JAMIE'S ITALIAN WORLD CUP FINAL
15.07.2011

On Tuesday 5 July the Jamie's Italian 5 a side football tournament was held in London under sunny skies with the rain holding off until the last kick of the final.  It was a fantastic day as 17 teams from the restaurants and 2 brave teams from Ops competed for the trophy.  Group stages were played in 4 leagues and the games came fast and furious.  Special mention must go to the lads from Glasgow who'd travelled down overnight from Glasgow (by coach!), came straight to the tournament, looked slick and played the most beautiful football.  Sadly, fatigue and a nail-biting penalty shootout in the knockout stages, won by Cambridge, put paid to their ambitions to take the trophy back to Scotland.  But the trophy did go north.... the last 16 were whittled down to the last 8 and then semi finals between Oxford & Bath and Leeds & Covent Garden.  A hugely competitve final was played between Leeds and Oxford, finished 2-2, went to penalties and was won by a Leeds team who came down to the tournament organised, focused and determined to win!
Lots of effort went into making the day a great day to remember, especially the vocal band of supporters and the two lovely chefs from Covent Garden who came to look after the hog roasts and make sandwiches to keep everyone's energy levels high.  Final mention though must go to the team from Portsmouth who made an impressive entry on the pitch given that they've only very recently opened and won extra marks for their "FA Cup final" approach, arriving with wash bags and suit carriers and changing into suits, shirts and ties before taking the team coach back to Pompey for a night on the town.