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Former Bayer Leverkusen and Germany midfielder, Simon Rolfes, is now the Bayer Leverkusen Sporting Director. We spoke to Simon and learnt more about his career as a player, his experiences playing for Germany at Euro 2008 and the positives of the MIP Alumni course.   Tell us about your career on the pitch? I played for five season at Werder Bremen, then I moved on to Alemnannia Aachen which allowed me to play in what was then known as the ‘UEFA Cup'. This tournament allowed me to develop and it was great to play as underdogs in the tournament and we [...]

Simon Rolfes, a graduate from the inaugural UEFA MIP course, has been named as the Sporting Director of Bayer 04 Leverkusen.  Simon is now one of the youngest Sporting Directors in the Bundesliga at 36 years old. The MIP graduate retired from professional football less than four years ago, after starring for Leverkusen and playing 377 games for the club and scoring 48 goals. He replaces the previous Sporting Director, Jonas Boldt, who had been in the role for a year and will work alongside Boldt whilst transitioning in to the job from 1st December until the end of the season. Prior [...]

We had the pleasure of speaking to Keld Bordinggaard, MIP board member and ex-Silkeborg IF and Denmark International and now owner of 'Bordinggaard Football' Keld gives us a greater understanding of his journey from being a young footballer in Denmark, to becoming a Danish International, then transititioning to the coaching side of the game. Then finally, he gives us a great understanding of his time on the UEFA MIP course and his current role within the football industry.   How long was your footballing career and where did you play? Keld: “I came in to football late, I was a handball [...]

MIP board members Bianca Rech and Bruno Cheyrou waited in anticipation of the draw for the Quarter-Finals of the 2018/19 UEFA Women's Champions League Draw. Bruno and Bianca have done a fantastic job leading their teams as Sporting Director and Team Manager, respectively. Their teams PSG Ladies and Bayern Munich Ladies were kept apart in the draw and will only play each other if they both reach the final. PSG Ladies were drawn away against English powerhouses Chelsea in the first leg, with the return leg back in Paris a week after. Whilst, Bayern Munich Ladies were drawn away against Czech [...]

Jason Roberts is currently in Cairo, Egypt at an important discussion with FIFA to meet up with the Technical & Development Committee. In light of the latest incidents, violence in stadia, referees refusing to use the VAR, a player tearing his shirt in front of his complicit coach, the President has reaffirmed his willingness to undertake various reforms. Despite the 26 referees who have been sanctioned and the ongoing investigations, the President thinks CAF still have a long way from its objectives of cleaning CAF. CAF President Ahmad Ahmad opened the meeting of the Technical & Development Committee in Cairo, Egypt, highlighting on [...]

The first cohort of MIP alumni met up in Lyon, France earlier this year. The MIP Alumni looked back at the tremendous memories that the UEFA MIP course has helped to create as they court up and re-connected over a game of futsal. MIP alumni including current PSG Ladies Sporting Director, Bruno Cheyrou, Simon Rolfes, Mbo Mpenza, and Christian Karembeu were all present at this meeting and even had a futsal game to continue their friendly rivalries on the pitch. It was a very enjoyable day and as the MIP community grows we look forward to many more days like this. In particular, MIP [...]

We spoke to ex-Bayern Munich Ladies and Germany defender, and now current Bayern Munich ladies Sporting Director and MIP Board member, Bianca Rech. Here is part of the transcript of her interview.   What are the best pieces of advice you’ve been given about management? Bianca: Best piece of advice – Listen to people. Don’t just decide because you think it’s the right thing to do. When you work in a group it’s very important to listen to the people and this especially applies to management. You were the first group of MIP graduates. How do you think MIP had helped you to develop and succeed in [...]

UEFA has announced that Roberto Rosetti is to replace Pierluigi Collina as its Chief Refereeing Officer, after Collina announced his decision to step down for personal reasons at the UEFA summer refereeing course in Nyon yesterday. Roberto Rosetti, 50, was an international referee from 2002 up to his retirement in 2010. The highlight of his career came during UEFA EURO 2008, where he refereed the opening match between Switzerland and the Czech Republic, as well as the final which saw Spain win the tournament against Germany.  In 2008 he was awarded the honour of being named the World’s Best Referee by [...]

As the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia has been completed it has been great to see a number of our alumni attend the World Cup in a variety of capacities. Alumni who have travelled out to Russia include Bruno Cheyrou, Nuno Gomes, Christian Karembeu and Jason Roberts. It is great to see our alumni have attended the World Cup in different capacities as Bruno, Nuno and Christian have covered the World Cup with BeIn France, BeIn Sport and ZDF respectively. Whilst, Jason attended the World Cup in his role as Director of Development for CONCACAF. He [...]

FC Barcelona announces that Robert Fernández will not extend his contract as the football first team technical secretary which runs out on 30 June of this year. The Club would like to thank Robert Fernández publicly for his commitment and dedication to FC Barcelona over the years and wishes him success in the future. As such, FC Barcelona also announces that Éric Abidal will take over the role as football first team technical secretary. His official presentation will be on Monday 18 July. The former Barça player returns to the Club that he joined in 2007 and where he won [...]