A football day full of fun

The ball is rolling again: 15 football teams from German-speaking Switzerland met in Herrliberg on 8 February for the first Axpo-PluSport Cup of the year. The ligature tournament in disabled sports was held for the 20th time in the community on Lake Zurich. At 9.30 a.m. sharp, the Ponte Kickers Windisch against FC Zürichsee 1 started the tournament in the Langacker sports hall. It was a day full of energy and fun.

The players of Zürichsee 2 set off for their well-earned lunch break, chatting happily. Two games, two defeats. But for the fun-loving footballers, the results are secondary. During the lunch break, they joke with their opponents about the last hard shot at the crossbar that could have prevented their defeat. At the next table members of the FC Palme discuss intensely the elimination of their idols from the German Cup and the Spanish Copa del Rey last week. So what - that's the fate of sports enthusiasts. But the love for football remains.  

The atmosphere in the hall, whether on the pitch or in the stands, is as exuberant as FC Zürichsee 2 during the lunch break. The tournament is very fair, and despite energetic duelling, fun and team spirit are clearly in the foreground. The Ponte Kickers from Windisch are one of currently eleven Axpo PluSport teams and are coached at the Axpo-PluSport Cup in Herrliberg by the President of the Aargau Football Association, Luigi Ponte. In the decisive match, Ponte and his players have to accept a bitter 5-0 defeat against the surprise team I Furiosi 1. After the game, Ponte tells his disappointed kickers: "You will learn from these mistakes and the defeat".

The winner's trophy of this year's indoor football tournament goes therefore to I Furiosi 1, the team from the Zurich Oberland finished the tournament without defeat and with 10 points. The coach is impressed by the efficiency and cohesion of his team. "Last year we missed huge chances. A lot of things worked out today. The players have earned this victory."

Everyone else has earned it too - because no matter how the games ended, at the end of the day there were only winners in Herrliberg.