A320 FLC WERE STARTLED TO ROLL OUT ON INBOUND HOLDING LEG BY OBSERVING ANOTHER ACFT COMING FROM THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION ALSO IN THE HOLDING PATTERN. RPTRS DSNDED AND THE ARTCC CTLR TURNED THEM TO ANOTHER HDG TO HELP IN SEPARATION.

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RECEIVED CLRNC TO DSND FROM FL250 TO FL240 AND SWITCHED FROM ZMP TO ANOTHER ZMP FREQ. AS WE ROLLED OUT ON OUR INBOUND COURSE TO EAU VOR IN A 20 MI HOLD; ANOTHER ACFT (EITHER B727 OR DC9) WAS ALSO LEVELING OFF AT FL240 TRAVELING SSEBOUND. OUR INBOUND COURSE WAS 303 DEGS ON THE 123 DEG RADIAL OF EAU. WE OBSERVED THE ACFT ON TCASII; WHICH WAS 507 MI AND CONVERGING. THE CAPT MADE HIS CHK ON XMISSION WITH MSP WHILE I REDUCED MY RANGE TO 10 MI ON THE EFIS SCREEN. WITHIN 30-60 SECONDS; WE RECEIVED A TA FOLLOWED BY AN RA TO DSND. WE WERE ABLE TO VISUALLY IDENT THE ACFT IN QUESTION. AT THE SAME TIME WE RECEIVED AN RA; THE CTLR DSNDED THE OTHER ACFT FO FL230 AT THE SAME TIME WE WERE DSNDING PER THE TA. THE CTLR TURNED US N ON A 360 DEG HDG. ONCE CLR OF CONFLICT; WE RETURNED TO FL240. I BELIEVE THERE WERE TOO MANY ACFT TRYING TO HOLD; AND AVOID WX THAT WAS IN THE AREA. IT WAS CLR THAT THE CTLRS DID NOT PROPERLY COORDINATE THEIR DSCNTS; AND KEEP TRACK OF WHO WAS HOLDING WHERE AND DEVIATING AT THE SAME TIME.