As a player, Sablon played for Belgian side Merchtem during the 1970s. [2]
Sablon was part of the staff for the Belgium national team at the 1986, 1990, and 1994 FIFA World Cups.[ citation needed ] In 2001, he was appointed technical director of the Belgium national team. [3] He is credited with helping lay the foundations for the twenty-first century "golden generation" of the Belgium national team. [4]
In 2015, he was appointed technical director of the Singapore national team. [5] After that, he was appointed technical director of the United Arab Emirates national team. [6] He has also worked for FIFA. [7]
Vincenzo "Enzo" Daniele Scifo is a retired Belgian football midfielder. He has also managed the Belgium national under-21 football team and several Belgian club sides. He played for clubs in Belgium, France and Italy, where he won several domestic titles. At international level, he was a member of the Belgium national team, for which he appeared in four FIFA World Cups, being one of three Belgian players ever to do so.
Total Football is a tactical system in association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. A player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure. In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role; anyone can successively play as an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The only player who must stay in a specified position is the goalkeeper.
Michel François Platini is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, and came seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. In recognition of his achievements, he was named a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1985 and became an Officier in 1998. As the president of UEFA in 2015 he was banned from involvement in football under FIFA's organisation, over ethics violations. The ban will last until 2023.
The France national football team represents France in men's international football. It is controlled by the French Football Federation, the governing body for football in France. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colors and imagery reference two national symbols: the French blue-white-red tricolour and Gallic rooster. The team is colloquially known as Les Bleus. They play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and train at Centre National du Football in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines.
Franky Van der Elst is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He later worked as a manager.
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for AFC Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team for four spells. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all-time.
The Royal Belgian Football Association is the governing body of football in Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and was based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, the headquarters of the RBFA are located in Tubize, next to its technical centre. Its chairman is Robert Huygens.
Marc Robert Wilmots is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who most recently managed Raja CA. During his club career as an attacking midfielder, he won trophies with KV Mechelen, Standard Liège and Schalke 04. He also represented the Belgium national team.
Michel Georges Jean Ghislain Preud'homme is a Belgian retired footballer and manager who played as a goalkeeper. Currently, he is vice-president and sports director at Standard Liège.
Leo Beenhakker CM is a Dutch football coach. He has had an extensive and successful career both at club and international level. He led both Ajax and Feyenoord to Dutch championships and also had domestic success with Real Madrid. At international level, he led Trinidad and Tobago to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Poland to UEFA Euro 2008, both firsts for each nation. His role in Spanish football has earned him the nickname Don Leo, largely due to his fondness of cigars and dry humour.
Eric Maria Gerets is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a right back.
Paul Van Himst is a Belgian former football player and a football manager who played as a forward, most notably for R.S.C. Anderlecht.
Michel François Hidalgo was a French professional footballer and manager. He was the head coach of the France national team from 1976 to 1984, with whom he won the UEFA Euro 1984 on home soil, also reaching the semi-finals of the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
Varadaraju Sundramoorthy is a former Singaporean international footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, is widely touted as one of the country's most skilful and talented footballers ever. He is the current technical director of the Laos national football team.
Aide Iskandar bin Sahak is a former professional footballer. He was a member of the Singapore national team which won the AFF Championship in 1998, 2004 and 2007, captaining the team in the latter two editions.
Juan Carlos Oblitas Saba is a retired Peruvian footballer, who is a football manager, who is nicknamed El Ciego. Oblitas was an extraordinary outside left wing forward at the national team level for Peru back in the 1970s and 1980s.
In a sport, a Golden Generation, or Golden Team is an exceptionally gifted group of players of similar age, whose achievements reach or are expected to reach a level of success beyond that which their team had previously achieved. The term was first being cited by the media for Portugal's success during the FIFA Youth Championships in both 1989 and 1991. Below is a list of teams who have been referred to by the media as golden generations, most of which played in the 21st century.
Stephen David Darby is an English football coach and former player. He is well known throughout Asia as a pundit for ESPN Star Sports.
Alistair Martin Edwards is a former soccer player and coach. A prominent forward, he made a name for himself with National Soccer League clubs Sydney Olympic and Perth Glory. He was also a favourite with Malaysian League teams Sarawak FA, Selangor FA, Singapore FA, Johor FA and Kedah FA in the 1990s. Alistair is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Johor Darul Ta'zim.
Jan Van Winckel is a Belgian football coach, UEFA and AFC Pro License Instructor and a FIFA Technical Expert. He is senior technical consultant at the United Arab Emirates Football Association and technical advisor of Al-Ahli Saudi.