THAILAND SOCCER 7S TEAMS' REPORTS

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Report by Frence Dragons FC - HongKong (Winner of the 2007 Bangkok Soccer 7s)

French  Dragons

The French Dragons just went to Bangkok (March 24/25) & guess what ?:

Report by German All Stars Bangkok (2006 HotelTravel Phuket Soccer 7s)

GAS goes on Tour to Phuket… Friday 24th November 2006: The troops gathered at the new Suvarnabhumi airport on Friday evening at 3 o’clock to get the Air Asia flight at 4 o’clock. The squad showed 10 players, Otto (“The President), Matze (“Matt the Cat” and coach), Daryl (“The communication officer” and organizer of the trip), Raphael (“For a good job I pay good money”), Thorsten (“The Massage man”), Malte (“The slowest player of the year” – or “41 years old I couldn’t believe”) and Sven (“Always close your back”). Colin (“The Scotsman”) was already in Phuket with his wife and Johann ( “Stutzen Friedrich”) as well as Domenic (“The Silverhead”) joining on later flights. The flight was delayed by two hours so we had plenty of time to start the “warm-up” in the airport with some beers and pizza. The highly organized communication officer checked the internet for our games the next day (09:20 am) which caused some bad comments from the team. After arriving in Phuket and arriving safely at our hotel (pick up worked out perfectly) the team was quite happy to be rid of “The Cat’s” singing opera as per usual in the bus after a few drinks. Shortly refreshed we started for the evening event at Patong Beach. The target was Soi Crocodile were each team had his own pub with the necessary surroundings. After all the team had come together, with Johan and Dominic arriving later, we had a nice “warm-up” until the early hours in the next morning. Saturday 25th November 2006: A harsh wake up call from Daryl, the team baby sitter, woke the team up at 07.45 am with many hangovers from various people and some other surprises too, like the maid cleaning the room so early. We picked up some sandwiches on the way to the pitch and arrived with a few minutes to spare. The pitches were not comparable with what we have in Bangkok and the difference to the beach was not big. Game-1: GAS vs. Phuket Morning Star (PMS) (0:3) Two times 7 minutes and we weren’t on the pitch for 10 minutes out of the 14 minutes. The alcohol was still stopping some of the players from having their normal approach and Malte was even in another atmosphere. Matze in the goal couldn’t do anything about players frequently coming through to him alone and we were down by 0:2 at half time. The team didn’t show any better performance in the second half were we gave up another goal and lost this game by 0:3. The consensus of the players was that is was too early for a German team to play. Game 2: GAS vs. Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (CCFC) (2:0) Daryl being slightly injured went going in goal for Matze who played outside now to stabilize the defense. We were playing with a good defense and Matze was putting his or “The Body” between himself and a player of CFCC. Sven arrived from the back and took the brilliantly prepared ball of Matze and hammered it into the net. 1:0 at the half in our favor. After half time we controlled the game and Dome and Johan worked well together upfront as well as Raphael and Otto. After a long kick-off from Matze, Johan controlled the ball and kicked it nicely into the net and we were two goals up. Game 3: GAS vs. Orchid Rovers (1:1) After only a one game break the tired GAS players tried to keep up the spirit from the game before and started good into the game. An early goal from Johan brought us 1:0 up against the Singapore team. We had several other chances to score but we just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net. In the second half after a corner kick they got the equalizer and we just couldn’t come back into the game to win it thus it ended with a draw. After this result it was already clear that we have to go for the bowl competition the next day. Game 4: GAS vs. Tokyo Hiberian (0:2) The last game of the day showed how the team, while absolutely magnificent in the previous evenings “warm-up” the night before, just couldn’t pull it together. In a word – awful. Johan got injured again, the same as always. Malte stepped in one of the many holes in the field and injured leg allowing a Hiberian player through to an easy goal. In the end we conceded two goals against a team that we should have normally won easily. However, everybody was happy that this was the last game as we could go back to the hotel and lick our wounds. That afternoon the squad relaxed by the pool with a couple of bottles vodka and some pizza before all took a nap in his room or in some cases at the massage parlor across the street. At 8:30 pm the team was relaxed enough to start another exciting tour of the Patong nightlife starting with some mechanical bull riding followed by some heavy drinking. In the late morning the people of Patong thought that Jurassic Park was being filmed again in Phuket, but in the end it was discovered that it was just Raphael running around the streets “hungry” and looking for ‘food’. Sunday 26th November 2006: This morning Daryl was way nicer and woke us up at a respectful 9:30 am to get prepared for the elimination game in the bowl competition. We arrived at the pitch 2 min. before the game started, in our minds that was enough time to get redressed and warmed up properly. Game 1: GAS vs Khana O’Malley’s (0:2) Right from the beginning we saw a team against us which must had blood for breakfast and they were thirsty for more. This game had nothing to do with casual football and Dominic was badly tackled several times which should have been dark red, but the ref had his whistle up his ass and different ideas about that. We went down 1:0 in the first half, but still had plenty of chances to score but to no avail. Not even the free kick of Otto’s “Schokoladenseite” found its way, rather it went awry at the corner. An “unlucky” save of our goalie Daryl gave the opponent the second goal and we were happy that we ended this game without bigger injuries. Missing from the roster for this game were Malte (injured ankle), Johan (injured groin – from playing) as well Colin (early flight) so we had only one sub and again the night before was still in the faces and bodies of the squad. The pool and massage events followed in the afternoon before the squad returned tired and again on a delayed flight back in Bangkok having a remarkable weekend behind them. Written by Matt the Cat and Daryl the communication officer/team baby sitter.

Report by Scandinavian Vikings (2006 HotelTravel Phuket Soccer 7s)

Vikings Return from Phuket with Medals In spite of winning just one game in a Phuket soccer tournament the Viking team won trophy and medals to bring back to Bangkok By Frank Jensen Having to promise to bring back silverware and medals in return for being allowed to play soccer in Phuket in stead of in the Casual League might seem like a tough ordeal, but that was exactly what Swede Johan “Mofok” Muhlman promised Vikings’ head coach Keld Bak.  Johan Muhlman and six Viking team mates left Bangkok on Friday the 24th of November to participate in the Thailand International Soccer 7s tournament in Phuket, which meant that the seven guys had to leave the rest of the Scandinavian Viking team to cope with the game in the Casual League. The Casual League was lost, but the guys in Phuket managed to bring back medals after two days of soccer in beautiful Phuket.   The Vikings ready for any opponent “We did not do as well as I had hoped for, but the main thing was that I was able to keep my promise to coach Keld,” a relived Johan “Mofok” Muhlman laughs. On Saturday the Vikings played three games in the Phuket Tournament. The first game against Royal Bangkok Sports Club ended goalless. Next game against Casual League rivals French team Les Galouis JVK Movers ended luckily for the Vikings also in a draw. “We were really lucky in that game, I have to say. We made the 2-2 goal in the very last second of the game,” the Swede explains. Last game on Saturday was against Bayon Wanderers FC from Cambodia. A game the Vikings lost 1-0. “They were really not that good, but we got tired as we had no substitutes. Furthermore I am sure that it did not help that I was goalkeeper in that game,” “Mofok” laughs. After winning trophy and medals it was time for a couple of cold beers. A perfect way to end a long day in the sun The defeat made the Vikings finish last in their group, which meant they were going to play in the Bowl, the loser’s tournament, on Sunday. “The Bowl was not all that important to us. And as socializing with the other teams is just as important for us as the soccer, we went out for a pretty heavy evening in the Phuket night life,” the Swede laughs. Despite lack of sleep on Sunday the Vikings were able to beat the British/Singaporean team One Night Stand Bar by 4-0 taking the Vikings to the Bowl-final, which was lost by 1-0 to the Lions FC from Singapore. Being runner-up in the Bowl tournament the Scandinavian Vikings was rewarded with trophy and medals which a bunch of very tired players returned to Bangkok with late Monday night. On Saturday December 2nd Vikings will once again have to face rivals Les Galouis. This time in the Casual League in Bangkok.

