Dubai: Former Germany goalkeeper Andreas Kopke will be the star attraction at the two-day GS Goalkeeper Symposium being organised by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) from Wednesday.
Kopke will take centre stage at the opening session of the symposium at 10.15 am on Wednesday, sharing insights gleaned from the training of goalkeepers at the national level that was the subject of his study ‘German football team/First league clubs'. The study was tabled following Germany's successful run at the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.
"At the Dubai Sports Council we are in constant search of raising the bar for sports at all levels. With this symposium we will be catering to a very integral and crucial part of football," said Mattar Al Tayer, deputy chairman, DSC.
Penalty save
Kopke, who turned 50 on Monday, is best remembered for his decisive penalty save to deny Gareth Southgate in the semi-finals of Euro 1996 in England which took Germany to the final.
Though he was voted Fifa goalkeeper of the year in 1996, Kopke spent a major part of his career in the shadow of Bodo Illgner, particularly when Germany won the 1990 World Cup.
But once he became the first-choice goalkeeper of the national team, Kopke became a permanent fixture, making 59 appearances until his retirement following their quarter-final loss to Croatia in the 1998 World Cup.
"Andreas [Kopke] has been in-charge of the German national team goalkeepers for the past few years and his presence at the symposium will definitely be a great motivation for our players here," Al Tayer said.
Kopke will also lead a panel discussion while answering questions from the participants, along with other experts including Dr Karl-Heinrich Dittmar, manager of the Medical Department at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Claus Reithmaier, former goalkeeper and now trainer at HSV, and Dimo Wache, former goalkeeper of Mainz 05.
Kopke will also conduct practical demonstrations in goalkeeping techniques and tactics.
