euro 2004, made the first presentation of the symposium.

Aptly titled 'Impossible is Nothing', Rehhagel provided a detailed report of Greece's march to the European title in Portugal while Andy Roxburgh, head of the Technical Department at UEFA, presented his analysis of the Euro tournament - European Trends 2004.

The three Maltese coaches also attended a practical session about Tactical Spacing that was conducted by the coach of Belenenses.

Other interesting presentations were made by Dr Jose Neto and Holger Osieck, head of FIFA's Technical Development.

The symposium wrapped up with a lecture by Luiz Felipe Scolari, coach of Euro 2004 runners-up Portugal and a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002. Scolari's contribution, called 'Differences between World and European Championship', focused on his experience from leading two different teams in these two major football events.

Micallef, Briffa and Grima will be sharing the experience and knowledge they gained from their participation in the UEFT meeting with fellow members of the MFCA. The gathering is scheduled for Monday, November 29 at St Aloysius College, starting at 6 p.m.

During the symposium, Micallef was also chosen to vote in the UEFT's 2004 general assembly.