Report by Malaysian Grashoppers (2006 HotelTravel Phuket Soccer 7s)

Grasshoppers Runners Up in Phuket The Grasshoppers had a fantastic weekend ending up runners up in the bowl competition, losing unluckily in the final.

Report by German All Stars Singapore (2006 HotelTravel Phuket Soccer 7s)

Phuket - November 24/25 2006 All Stars "On Tour" is always a pleasure and so we took part @ the 7 a side tournie in Phuket. Performance on the pitch was not that extraordinary, even though we made it to the quarterfinals out of 22 teams, but performance off the pitch was tremendous. Many sweet memories, pictures and videos were done and brought back home in stead of silverware. A little imprssion is below. Enjoy and looking forward for more to come !!!

Report by Malaysian Grashoppers (2005 HotelTravel Phuket Soccer 7s)

MGs lose in Phuket The MGs made a gallant effort at the Phuket 7s, but only managed to score one goal during the competition. Unfortunately they were without a striker and had to resort to a makeshift forward line, who had a dodgy knee and hamstring! Nevertheless good performance were seen in most matches apart from against Team Bondi (who fielded 3 ex Aussie internationals) when we were taken apart 5v0.

Report by Shanghai Krauts (2005 HotelTravel Phuket Soccer 7s)

Phuket - November 2005, 3rd Phuket International Soccer 7s 2005 26. – 27. November 2005 Friday, November 25th: The first day.... Friday evening, 08:00 pm and the whole team met up complete and surprisingly on time (yes, also our South American friend) in the Pudong airport in front of the China Eastern Airlines counter, ready and motivated to conquer once again the holy fields and beaches of Phuket. The expectations before the tournament were as always high, but the task was simple: Win it all and bring the cup back home where it belongs. We entered battle with following crusaders... Nicolas Moeller Ralf Vogelmann "Birdman" Ayrton Viera "Don Detlef", how many gates did you score? Woody Feng "Hoelzchen" Dominik Mannchen, the assoziale HSV`ler Daniel Berger, "El Presidente" - we were still hoping at that time that he will not actually play in order to maintain our chances to win the cup, well...you can read outcome below... Patrick Helmich, "El Diretore...?!?" , Thomas Scheidt Specially flown in were Frank "Ossi" Seifert, flown in from Malaysia Heinrich Oetztuerk (sorry forgot your surname ), flown in from Istanbul. He was also celebrating his 56th to 68th birthday during the trip. And we also had 3,5 supporters to supply the team with food and beer during the tournament, which somehow did not really work out...: Jan-Eric Massfelder, "The living legend and Mann von Welt " Nils Holder Choi Sum So far so good, everybody lined up for the check-in, after Daniel finally lifted all 35 suitcases including his 15 golf bags on the belt and the lovely lady from China Eastern handed out the boarding tickets (the whole process actually took 45 minutes) we were able to enter to boarding zone, where the first practice had been scheduled immediately - fortunately we did not brake any glasses, which actually was a surprise looking at some of our guys with the two left feet...no comment who (as everybody knows....) The flight was delayed but took of on time (Pudong airport organisation…) and so we were finally heading to Phuket. Some used the flight to get some rest before the first games in the early morning, others to warm up for Soi Bangla by emptying all alcoholic drinks on that plane. Summarizing the highlights of rest of the day: we arrived on time and all luggage with us, the first beers in Phuket had a great taste before we finally went to bed to get some well deserved sleep. Saturday, November 26th: The second day.... An early wake up started with a disappointment - rain. At this time of year, incredible! After finishing breakfast and collecting our lost son Heinrich, we finally arrived at the pitch which was due to the rain in a very bad condition. The first game was scheduled for 10:51, the opponent Red Lions Taipei. Everybody was motivated and focused, considering that we were playing without Franz (the Spueler with the deadly pass) and Olaf (Mr. Sudden Death) we were convinced that we could win the tournament. 15 minutes later, everybody back on earth...first game lost 1-2. We started well but conceded the first goal after a throw in, Patrick could not overcome the gravity rules, good header and the ball fell into the far corner. Our response however came immediately with Woody scoring on the rebound of a free kick. A few minutes later however Ralf obviously mistook the striker with the ladyboys of Soi Bangla. His minute long hug resulted in a penalty, easy score for the 2-1. We tried everything in the second half but were not lucky enough to score the equalizer. As the 4th team in our group was playing out of competition, we already had the first final in the second group game. With a win we would be in the cup round, with a loss in the looser round "das muesche mir gwinna". Game 2 against the SCI Saints started perfectly, Ayrton with a great shot from 20 yards out to score the first "gate". But not much offence work afterwards. The opponent pressing and with several scoring chances. Nicolas with some strong saves but without chance against the equalizer. Finally the game ended in a draw, as the Saints later on beat the Red Lions, we were sent to the looser round. The third game of the day was a friendly match against some Indian Cricket and Rugby boys (Indian 7’s), with the highest win of the tournament (7:0) we sent them back home and made sure we at least have something to celebrate. The only thing I remember from that game was a goal from Daniel, who scored after all 7 Indian players missed the ball and he could not miss the empty net anymore from 1 yard out. The other goals came from Ayrton (3), Frank, Dominik and Woody. Though it only was a friendly game, the performance was so impressive, that ESPN decided to buy the rights for the broadcast of that game and was showing it several times throughout Asia, so that by now everybody knows that Ayrton comes from Bolivia and that the Krauts are not the most successful, but the most famous football team in Asia... One loss, one win, one draw: While the Shooters reached the Cup round with the same result, we had been sent to the looser round, but overall performance was good so not much disappointment. The trip back home was quiet, except a little argument between Daniel and Jan Eric, who was harshly critizing Daniel’s performance on the pitch ("Geh doch zu hause, du alte Scheisse), Daniel’s response was short and sweet: "Pass auf sonst gibt`s zwei Schellen, die zweite davon im Fallen"...silence afterwards... Back to the hotel, some got some well deserved sleep, others exchanged money which sometimes takes a bit longer than you expect....all guys met up again for the night out later on, I can not write much about the first night, as after some 25 Chivas Coke, my wings fell off early and all lights were shot out...god knows what happened after.... Sunday, November 27th: The third day Once again an early wake up call, some guys were eating breakfast still with closed eyes...which of course was the result of the early wake up and not the late home coming of last night. Out on the pitch, which was in better condition today (sunshine!), we found out that we have to play our Indian friends again in the first round of the ball’s (or bowl??) competition, which has now been given as target and goal to bring home. Tactical instructions given by the coach and out for the first match. We did not play very well (somebody too selfish....who ?!?) but easily won 2-0 through gates from Ayrton (2). This meant Semi-Final of the bowl competition against the local Baya Beach team. A one hour brake and we headed into the second game. Baya Beach had a good team so we had to be sharp from the first minute. No chances for both teams in the first half. Baya Beach with a few chances in the second but Nicolas kept the goal clean. Not much could be seen from us except one chance: Ayrton running into Woody, who was alone in front of the empty net....the ball however trickling around the post as result of that collision....no comment about this scene Ayrton!!! 0:0 after regular time which meant 5 minutes overtime. Without Olaf, we were sure to win the game and after one minute playing time, Daniel was standing cheering and celebrating on the pitch....YES, Krauts are through....NO! Daniel was merely congratulating HIS man for a great header scoring the golden goal which finally sent the Krauts home. That’s it, once again no trophy. At this point though, have to say that we did the utmost of what was doable and put in a lot of efforts, however with some guys you can not even win a flower-pot...!!! (editor: if the net would have been kept clean, we would have won it all….) After resting some more time in the sun we got on way back home...and before the driver even started the car, the first songs were already in the air "Baut die Mauer auf, Baut die Mauer auf "...."eine U-Bahn, eine U-Bahn bauen wir...." . In between the usual arguments with our President whom we figured out to be responsible for the loss today ("Isch hau dir gleisch a pussel in dei Brill....") and some more songs "Trabzonspor, Trabzonspor, Galatasary, Fenerbahce Istanbul wir.....", "Alle koenne ficken nur die Shooters nicht, die koennen das nicht, die Arschgesicht" and we finally arrived back home at the hotel. After a relaxing afternoon on the pool, we met up once again on the tournament closing party where we should have received our trophy...The party started with a minute’s silence for the Tsunami victims, however it lasted only 20 seconds as you suddenly heard somebody shouting "Eine U Bahn, Eine U- Bahn, eine U Bahn bauen wir...." - no names to be revealed. As I still don’t know who won the tournament, no need to say more about this closing party, our President thanked all Krauts players for the support and then gave us the final instruction for the night: GO AND EMBARASS YOURSELVES !!!, which all of us later did as good as they could... Another long and tough night followed with plenty of "nageln" (not the nageln you think of), celebration of Heinrich’s birthdays, tons of Chivas coke and plenty of dancing with the ladyboys of Soi Crocodile.... Monday, 28th of November already meant that the fourth was the last day for some of the guys. Daniel, Nicolas, Ayrton, Woody and Porno Ralle had to fly back to Shanghai the following morning. After spending most of the day on the beach, everybody came along for dinner in the evening. Some of the guys then went for a Thai boxing competition to see the Russian Mohumud defending his title. A few others went somewhere else to make most out of the few hours they had left in Phuket....like doing some Christmas shopping (...?!?) or destroying the decoration of certain bars and venues. The highlight of the day was the bus ride to the airport where we finally found a nick-name for Woody: Hoelzchen. Porno Ralle, Daniel and Nicolas enjoyed the last few Thai beers with a few more songs before we finally arrived at the airport and departed back to Shanghai. That was the 2005 Krauts tour in Phuket, despite the outcome of the tournament it was huge fun and for everybody a success (from certain points of view...), I will certainly be back here in 2006!!! Cheers Nicolas P.S. The tournament organisers again made a lot of pictures, access to the photo database of 864 pictures, including 380 blackmail pictures, can be viewed under: http://www.photosoccer7s.dmak.net

