The second SEKISUI European Football Tournament took place this year in Herkenbosch, Netherlands. Since the Dutch team EAFV (Ex Amateurs For Victory) won the tournament last year in Tarragona, HISPANIA FC wanted to bring the cup to Spain. However, the competition this year was strong. Not only did the last year’s winner want to defend his title, but for the first time a Japanese team took part in the tournament.
All in all, ten teams from six different countries travelled to the SEKISUI European Football Tournament in Herkenbosch. In the best autumn weather, they arrived one day before the tournament. After check-in, name badges were received, which were to play an important role during the evening.
Breaking the ice
After the players were taken by bus from the hotel to the clubhouse of SVH’39 in the early evening, there was not only a delicious buffet. After the welcoming of the teams by Henk Dohmen, captain of last year’s winning team, and the draw of the matches for the following tournament day by Makoto (Marco) Osuga and Hideki Ishikawa, the actual highlight of the evening followed: activities to break the ice.
And this is where the name badges came in: to which of the 10 teams the players belonged to were revealed to them by the colour on their badge. Together, they had to tackle a total of five tasks. In order to master these challenges successfully in a team, the first task of the players was to get to know each other better on speed dating.
In the clubhouse, the teams had to prove their reflexes in table football. Their knowledge, on the other hand, was surveyed during the soccer and company quiz. In the open air, they could show their marksmanship by shooting on the goal wall under bright floodlights and test their coordination during the football juggling.
In the end, the beige-coloured Team 5 was awarded this prize the next day. After the activities, the players let the evening end in a relaxed atmosphere before returning to the hotel by bus at midnight.
Perfect conditions on match day
The day before, the weather had already played along. And on the day of the tournament, too, it showed its best side. The matches of the preliminary round started at 9 am. In Group A,
- EAFV (Ex Amateurs For Victory),
- ER United,
- Expected Toulouse,
- Allington Un-Athletic and
- Top Scorer BS
competed against each other. In Group B,
- HISPANIA FC,
- Alveo United,
- Legends in Progress,
- Zwarte Samurai and
- TTLB (Tikki Takka Like Barcelona)
were fighting for the group win.
The preliminary round games offered surprises
Group A started with a surprise. Last year’s winner EAFV lost its first two games against Expected Toulouse and Allington Un-Athletic by 0 to 1. After the games, Karem Azzimani from EAFV stated, that “the results until now are not what they are used to be”. He also underlined the strong competition this year, a fact that was extremely positive for him.
Expected Toulouse and Allington Un-Athletic finished first and second in Group A with three wins each. Only in a direct encounter did the two teams have to settle for a draw. As Roel Philipsen from Expected Toulouse said amusedly in view of the results of the preliminary round, his team has fortunately “not lived up to expectations”. The same was true for Allington Un-Athletic. Any fitness deficits – if there were any at all – were compensated by the appearance of THE Darren Bodkin which, as player Chris Carter emphasizes, “is a rock at the back and always there“.
Fourth and fifth places went to Top Scorer BS and ER United. While Top Scorer BS scored their only victory over ER United, ER United was without any win after the group stage. Weakened by the early injury of one of their team members, ER United did not leave the tournament unsuccessfully. The team not only won the Fair Play Award, but ER United’s very own Patty Prickaerts was also voted Best Goalkeeper of the tournament.
Group B was dominated by TTLB. With a 17-0 goal difference, they led the group as the front runners after four games. Kenneth Schadt from TTLB attributed the increase in his team’s performance this year to the young team and the training of general fitness in advance: “It pays off, more condition, feels good on the field”. With a total of six goals, Kenneth Schadt was the tournament’s top goal scorer with Adefolahan Majoyegbe from Allington Un-Athletic and Timo Bender from Top Scorer BS.
After three wins in a row, TTLB had to settle for zero to zero against HISPANIA FC. The Spanish team also took second place in the group behind TTLB with three victories and a draw. Manuel Rivero Gómez from HISPANIA FC – also known as Pirlo – noted that his team has remained virtually unchanged from last year: “Is the same team more or less, only one change”.
The places 3 to 5 were taken by Legends in Progress, Alveo United and Zwarte Samurai in this order. “We tried to get back in progress and the legends we have been”, noted Peter Ampts after the games. Robin Horndt of Alveo United – which also had to compensate for the loss of a team member due to an early injury – attributed the ranking to a lack of fitness and technique, but at the same time emphasized that his team wanted to have fun first and foremost. In spite of fifth place, Shinji Yasukata from Zwarte Samurai conjured up the strength of his team: “We never give up, we have samurai soul”.
Two late goals decided the tournament
The preliminary round matches were followed by a one and half hour lunch break. During this time the players were not only able to strengthen themselves, but could also be pepped up by the physiotherapists. The final games started at 2.30 pm. In contrast to the preliminary round matches, players stepped out of the catacombs with smoke and the sounds of the Champions League anthem to enter the playing field for the final matches. A spectacle not only for the players, but also for the fans, who had come in large numbers to support their teams.
Expected Toulouse and HISPANIA FC confronted each other in the first semi-final. The second semi-final was played between Allington Un-Athletic and TTLB. Both games were highly competitive and open until the end. As there was no fixed winner on both fields after the regular playing time, all four teams went into extra time. The Spanish team scored a late goal and won the game 1-0 at the end of extra time. Allington Un-Athletic also beat TTLB 1-0.
In the match for third place, TTLB won 3:2 against Expected Toulouse in the penalty shootout. Maarten Haasdijk of TTLB was also awarded Best Player of the Tournament. Last year’s winners EAFV finished the tournament in 5th place. In the end, the teams from Spain and England faced each other in the final. In a fiercely contested and intense game, HISPANIA FC beat Allington Un-Athletic again with a late 1-0 win, bringing the cup back to Spain.
Closing of the tournament with award ceremony and barbecue
After the final matches, the award ceremony took place in the club house. A novelty this year was the award for the winner of the newly introduced football bet. Everyone had the chance to bet on the team of their choice for a good cause via an online form in the SEKISUI newsroom. This year, the prize was won by Javier Rojo, who donated 430 euros to the organisation “AFANOC – Niños con cancer”. After the prizes were handed over, there was a delicious barbecue for the players and fans. Afterwards, the evening ended in a humid and cheerful atmosphere with the sounds of well-known party classics.
Plant tour and time to say good bye
The next day started with a voluntary tour of the facilities of SEKISUI S-Lec. At 11 am the attendees returned to the hotel, said goodbye to each other and went either by bus to the airport or by car back home. All in all, the football tournament was a very special experience with exciting matches, fair play and friendship!
