Referees preparing in 'ideal' conditions

The 17th team at UEFA EURO 2008™ – the referees, assistant referees and fourth officials – are reaching the knockout stage of the tournament happy in the knowledge UEFA has provided them with excellent conditions in which to prepare and relax for their assignments.

Optimum help
The European body is given optimum help in choosing its officials' quarters for each major tournament by Werner Helsen, the Belgian referee fitness expert who has been working together with UEFA for several years as refereeing has evolved along with the game itself. Today's top match officials are tremendously dedicated athletes. Gone are the roly-poly arbiters struggling and sweating to keep up with the action. To succeed today, a referee and his assistants have to be ultra-fit to cope with the pace of the game. They have to be tactically aware, to know how sides might approach a match, and they have to possess nerves of steel to handle the psychological demands placed on them during high-stakes élite football. 

Excellent facilities
So, like the players, the referees get only the best when they are chosen for a championship such as UEFA EURO 2008™, where Helsen is on hand to look after their fitness and training requirements along with his team. "We are sitting here five minutes' distance from the hotel," Helsen told euro2008.com at the referees' training ground in Regensdorf, near Zurich. "The facilities they offer us in the hotel are truly excellent. Especially for the post-match recovery, because normally, a day after the game, the referees stay in the hotel to work in the fitness centre. We really have everything we need there, including a sauna, jacuzzi and a swimming-pool centre, so we couldn't be happier with the hotel."

Thorough preparations
Helsen explains that the choice of referees' quarters for a EURO finals is planned meticulously. "Actually, the next [UEFA] European Championship immediately starts when the last one has just finished," he emphasised. "UEFA has worked for a long time to arrange this accommodation. To be specific, the thorough preparations already began about a year ago, including the hotel and facility arrangements."

Mountain-bike riding
Helsen outlines the schedule of a typical day at Regensdorf. "This morning at 07.15CET, there was an optional programme for the referees that want to do something extra – this consisted of a mountain-bike trip. We have 50 mountain bikes here for the referees. We left at 07.15 and we rode our mountain bikes for 45-50 minutes. In Switzerland, mountain-biking means going up and downhill, and it was very pretty. We saw beautiful areas outside of Regensdorf.

Adapted training
"After this, we have breakfast. At 09.45, everyone leaves for a compulsory training session. This session consists of several parts.  We have a special programme for the teams that have a match the next day – this is limited to 40-45 minutes. Then we have a more intense programme for the teams that are between matches. And for the teams that have just come back from their game, we have a recovery programme that is organised inside the hotel, because there we have the bike and treadmills, the sauna and the jacuzzi to give them the best possible recovery."

Ideal circumstances
The training facilities in Regensdorf are perfect for the 44 referees, assistants and fourth officials – even if summer has been slow to show its sunny side in the north of Switzerland. "The circumstances are ideal, with several natural grass terrains ... and if the weather turns really bad, we can even use an artificial grass pitch," added Helsen. "And we have indoor sport facilities nearby, so we have everything we need."