Report by Bangkok Cosmos (Winner of the 2005 Bangkok Soccer 7s)

Cosmos wins the International Bangkok Sevens Apr 24, 2005 Cosmos showed stylish one-touch football throughout the tournament and justified their reputation as one of the tournament favorites. The team had the right mix of experience, technical abilities and speed and was never really put to the test. Scoring 29 goals in six games, including 6 in the final, and conceding only 3 throughout the two days, indicates Cosmos dominance of this event.
Result of group games: Cosmos FC - Hibernians FC (Mal) 8:0 Boca Seniors (Sin) - Cosmos FC 0:3 Cosmos FC - British Malaysia 5:2 SCI Saints (Tha) - Cosmos FC 0:3	Quarter final: Cosmos FC - Indian 7s 4:0 Final: Cosmos FC - Voodoo Shanghai 6:1

Report by Shanghai Voodoo (Runners-up of the 2005 Bangkok Soccer 7s)

Voodoo Take 2nd Place in Bangkok 7s The "Unbreakable" Voodoo visited Bangkok for the first Bangkok International 7's tournament and return as the Cup Finalist. The Voodoo went undefeated through six matches having conceded one goal from live play to advance to the finals. Having eight of 11 players injured the local Bangkok Cosmos were too much for the Voodoo to maintain the undefeated record. The Voodoo returned to Shanghai having collected their second trophy from international competitions this season. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ .....The chinese team top of the league from the big boys qualifying day, a bye to the semi final, fielding a squad of 000's, average age 21, match day preparation commencing at 06.00 hrs, all personal pleasures abstained from the previous night, a two hour pre match work out without sweat, they then line up to see their enemy take to the pitch............ The voodoo limp into battle, whistling a strange 'great escape' tune that some have witnessed on HBO asia (sub titled whistle translation), they know it means victory or victoria. The chinese see mangled athletes staring at them out of the sun but yet eerily still smiling, grinning. They see at the back, a lean body stretching into the clouds, they see along side this great athlete another body stretching off the pitch, they see a strange hair formation wafting in the breeze, they see a hair colour normally only associated with wise villagers, they see a half dead Mohican grinning from the side, they cannot see the full size goals due to some living budda, they see ankle strapping only seen on Japanese Sumo wrestlers, is that an invading german on the wing?, they see a brudda of budda taking up a full frontal position......... Suddenly a little bit of apprehension creeps in...... ancient talk of the return of voodoo ninjas is whispered amongst the teams elders from the side lines. Maybe this is the day that the fable of damaged goodes comes true. As the canadian mountie galloped up the pitch throwing all caution to the wind and buddha banners screamed at him to come back and you could cut the tension with coach puffer dicko's taxi driver fingernail... few realised what could happen, never mind what would happen... A hard fought quarter final game saw surprise top goal scorer ("I thought that was the safest bet ever") morgan pull the walking wounded back into it from 1-0 down after a great team move. The gaffer then went off with a cut to his head, there were less and less options. Julian "Martin Kemp" Goodes is playing having twisted his ankle the day before. Watson is holding his own at the back, I don't know what Mohican was holding on the sidelines. Buddha on one leg is still far and away the best keeper in the tournament despite having as much mobility as Matadona after 3 weeks in the UK. The game goes to golden goal... Team talk time from Mr Wilkinson (can't remember what he said but it seemed to inspire the all action hero canadian super model). Then came the famous moment we will all remember for years to come (apart from gaffer who had a bag of ice on his head and didn't see a thing). Corner to the Voodoo. The best laid plans of Dicko and Men were thrown out of the window as Suchy starts his run leaving caution in his wake. Men in green all over the pitch and in the crowd winced as Julian sees the run and decides to pull the corner back along the ground to the onrushing train about 25yrds out. Time stood still. The substitute ref was already getting a replacement ball out to throw to the keeper for a 6yd clearance. The opposition players chuckled at the thought of this "routine" working. However Suchy is free, the ball is coming in his direction. Then, horror! , as the ball cruelly bobbles off the hard baked Bangkok pitch - the 40 degree temperatures the boys had withstood over 2 days had taken their toll. NASA posted red alerts to all satellites to warn of a football about to go into orbit and disrupting flight paths. What happened next can only be described by any observer as the most amazing piece of shooting ever seen. The Suchy takes the ball first time in full stride, keeps it down and absolutely hammers it towards goal. Then, as the net billowed, the keeper looked round in amazement, and the voodoo celebrate, no one could believe what they had witnessed.... And on they went..... A classic moment to add to the 'voodoo walking wounded legends' tour of bangkok........

