As the Euro 2008 Championship drew to a close in Vienna with the final game and clear winners Spain, 724 Solutions and Swisscom were engaging in their own football (soccer for our American colleagues), challenge. A long awaited game, which spawned from an original idea that was bantered around since last summer, became a reality on Wednesday 25th June in
Ebikon, a small village near picturesque
Luzern. For many of our team this was the first time we have kicked a ball let alone played a ‘competitive’ game.
The day was blisteringly hot, around 31’C (88’F), as we stood in the sauna room,
changing into our nice new 724 sponsored football kit, courtesy of John Sims. Not actually a sauna room, but the heat in this wooden clubhouse changing room was stifling, but it was merely a teaser for the measure of the heat we were to endure on the pitch. The prospect of the upcoming 35 minutes each-way game was starting to make us sweat. But with the coaching and guidance from our own FIFA certified coach, Stewart Rout, we were ready and Stewart duly led us onto the pitch for our pregame warm up session. Having performed a few stretches and a little knock about with the ball, we were pumped up and ready to take on the might of Swisscom. Having won the coin toss, we got into our team formation ready for the kick-off under the watchful eye of an unbiased club referee - a neutral Swiss guy, of course... Stewart, also our team captain, carried out the formalities of shaking hands with Stefan Kohler - Swisscom’s captain, and the referee and so the game began.
The 724 Solutions Team: Left top - Nick Keates, Thomas Kreis, James Moffat, Lukasz Strzepka, Gavin Cattell, Philippe Jost, John Sims (CEO), Joe Keaney.
Left Bottom: Marcos Garcia, Davide Restivo, Jorge Rubio, Tomasz Maslewski, Markus Bircher, Stewart Rout.
A well-practiced pass from Joe Keaney to James Moffat and we were underway for an enduring first half. It wasn’t long into the game that we realized that we were now on the back foot as Swisscom seemed to come at us from all angles. We fended them off well for 10 minutes, but the Swisscom pressure was relentless. Was this down to match fitness, the hot blistering sun, the lack of team practice, or were we just being out played? As we defended hard, our back four; Marcos Garcia, Tomasz Maslewski, John Sims and Lukasz Strzepka, just seemed to be outnumbered in trying to protect our novice goalkeeper, Jorge Rubio, from Hanspeter Obrist’s shot, which found its way into the back of the net. Swisscom leads 1 – 0.
Having re-grouped, we were not going to let one goal stop us from turning this around and coming back. Although with Joe and James upfront, the delivery of through balls did not enable us to capitalize on our attack and we were left chasing the game. Our midfield players; Davide Restivo, Stewart Rout, Philippe Jost and Markus Bircher were subjected to an onslaught of attack and once again Jorge was under extreme pressure as the second goal by Stefan Schillings hit the back of the net. Down 2 – 0, we were glad to stop for a much-needed half time break, to re-strategize our positions on how to break Swisscom down. The second half produced more chances and we made a few substitutions bringing on Nick Keates as a defender, Gavin Cattell and Thomas Kreis as midfield players. We pushed forward time and time again, but kept getting flagged up for being off-side (dubious Swiss decisions), although managed to force some corners and shots at goal. The pressure finally led to a penalty being awarded for a Swisscom handball;
Stewart Rout stepped up to the spot and took aim. Was it the pressures of being 2 goals down, or was he playing "customer football" and trying to let Swisscom win? He struck it well, but shot wide of the post! He did, however, later make amends by scoring a wonderful goal by putting the ball through the legs of the Swisscom goalkeeper. In the end, it was only a consolation goal as the full time whistle blew and Swisscom earned the victory.
From the top left: Reto Ammann, Matthias Rohrer, Stefan Schillings, Gabriel Schläpfer , Andy Muggli, Markus Wehrli, Hanspeter Obrist, Kusi Habegger.
Bottom row from the left; Beat Zihlmann, Seppi Zurkirchen, Ernst von Büren, Stefan Kohler, Cyril Zanoni, and Thomas Joss.
Since we were just warmed up and starting to feel our legs, we offered Swisscom a rematch as we were confident that we could get the better of them. After some negotiation, the details of the rematch were agreed. With our confidence high and a reformation of the team, we set out to do the job properly once and for all. For our spectators – several people from the Lenzburg office attended to cheer us on - this was a fantastic and exciting final game that kept them on the edge of their seats whilst they waited patiently for 724 to redeem themselves. With John Sims and Stewart Rout now playing up front, Joe back in defense and James adding strength to the midfield, we showed them the art of a truly international team of foreign players. Unfortunately, on the back of some semi-professionals in the Swisscom team, they once again broke through our defense to claim the first goal. While weaker mortals may have buckled under this disappointment, our confidence was still high and we were determined to quickly right our ship. Pushing forward on our right flanks, James and Lukasz dazzled the Swisscom midfield and forced them back. The one-two passing paid off as James went clear on goal only to be brought down, but not before
releasing the ball which was in intercepted by a Swisscom’s defenders hand. With the screams of hand ball, the dubious Swiss referee had no choice but to blow his whistle awarding 724 a penalty kick. Stewart, still having flashbacks to his nightmare miss in the first game, designated James to take the kick. James placed the ball on the spot, thought to himself, don’t bl**dy miss, and then drove the ball beautifully into the corner of the net. At last we were back on level terms and still stood a chance of winning. As we entered the last 10 minutes of time, we continued to forge forward, collectively as a team on a mission to victory. Remembering all the hours of training Stewart had taught us, we finally started playing as one, breaking through the Swisscom midfield and laying off a beautiful forward pass to John. With great dexterity, and control, he made a pass that even David Beckham would be proud of toward Stewart, who had now taken up a position on the right hand side. The pass was inch perfect and landed just in front of Stewart, which enabled him to carry his run forward. At the speed of a high performance system, Stewart rounded the defense and blasted the ball on a semi volley towards the goal, completely stifling the goal keeper. Then came the raptures of the crowd, cheerleaders and fellow players, this was a most magnificent goal and by far the best of the day. Victory at last and 724 redeemed.
Was the key to success, the lessons learned about their competition and breaking their game, or was it the artistry of their fluent, midfielders, defense, the novice goalkeeper or was it the final match-winning goal from Stewart, the tournament’s top scorer? Or maybe the inspirational leadership of veteran player, John Sims, but does it really matter now as 724 rejoiced and the party goes on.
The game was followed by dinner, a medallion ceremony and speeches from Stefan Kohler our host and sponsor and James Moffat on behalf of 724. We are very grateful to Swisscom for making the arrangements for the game, in particular Stefan Schillings who facilitated the entire day’s activities. All in all, a fantastic day of great team & partnership building. We await next year’s challenge!
