We made it back from the Siemens We Are Energy! Soccer Cup tournament in Germany. With 40 teams from 26 different countries the event was truly a memorable experience. This event gave us a chance to meet people from other Siemens companies.

The soccer cup was a great team building event for all of us as well as other teams. One team in particular, was brought together for the first time as the players were all selected in pairs from five different locations. The result of this ended up bringing them to the playoffs, as the players all came together as if they had been practicing as a team for months (though it was impossible for them to practice as a team prior to the event). Even though we were fortunate enough that our whole team got to practice together prior to the event, we were still out matched. We played the United Kingdom, Portugal, Peru, and Nuremburg (Germany) teams in our bracket. The United Kingdom team went on to the quarter finals but was defeated by Austria 1:3.

Congratulations go to the Brno team from the Czech Republic, who were victorious against Denmark in the finals round!!

The event was very well orchestrated. They had a food/beer garden set up in front of the two main playing fields providing all with good beer and great food. Players also had access to a separate tent, where we were provided with three very filling meals a day. I got to try ostrich steak for the first time and eat some very good bratwurst and sauerkraut there. Also available to players was a massage tent to mend sore muscles. In-between matches we met other teams on the inflatable human foosball court. Opening and closing ceremonies were also well organized and brought all 400 players together.

At the end of each day all the teams would get together to watch the World Cup 2010 games on a massive TV set up on one field. There was a beer stand set up nearby so we didn’t have to walk far for a good drink. The Germany – Australia game was the most exciting to watch as there was an estimated 1000 people on the field watching it with us.

Every team was provided with their own tent, cots, and sleeping bags. They were all set up on the grounds together and provided a place for teams to hang out thru the late night and into the early morning. The sleeping bags provided to us were not quite warm enough for the cool nights in Germany, approximately 50°F.

We did not come back empty handed, however. There were five trophies handed out at the event: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, best goal keeper, and best jersey. To our surprise we won the best jersey award. We were admiring some of the other teams’ jerseys and uniforms for their quality. Everyone there loved our team name “Best of the Würst”. I credit the name and logo for our award. Locals had come up to several of our players asking if they could take a picture of the jersey.

Presenting the awards were Gerd Lohwasser, mayor of Erlangen; Joachim Herrmann, interior minister of Bavaria; and Ralf Guntermann, Chief Financial Officer of Siemens Energy.

The event was a great success. We all had an outstanding time playing soccer and hanging out with the other teams. The food, drinks and other amenities provided far exceeded our expectations. I hope when the next World Cup comes around in four years Siemens Energy will have another Soccer Cup tournament as Ralf Guntermann suggested in his speech at the closing ceremony. We would all like to thank all of the organizers and managers who made this event possible.