Report by Shanghai Shooters (Winner of the 2004 Phuket Soccer 7s)

The amazing Porn Tache Double Bubble Tour was completed when we went on to win Phuket also. The Shooters are now the holders of Bangkok, Shanghai, Manila and Phuket International Tournaments. Phuket report is below. Day 1 is supplied via Captain of the Weekend, Jon Grant. Day 2 is courtesy of Justin. So here we were on our way to the beautiful Island of Phuket Thailand, for the second Leg of the double bubble porno tache tour. Players arrived in dribs and drabs from different flights though I was buzzing like a little child as this island holds some great memories from previous visits. After arriving so late, it was one beer with a f*cked up Scott and straight to bed and up early to have a walk on the beach, No mist, no rain, just beaming hot sunshine and clear blue skies stood in the way of shooters making history and stamping it’s name as the best amateur team in Asia, who could really stop the band wagon rolling on the complete a memorable double bubble tour. Jumping in a tuk tuk at 12am was great news to the early arrivals who were ON THE PISS AGAIN that night. 20 min’s later after a cruise down the beaches and past the elephants we had arrived, and was time to get focused on what we were here for. Surprisingly the goals were full size and the pitch was in nice condition to play some magic shooters football that we are getting very well known around Asia for. We sat in the stand high up overlooking everyone as Manila Champion’s you could see the fear in there eyes as each Shooter walked by with a little strut only real champions can do, we were here, it was time to show why we drink more, play more, tour more and win more. Game 1 - Tainan Phoenix Later the captain said “As soon as we saw we had the shooters, all the lads heads went down as they had heard how good you were in Manila” I think the heat got to me a little as did the sand chaffing my arse as I have a lack of memory from the first day. We dominated the game though with the sound system blasting out, the shooters seemed to be getting distracted, a little jig by Kilbs helped things and we went 1 nil up, with the pitch being larger we knew we could use the breeze block of Justin’s head to get us some goals, two headed goals by him one by Scott who kept looking over his shoulder for the next lady boy gave us a convincing early start to send shock waves around the stadium. Game 2 - Wembley Down (team from Perth) These were one of the weaker teams so we thought, we should give them a kicking, though our finishing was shocking especially mine though bagging a couple one chest and volley from a great Roland cross on the line which anyone else would of headed, though with my reputation for my heading ability flashed in front of me as the ball came close, I did not want to wear the t-shirt again for the worse miss ever in shooters history. Scotty who was having just as good a tournament as Manila was there again and Adam got in on the act, though many many many more chances went begging and Roland seemed to be getting slightly angry by this. Though captain marvelous had a few calming words like all great captains do, did I forget to say that I was made captain for the tournament so taking full responsibility for everyone on and off the pitch. This was why I tried to stop Kilby Rugby tackling me on the beach at 3:30am, which hurt his and my neck, I thought sand was suppose to be soft, how I was wrong. Game 3 - Tokyo Hibernians This was the biggest game so far, against the best team on paper in Tokyo, with so much rivalry between the two leagues the butterfly’s were back, and also if we won this game we would face a Hong Kong Dynamics team looking like this Billionaire Torsten Kracht (Leipzig, Stuttgart, Bochum, Eintracht Frankfurt) Dieter Schlindwein (Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt) Michael Rumminigge (Bayern Munich, 50 European Game) Antone Grabo (ex Hong Kong International) Andy Hunter (ex pro from Scottish league) Uwe Bein (Eintracht Frankfurt, 17 German caps, 1990 World cup Winner) and a sub who is an English Model/Painter who sounds like a cockney Anyway Justin can extend on this, I just thought it looked good to do it like this, back to the game, we had all the possession though we looked a little jaded and I think everyone was thinking about the coming night out, as the floodlights were on and there were a lot of very nice girls in the stand which all got banked by the way, apart from the Lady boy with a pimp friend of Jof’s, ermm yeah I didn’t, no I didn’t. So we probed and pushed for a goal, a few near misses until Michaela Strachen’s Boyfriend came on to bang one in, on the second attempt to give us the victory and let us go away to have a great nights sleep and prepare for Day 2 of History in the making. Before Justin wraps things up, as a captain I thought I should thank Jof, the sponsors and everyone involved in these tournaments as it takes a lot of time and hard work, also everyone one of the guys who played this weekend you played your hearts out in tough conditions and respect goes to you all. I am proud of you. When the Shooters arrived in Phuket for the Opening Tournament Gala we were quickly advised that the local bookies had us (followed closely by Joy Speed) as the tournament favorites. Yes you read that correctly … “the bookies!” Either we had entered a new level of competition or the lack of entertainment when everyday is sunny has the locals clamoring for any distraction. I think the team decided it must be the latter after our first day of results because while most of the team had a relatively early and quiet Saturday night in Manila where the bars are open until dawn, Phuket was quite the opposite. So what if the bars close at 2 a.m. – Big Deal! Don’t you know there are convenience stores that sell beer, the hotel has a pool guarded by Baby Bells and the beach is an excellent location for 24 hour rugby practice?!? Well maybe the beach would be if the sand was softer, but some lessons are learned a little late (and the hard way) when the participants are inebriated and from England – but sorry that was redundant. Note to Rugby participants: next time consult your resident beach expert – Five-0 – for his expert assessment of the softness of the beach. Maybe it was that Phuket actually had nice weather, maybe it was our over confidence, or maybe it was because half the team was “tour virgins” … but whatever the reason we all managed to have a late night of drinking and only a few hours of sleep. In retrospect perhaps not the best idea when you are playing the German National team (that Granty so excitedly mentioned above). Cross Over Match vs. HK All-Stars (Alias Bundeliga All-Star Team)So our second day began with the monumental task of facing the team that had its own Billionaire sponsor for a goalkeeper. We were excited, we were nervous, we were cautious and in the end our caution made us very defensively oriented. I am sure the coaching strategy had nothing to do with it(as the coach was screaming at us to get further up the park all game). We were very solid defensively! We should have been with everyone but Granty in our half of the field! The German’s (sorry I mean HK All Stars) had the best opportunity of the first half when Michael Rummigge turned and fired a left footed rocket from inside the box, but there was faithful Andre going low to his left for a crucial push wide. It was only the beginning of a splendid day for Larry’s self-proclaimed Mentor. The second half saw more defensive play by the Shooters when finally a clearance found Grantona at midfield and he managed to turn the large German Barbarian defending him (alias Torsten Kracht) and broke for goal. But as all “Nazis” (not to say he is a member of said pre-mentioned party) tend to do when facing an allied attack, the defender of the Fatherland absolutely clattered the lightning quick (Blitzkrieg like) attacker. It