Lions ends 5th in the SPL World Cup

With the World Cup Fever spreading around the world it was no surprise the fever arrived in China as well. The 2nd edition of the Green City SPL World Cup was a great success. The event is organized by the SPL together with the local government & That’s Magazine. It was a great opportunity for local people to get a taste of Football, Fun and Party. Charles and Azz had set up nice soccer games for everybody. The dunk tank especially proved to be a major hit.

The first day, it was round-robin with 12 countries split in 2 groups. The Lions (Argentina) didn’t start very well as they dropped points against Italy and lost against France ! After that there was only one way to make it into the finals of Sunday and that’s winning every game. The game against China proved to be crucial as despite the solid win we need to get more goals to keep France out as they faced Spain in their final point they needed to win by two goals difference and that’s just what they did ! So after 5 games we missed the finals of the SPL World Cup by only one goal 🙁

On Sunday we just played for fun and enjoyed the atmosphere with a great Price Ceremony and a fantastic Brazilian Band. It was here where we received our SPL Champions Trophy.

The trophy been handed out to Joel Zielke the Lions Captain who after seven years in Shanghai decided it was time to move back to the USA ! Joel has been a role model for our Club and the players. A true leader on the pitch who always showed a great fighting spirit and a capability to score goals. He could carry the team and let everybody play better. Many of our games we won in the last minutes due to his “never give up” attitude. He was also a great coach for younger players and we surely will miss him and his family and wish them all the best in the world !

Cheers

Freek