A World Games medal for the inclusive football team: Schweizer sank two corner balls directly

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They are back home: the football players of FC Zuwebe have returned satisfied and happy from the mission of the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. “It was a great experience,” enthuses coach Ambros Birrer. “We had a great stay and played a lot of great football games.”

FC Zuwebe in Baar ZG was the official Swiss football representative at the world’s largest sporting event for people with disabilities. The foundation provides sheltered training, jobs and housing to people with an intellectual disability, an intellectual disability or an intellectual disability. And FC showed in Berlin that they can hold their own internationally: Zuwebe’s team took 10th place out of 16 teams. “We finished 4th in the 2nd division. We can be proud of our achievement,” says “Nati” coach Birrer.

victories – and a special highlight

On the way to this qualification, FC Zuwebe completed preliminary round matches against Ireland, Uganda, New Zealand and Hong Kong and qualified for the main round in the 2nd division, the second highest division. New Zealand and Uganda were waiting there again, as well as two teams from Germany.

The highlight for Birrer and his team: the victories against Hong Kong and New Zealand and two great goals from the young Sandro Piccone. “He scored twice against Hong Kong with a direct corner kick. That was amazing! And Sandro himself could hardly believe it. »

Misunderstanding about group assignment

All in all a successful Mission World Games for the Zuwebe troupe. With a touch of bitterness: the game against Germany 1 turned into a farce. The reason: “Germany 1 would actually have belonged to the first division in terms of level, but the organizers assigned it to our division. Of course we didn’t stand a chance against such an opponent,” said Ambros Birrer. 0:25 was the brutal verdict. But the players would have digested it well. “Knowing that this match should not have taken place due to the different levels of play, we were able to tick it off pretty quickly.” The joy was on their faces again as soon as they took the group photo and the La Ola wave in front of the crowd.

But Birrer does not want to leave the matter alone. The trainer wrote an email to Special Olympics International with Special Olympics Switzerland – requesting an explanation. “Germany will do the same, they also did not understand this decision. They couldn’t really be happy with their win either.”

Great atmosphere, lots of spectators

Despite everything: Ambros Birrer and his boys return from Berlin with many fond memories. “The mood in the team was very good, the whole atmosphere at the games was simply unique.” Everything was very fair and the many volunteers were always polite. “We also had very good contact with the other teams,” says Birrer. And the spectators were also enthusiastic: the stands of the games in the Olympic area of ​​Berlin were always well filled.

And exactly: there are no after-effects, says the coach. “No one on the team had any negative feelings. Especially since we got a really nice price. Each of us received a medal with a colored ribbon. That made everyone very proud!”

Discover in the video how the players of FC Zuwebe experienced the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin!

Source : Blick