has just occurred to this commentator that the striker in question is actually Jewish (and quite obviously so based on that nose) and so maybe the big bully at the back is in fact from the 4th Reich! Nevertheless the Shooters got a restart just over midfield. As this might have been the only chance of the day we sent our own big lumbering brute from the back forward to rumble with the Germans for the upcoming aerial assault. As we all know from ongoing global conflicts Americans rule the air and so yours truly had some extra expectations to live up to (that and my big mouth for telling Sir Jof after the first game that I would be the first defender to win the Golden Boot Award – obvious folly!). Chopper floated a ball into the box which was a bit too long to ensure that the Billionaire Goalkeeper would still be breathing after this play. Collisions occur from time to time (more often with me for some reason) and the HK All Stars were now short one sugar daddy/goalkeeper, and the Billionaire sponsor was contemplating retirement. But he was still breathing and there was no blood so I don’t see what all the fuss was about! Play resumed and the Germans got their own restart outside the Penalty area. A wide open Torsten Kracht hit a sure goal but Chopper was there to save it off the line. The Germans continued to press against a defense that was obviously not French (because it was still fighting) but no opportunities presented themselves and the Shooters were looking at overtime. But wait … Rummingge pulled a Ronaldinho move out of his back pocket that left Walldinho and Adam slack jawed lack a teen boy checking out his first playboy (a simile for English Teacher Nick) and without their jocks and floats a high cross to the back post where Zippy was tightly marking Dieter Schlindwein and ready to clear the ball (or so I assumed because we had just discussed back door marking at training with Zippy). But the Germans must have cheated – or the Mikaela Stracken look-a-like in the stands must have distracted him because Zippy was as close to marking that very big (impossible to miss) target at the back post as Bangkok is Phuket. The Germans scored and 30 seconds later the final whistle blew. The Shooters dropped their first match since April! But wait!!! The gods were smiling and the tournament organizers were idiots (I mean geniuses) because there was a back door entry for the Shooters into the Cup. And what more fitting entry is there for a team led by the President of the Back Door Fan club then to try winning it all this way. We just needed to beat the Tokyo Hibernians again. Cup Qualifier vs. Tokyo Hibernians Granty’s shins were so bad he could barely move and so Five-0 (or is it Magnum these last couple weeks?) filled in for captain duties with the all important coins tosses. The Shooters were excited about playing the Hibernians again. We won the first test but played poorly and Tokyo actually thought they might be better the better team. Well wake up boys and join reality! It was time to set the record straight! This thought properly motivated everyone and we played one of our best games of the tournament and thoroughly dominated the Hibernians. Wallninho and Kilby were on fire in the back. Every attempt to play an attacker in on goal was met by the daring duo’s bone shattering tackles and brutish shoulder challenges. The defense was so suffocating that I don’t recall the Hibernians even getting a sniff of our goal in this match so Andre was well rested for the Quarterfinals. The Tokyo team was more surprised by the whooping they got then the Americans were at Pearl Harbor! Tokyo must hate Zippy because he was a repeat performer against the Hibernians and scored the game winner (yes the “Game Winner” Zippy) against them for the second time in two days. Grantona added an insurance goal on a nice strike and the game ended 2-0. In a two week period the Shooters thoroughly dominated both the top teams from Tokyo and left no doubt that the best league is not in Tokyo but rather is in Shanghai. Quarterfinal vs. Dutch Every tournament has a Dutch team and somehow this one beat Joy Speed. They didn’t look like much football wise and they ran like a bunch of uncoordinated teenagers that have just grown 12” in 6 months. But apparently we all noticed this and it seemed to affect our commitment. This is the only explanation I could come up with to explain our lack of a dominating performance against an obviously weaker opponent. We quickly went from playing our best game of the tournament to our worst! We could not seem to string more than 3 passes together, our creativity on and off the ball was about as interesting as a blank canvas surrounded by Dali, Picasso and Van Gogh paintings, and not surprisingly our opportunities on goal were not materializing. At the other end of the pitch the Dutch were throwing everything they had at us and Andre made more saves in this one game than he had in all previous games combined but nothing got by him. Suddenly in the second half the Dutch slipped a player through on an overlapping run and he was one on one with Andre who looked a bit like an escaped mental patient (and ironically enough Andre has been acting like one between games) rushing out to the top of the box in a desperate race to beat the Dutch striker to the through ball. The Dutch player got there first but Andre made what was thus far the save of our tournament and kept the Shooters hopes alive and the score knotted at nil-nil! And then God – in spite of the fact that most of us are indeed headed to purgatory and not heaven – decides to bless us (and curse us all at the same time ironically). The Blessing: The reigning Sutton Award winner (who at the time – before a strong finish by Sam I Am – was the front runner to retain the title because he forgot to bring the T-Shirt!!!!!) took a throw-in from the left sideline and miss threw the ball so badly that there was no one near it but the Dutch goalie who somehow inexplicably miss-judged the bounce and when he reached up to grab the ball above his head he miss-handled it and dropped it into the back of his net. The Curse: The irony is that the Grantonator won the Sutton Award for trying to score off a throw-in in Manila. I distinctly remember Joff and I tell him afterwards that he was an “Idiot!!!” for thinking he could and for even trying it!!! But there he was – standing on the sidelines pointing at Joff and me and yelling “See! See! I knew I could do it!!!” I never would have believed if I hadn’t seen it myself. And now we will never hear the end of it!!! (It will be like the Hammer talking about his audacious goal vs. the Vikings). But that is the beauty of the Shooters and we managed to sneak into the Semi-finals where we were scheduled to play one of the local teams. It should be noted here that the Dutch are to blame for their own misfortune. During the captain’s meeting the Dutch skipper decided to point out to the Tournament organizers that the Shooters were substituting incorrectly (not going in and out at midfield as we should) and therefore he said we were “cheating.” For some reason the Dutch captain was French and I am convinced he made this an issue because I was an American! Idiot Frogs! A few of the Shooters disappeared to get a foot massage below the stadium and this was the smartest thing we had done all day. Concerns were expressed about our lack of mobility and tired legs and an executive decision was made to “request” that Chopper and the Grantonator join the massage entourage. They did so after watching the shock of the tournament: The Chinese beat the Germans 3-2 and would play the French in the other semifinal. The massages did the trick. But not before we all got a good laugh watching our “Fearless Captain” squirm and wine like a girl every time the masseuse touched his … feet! Apparently he has a problem with people touching his feet and if this fear also keeps him from touching his own feet