16 teams, 1,000 fans and one trophy: The Hapag-Lloyd Football Tournament
A great atmosphere, fans going wild in the stands and a lot of team spirit: It wasn’t just the European Championships or the Copa América that were keeping football fans on the edge of their seats last weekend, as yet another event was sparking great excitement: the 14th International Hapag-Lloyd Football Tournament.
All in all, 16 teams made up of employees from 35 countries competed against each other for the honor of taking home the coveted Hapag-Lloyd football trophy. After the group games and the knock-out rounds, it was ultimately the “Area Germany” and “Region South America” teams that faced each other in a hard-fought final. The match remained scoreless until the very end. But then, at the very last second, Joaquín Alonso of Argentina scored the winning goal, securing the trophy for the South American squad. The winning team’s roster included players from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru. Incidentally, the tournament’s leading scorer was also from Argentina: Matias Carabelli (playing for Region South America) put by far the most balls in his opponents’ nets.
All the players and fans have already made it back home by now. But one thing remains: the team spirit of Hapag-Lloyd employees worldwide.