that might explain the HORRENDOUS ODOR that suddenly began suffocating us when he took off his shoes!!! It is no wonder Ann Marie goes to bed before him! The only thing that smelled worse all weekend was when he blamed Chopper for that foul smell that floated through the crowd because something had crawled up inside him and died the night before! But enough of that … back to the game. Semi-finals vs. Baya Beach Baya Beach turned out to be a bit more gamey than we anticipated and the Shooters were looking a bit sluggish still. Our legs had still not returned as everyone still seemed a step slow. Our limited depth (relative to other international tournaments may have been haunting us). Was it the lack of sleep from the night before or the fact that half the team also played the previous week in Manila? Whatever the reason we were definitely not playing Shooters soccer. Baya Beach was giving us all the trouble we could handle and like the Quarterfinals we were struggling to maintain possession and create scoring chances. Andre kept came up with another big save and by now he was getting a little punchy and excited! He got excited enough that he suddenly forgot he was the goalkeeper and not the sweeper – shoved Wallninho out of his way and left the goal to front a Baya Beach attacker. The attacker was momentarily stunned and Besty took advantage of this to pick his pocket, take the ball and pass back to the goalie for a clearance. Except wait there was no goalie now! Fortunately Wallninho had been quick thinking enough to step in to goal and fill in for the absent minded – I mean Mentor of our Manila Captain – and he cleared the ball out of the danger zone. But the Shooters were not without their opportunities. Five-0 whiffed on a header attempt off a corner but there was no whistle blown for the pushing foul committed by the Baya Beach defender. Ads put a sitter (in all fairness it hit him square in the head so what could he do?) from six yards out over the crossbar. However, the Shooters just do not die and against the general run of play we finally managed to break the deadlock on a goal by our resident reporter Phil. Great teams always find a way to win the close ones and we are the greatest Amateur team in Asia! There’s only one team in Asia – There’s only one team in Asia … Wait I am getting ahead of myself! Final vs. Joy Speed Well it turns out the bookies knew what they were doing after all, because the two pre-tournament favorites from Shanghai (despite both losing their first game of the day) met in the final! Two weekends – two international tournaments – two all Shanghai finals! Is there much doubt where the best Amateur soccer in Asia is being played?!? And this final has all the makings of a monster! It is a local derby of sorts – the best team from the Pudong league vs. the best team ever – I mean the best team form the SIFL. The Chinese vs. the Expats. A crowd, which for the first time in Shooter history is supporting us!!! Leave it to the Chinese to piss so many people off with their whining and poor sportsmanship that people actually want the Shooters to win!!! Maybe we should get them to come to all our tournaments! J Joy Speed (the only team in the tournament to not know who the famous Germans were and thus attacked them non-stop with no respect) showed evident signs of fearing us since day 1 when they stayed around the pitch to watch us play. This fear was evident in how they played us … they were on their heels from the first touch of the ball! They were also very defensive because the Shooters awoke from their slumber – the massages had finally had their full effect on us – and from the look of things the Chinese were in trouble! But they could see and feel this and they immediately resorted to trying to play physically – almost slamming Grantona into the bleachers. But the ref called play on – and then the Shooters were like the Bulls of Pamplona running at San Fermin and the Chinese were all wearing red sashes! Tackles were becoming more crunching and more frequent from the Shooters but no less clean. At least three times we put the Grantonator through on goal – and on every occasion he beat the goalkeeper, got slightly knocked and hit side netting. Other threats arose from Besty, Zippy, Phil, Ads and Chopper but none could find the net. The Chinese mustered very little attack – on those rare occasions when the Shooters lost the ball the pressure was so fierce and quick that the Chinese were quickly dispossessed. But with time ticking down the Chinese finally got an opportunity and the Shooters got caught by a counter attack and were slightly out of position. Jackie found himself with space in front of the net but a cross slightly behind him saw his side scissor volley attempt hit nothing but air. Suddenly a steal and pass to Granty won us a throw-in deep in Chinese territory. A long throw attempt by Granty was miss timed by yours truly and cleared by the Chinese and regulation time expired. OVERTIME! Similar to the regulation period the Shooters dominated the flow of play but were unable to capitalize. And then with only seconds left on the clock I took a long throw-in from the left sideline deep in Chinese territory. No I didn’t try to score, because I am not the Great Grantonator. But I did see Besty streaking unmarked to the back post. The throw went over the defense and past the goalie (who was guarding the near post). All Besty needed was a toe poke on the ball and the game would have ended. But the ball was slightly out of reach and slipped past everyone (untouched), past the far post and out of bounds. Then the whistle blew and it was time for PKs. In this tournament it was not Best of 5; it was not Best of 3; it was sudden death – mano yi mano! Shooters went first and Scotty struck a beauty in the upper 90 to the goalkeeper’s left. Joy answered back after Andre tried a little intimidation (think Stallone in “Victory”). The Chinese keeper thought this was a great idea and soon began doing this to every Shooter kicker. First he moved my placement – so I smacked him in the face with the ball (it seemed like the right things to do at the time). Fortunately I made my kick after that (goalie’s left again).Joy equalized. Then Ads hit his to the goalie’s right. Joy equalized, but not before Ads came back and said “Oh my god! I was SSSOOOO nervous!” Then it was Wallninho (and everyone remembers his kicks in the Shanghai tournament). The goalie thought about trying to intimidate Wallninho but then our American Defender with the Brazilian nickname puffed his chest stepped over his ball and stood face to face with the Chinese goalie. Either the goalie was going to back down or Wallninho was about to go Hockey on his ass! Smart choice goalie! Wallninho scores to the goalie’s lower left and points at him afterwards. Then it was all set up. Their goalie was next. Miss and they lose! But the bastard ruined it by hitting a (and I hate to say this) perfect PK into the upper 90 on Andre’s left. It was single elimination and both teams had each taken and made four PKs. Then Besty stepped up and calmly hit number 5! Their next kick hit the post – the Shooters won – Besty had scored the game winning goal (a little later than he should have!) – and the celebrating began!!! While we piled on Andre, Sir Joff almost started a brawl by beating the Chinese goalie up. But calmer heads prevailed and we tortured them not with our fists but with our singing! We had just completed the Grand Slam! It must be the greatest amateur season ever for a team in Asia! 4 International tournaments & 4 titles in 2004! Chopper improved his record in Internationals with the Shooters to 4-0! Besty reminded us that his pre-game Déjà vu that we would win came true – and that none of us should have been nervous because he had told us that we were going to win! And finally, we were all scarred for life when we Andre modeled his special underwear in the stands! John Joffre

Report by Les Bleus (2004 Phuket Soccer 7s)

PHUKET 7'S TOURNAMENT Phuket, November 27th and 28th. So, here we are, Les Bleus from Shanghai gathered again with two guest stars, as Damien from Paris and Olivier from Montreal made the trip to join the Phuket seven a side soccer tournament. Participants are: Vincent, Benjamin B., Benjamin G., Xavier, Andrzej, Maxime, Gregory, Damien, Olivier and Jerome. All ready to compete with the 24 teams coming from all over Asia. The first round of qualification split up the teams in 8 groups of 3. In our group, the Saigon Saints (Vietnam) and the Bayon Wanderers (Cambodia) are the opposition. Games will last two halves of 7 minutes. The first game is against Saigon Saints. As the Saigon Saints kick off, Les Bleus apply a strong pressure. Olivier counters a ball, and it came back to Xavier. Xavier shoots a long pass to Olivier, waiting behind the defenders (the offside rule was not applied during the tournament). Under pressure, their last defender tries to head the ball: he is short and it deviates over the keeper! 1-0 Les Bleus, a good start. A few minutes later, as Les Bleus control the ball well, Damien has a good position and tries the shot: the keeper is on the ball, but releases it in Olivier’s feet who scores the second with opportunism! 2-0 at half time. Vincent, Benjamin B. and Jerome replace Damien, Andrzej and Olivier. Saigon Saints restart well, putting some pressure on the defense. And it pays as they quickly come back to 2-1. But Les Bleus show some spirit: Vincent dribbles his defender on the side and delivers a powerful low cross. Jerome springs up in front of the defender to deviate the ball: it’s in and it is 3-1, final score. A good first game, with good football and good spirit. The second game would oppose us to the Bayon Wanderers. Vincent is the goalkeeper this time. As we player with the same spirit as in the first game, the Wanderers were no match for Les Bleus. Benjamin G. delivers a good through pass to Maxime who calmly scores the first. Then Maxime and Jerome apply the pressure, and Jerome sneaks in between the defenders to score in an empty goal. A few minutes, later, Maxime, as in his best days, breaks through the defense, and scores his second of the game. 3-0 Les Bleus at half time, an easy one. In the second half, the domination continues. Olivier hits the post; but a few minutes later Andrzej sends a good long ball. Olivier heads the ball slightly for Damien in front of the goal: everybody thinks he is going to shoot, but finally, he centers back to Olivier who shots for the fourth. 4-0 final score. Les Bleus finish first of their group with a 7 to 1 goal difference! But a shadow appears: Xavier had received a blow on the thigh, and seemed to suffer from it. The next game opposes us to the second of another group: the Calcutta Tigers from India. A win could give us a later start on the next day, that would be much appreciated by all the team. With Xavier out and Vincent as a goalkeeper, Maxime comes back in defense, with Damien, Gregory, Jerome and Olivier turning between midfield and attack. The game starts with a slow pace, partly due to the very hot climate! The Indians have some good player, but play slowly and it seems like they put Les Bleus asleep. However, we still have some opportunities, but they’re missed. 0-0 at half time, the game was slightly dominated by Les Bleus, but no goals. Fortunately, the second half was Gregory’s one. He scores the first goal from a corner kick that Jerome delivers to the near post. The second one… 2-0 Les Bleus! A very good first day, three wins, 9 goals for and only one against. Les Bleus deserved a good afternoon rest: getting some drinks at the bar’s swimming pool and a baking under the sun on the beach!! The next day, our first game was a qualification game: the winner would directly go in quarter finals, while the loser would have one more chance later to qualify. It starts with a bad news: Xavier will not be able to play on that day… The opposing team are the Baya Beach, from Phuket. A good formation that finished second of the first Phuket tournament. In the first half, both teams shows a good soccer. Les Bleus had the first opportunity as Olivier shots a good ball from Damien, but it goes wide. However, Baya Beach plays well, and deservedly scores first, with a powerful shot on which Vincent couldn’t do anything. 1-0 at half-time. Les Bleus try to come back in the second half, but they seem to be a little disorganized. They push, but in the last minute of the game, they are countered. 2-0 at the end, the score reflected the game: it seemed that Les Bleus were not really awake. We still had a chance to qualify for the quarter finals of the main cup. For that, we had to beat the Calcutta Tigers again, the loser would have to compete for the plate cup. Andrzej is the goalkeeper for that one. The first half is similar to the previous day: a slow pace, Les Bleus do not seem to have awaken yet, and the game is balanced, without many opportunities on either side. But this time, the second half was Damien’s one. He scores the first goal, picking up a good through pass, and calmly putting the ball out of reach of the keeper on the far post. However, the Indians came back: a shot from mid-range that does not seem frightening is unfortunately released by Andrzej. 1-1, the game becomes tenser. A few minutes later, Les Bleus obtain a good free kick on the edge of the box. Damien takes the shot and beautifully removes the spider web from the post corner! 2-1, Les Bleus, the game has been difficult, but we are in quarter finals. The other team in quarter finals is the Singapore Lions. This time, Les Bleus warm up seriously before the game. And they are right! The first goal comes quickly : a long ball goes over the defense, and Olivier volleys it directly, surprising the keeper. Les Bleus dominate the game. In the last minutes of the first half, Andrzej gets a ball back, calmly passes it to Gregory. A quick exchange between Gregory and Damien, a good through pass to Jerome and he makes it 2-0 without problem! A nice collective goal from Les Bleus! The second half is still dominated by Les Bleus. Gregory scores the third, again from a corner kick volleyed on the near post. 3-0, certainly our best game of the tournament, and we are in semi-finals! The opposing team in the semi-finals is a Chinese team from Shanghai. They have beaten a strong German team in quarter finals, 3-2, that included some former professional players! The winner would meet the Shanghai Shooter in the final game. They qualified luckily in the quarter finals, the only goal being scored on a throw-in that the keeper released in its own goal, and had beaten the Baya beach in the semi-finals. The semi final starts, and it is a much more physical game than the others. In the first minutes, the Chinese team scores with a powerful shot. But Les Bleus did not give up, and showed a good spirit. An ugly foul from the Chinese give us a good free kick on the edge of the box. Damien goes for it but hits the post; the ball bounces back to Andrzej who nicely volleys it in the net: 1-1! A minute later, Jerome receives a good ball from Damien and shots it directly: unhappily, the Chinese keeper makes a good save. 1-1 at half time, the game is tense and well balanced. In the second half, Les Bleus are still playing equal. Olivier tries a long shot that goes slightly on the left side of the goal. Then, another free kick is awarded for a hand ball (that could have deserved a card as it prevented Damien to be alone in front of the keeper), but the chance is missed. On a corner kick for the Chinese, one of their players scores a nice diving header on the near post. 2-1 for the Chinese, Les Bleus will not be in the final… At the end of the day, Les Bleus were still satisfied with their performance. We played 7 games, scored 15 goals, and only conceived 5, without a real keeper (but Vincent performed well as a goalkeeper). Everybody had a good spirit and fought well for the team on the pitch, congratulations to the whole team. Also, a special thanks to the supporters who made the trip: Stephanie and Mila, Elodie, Jade, Amy, Jerome and Vianney. Another page of history was written for Les Bleus during the tournament. Let’s hope it is not the last one, and Allez Les Bleus!

Report by Shanghai Krauts (2004 Phuket International Soccer 7s)

2nd Phuket International Soccer 7s 2004 27. – 28. November 2004, Phuket/ Thailand 2nd tournament in Phuket, 2nd time for us to participate - quasi like co-founders of the event. And this year hopefully with more luck than the year before. Last time we played extremely good but could not qualify for the final round – due to one goal difference after all. Also this years’ Phuket tournament drew a lot of attention, especially from Shanghai itself. Besides Krauts also Shooters, Les Bleus and Jacky with his own team joined. In total 24 teams, record participation!Also Krauts itself with record participation. Even with 2 goal keepers. Let me shortly introduce the “Reisegruppe”. Nicolas (won the “dice” and played in the Krauts goal) Chris (leased to German Bangkok All Stars for 2 cases of Foster) Christian K. (of course) Carlo (of course, it was a Fosters-sponsored event) Helmuth (don’t cheat him on 2 Baht) Franz (we will come later to that) Felix (not working for Schenker!) Woody (without striker no goals) Robert (he joined the squad at least 2 matches too late) Patrick (as head coach and substitute “threat”) Daniel (as always as joker) Gerhard (Vorzeige-Ossi, but with an accent even for us real-German hard to understand) Thomas W. (fortunately not active on the pitch) Heinrich (from Istanbul on the flying carpet, he even played for 1 ½ minute) Michael (a.k.a. Sheriff from Jakarta, too injured to play anything) Shortly to the rules (for the tournament – in night time no rules of course): 24 teams in 8 groups each with 3 teams. Yes, that makes it really short to get started in the group matches. In our group our friends from Bangkok: German All Stars (Helmuth’s previous employer) and Do It Satu Lagi from Indonesia (whatever that means). Play mode was 7 minutes halves and no offside. First two teams through to qualify for either Cup or Plate competition. And here double- knock out system. It is indeed quite difficult to explain but that meant every team going through after the group had another chance if loosing the first qualification match. Krauts target of the day then: not finish last! Saturday morning started with a mess and did not fit at all into the perfect organisation guideline of Krauts. The luggage of the 2nd relay (representing 50% of the squad) did not arrive on time. But thanks to the precautions of the management at least everybody had “something” to wear for the first match. And here we g Shanghai Krauts vs. German All Stars: 1-0 First match always the hardest. And from experience in the SIFL, Krauts always needs a couple of minutes to come into the match. So will 7x2 minutes be enough? It was certainly not a Krauts-dominated match and neither the continuous goal attack which we planned on the whiteboard. But at least we could shift the pressure away from our goal. First half went over without major incidents to remember and most of the second half as well. But in the end another Krauts attack – only stopped by a rude foul in the penalty area. Woody as penalty taker made his job and scored Krauts ahead. 1-0. With 3 points (out of two matches) almost through. Well done. Do It Satu Lagi vs. Shanghai Krauts: 1-0 The second match just a match like “du und ich”. But nothing really happened here, which is worthwhile to write about. As far as I remember it was hot, the pitch was green, the sky was blue. Also the substitution of the “unanimous” elected President could not avoid that we got a goal and therefore lost the match. Punkt – aus! And that was the group. As soon as the group matches started, they were over. Every team with 3 points in the table. But since German All Stars won 3-1 against Satu Lagi that meant for us finishing as 2nd of Group A. Baya Beach vs. Shanghai Krauts: 2-1 First qualification match for the important trophies. Baya Beach a local pub team – the name Baya more known as course for hangovers, cheap drinks and …. But since this place has a real broad exposure to foreign soccer players, their talent pool seemed never-ending. We on our side went through the prior matches without injuries and could finally welcome Robert into the team. Just in time, I would say. And necessary. It turned out to be quite a tough match with 1-0 and later 2-0 down and with Robert himself scoring us back into the game. But too late. 2-1 reads like: modest offence but weak defence. The rest of the interpretation I leave up to you. That was our first chance given away, but as mentioned before we have another one. First directly into the night and to our reserved KRAUST - Pavillion at Bangla Road since our last chance is on Sunday morning… Shanghai Krauts vs. Calcutta Tigers: 1-2 (a.e.t.) Why must it cam so far? Our last chance and then against an Indian team. Normally only known for Cricket, beef steak, Hane Crishna and Kashmir. Guys, if we don’t win, consequences are certain. Especially after calculating their age average at approx. 47.5. Yes, it looked like a manageable task. Hardly any offence work from Calcutta instead solid defence and always waiting for counter-attacks. And that happened already in the first half. 0-1 – wahnsining? In the 2nd half we could finally use our offence work and scored the equaliser through Robert. That was the final result after normal time – extra time of 2x3 minutes unless … sudden death. And sudden it came for us – prepared actually by a Krauts player. Franz (sorry, I could not follow your inquiry of anonymity) as last man and what looked like an easy pass into the midfield turned out to be a direct pass to Calcutta (“spuelts halt ma den eifochn Ball”). And the rest was easy: 1-2. Game over! Krauts out of the tournament: “Ihr koennt nach hause fahrn, ihr koennt nach hause fahrn…” Also our black“ weapon Heinrich could not change the course of the match. Basically 09:00 a.m.!!!!!! Sunday morning this tournament was over for us. So we continued how we finished last night- with loads of beer. This left us also time to watch real soccer – and it looked so easy. Major highlight of the tournament: HK Dynamics. Actually a team “bought” together, consisting of former German legends like Uwe Bein (without mustache), M. Rummenigge, Schlindwein und Kracht. Although far over the zenith, watching them to play soccer was really something. The beat Shooters but lost against Jacky’s team and were obviously very, very pissed about that. The final of the tournament was played between Shooters and Jacky’s Joyspeed, with Joyspeed winning after an exciting penalty shoot-out. But when that happened we were already at 45 bottles Foster each. This time no trophy, even not a small one. The culprit was easily made out. But after a round of free beer we were friends again. Mit “Ich traf einmal ein Madl und sie war so wunderschoen…” and an overloaded Tuk Tuk back to the city and into the night - to forget! But: “Wer trinkt um zu vergessen, sollte vorher bezahlen”. AND: tournament mission completed once again. A lot of fun we had, especially the guys who brought their girlfriends with them. Yours Shanghai Krauts P.S.: Further information can be found on: http://www.soccer7s.reperages-thailand.com/phuket/archives_nov04/allocation.html

Report by Shanghai Krauts (2003 Phuket International Soccer 7s)

Phuket - October 2003 1st Phuket International Soccer 7s 2003 25. – 26. October 2003, Phuket/ Thailand This year market our first international adventure. So just perfect to join a tournament which itself is organised for the first time. And the reason why we choose Phuket … I don’t think I have to explain! Joining a 7-aside tournament with just 8 players is daring – especially in the torching sun of South East Asia. But among them some of the finest soccer players, Krauts had to offer that time: Chris (“ab ins Tor!” – and keep it clean) Christian K. (position clear, libero or at least somewhere in the defence) Xu Tao (it took some time to convince him) Kazu (for the control in the midfield) Juergen (… Keule Bauer Sievers) Thomas (hard Mann?) Patrick (half official, half Spielgestalter) Jacky (goal machine) The Krauts squad under the strict supervision of sponsor Klaus. Daniel joined the tournament after everything was finished. So certainly not his fault what happened. In total 10 teams participation, drawn into 2 groups. In our group played als Kathu Police from Thailand (so watch out for fouls), Akasaka Celts from Japan, Patong City Hall and FC Tourist both from Thailand. Although the detailed results have been lost, we played excellent matches, scored plenty of goals (mainly through Jacky) in the group and finished first (or second). Qualification for the cup competition. Unluckily, Xu Tao and Jacky got injured during the group matches, and especially the injury of Xu Tao lasted even after the tournament for many months. The qualification matches somewhat of a chaos and so it came that we were knocked out of the tournament due to goal difference. That is especially hard to take. Krauts certainly one of the best tournament teams, but sometimes rules are unfair. So we ended up with empty hands after all. Logic consequence: full head and stomach. Lesson learned: try again next year! Yours Shanghai Krauts P.S.: Further information - tough limited - can be found under: http://www.soccer7s.reperages-thailand.com/phuket/archives_oct03/allocation_oct03.html

� 2003 by Repérage Thailand - Last Update: 13/05/13