Sauerkraut Cup 2008 at Leeds University


So, there I was at the National Sauerkraut Cup, a footballing event open to German society football teams across the UK. No less than three teams from both Leeds and Sheffield turned up to play, along with a team from Liverpool and even all the way from Bristol. The Leeds German football team has gone from strength to strength this past year. It has roughly doubled in size and has been competing in Leeds University intramural leagues, coming first then second in respective men’s and twice second in the mixed league. The result was that a large Leeds contingent of fans turned up to cheer on the team, combining with travelling fans from other Unis to have a full-blown picnic in the bright sunshine on the Saturday afternoon this event took place.


Leeds 2 got off to a flying start, winning 1-0; it was just a shame that they were playing Leeds 3! However, that didn’t stop them getting into the competitive spirit, and the crowd were nicely warmed up for the Leeds 1 vs. Sheffield 1 game. There were some early setbacks which saw Leeds go 2-0 down. A fantastic comeback however allowed them to draw equal, scoring two goals in three minutes and eventually bringing off a 3-2 victory thanks to a stunning strike from Kerstin! The rivalry in the game was intense; Leeds and Sheffield competed in last year’s Sauerkraut cup in Sheffield, the first tournament after a slump brought about by a lack of funding, and Sheffield won – Leeds, on home territory, had its pride on the line!


Pom-poms and a megaphone came out for the Sheffield 3 vs. Liverpool game, which Liverpool won with some quick passes and an impressive 5-0 victory. Next up was Bristol vs. Sheffield 2, a blur of red and blue on the pitch with plenty of cage-rattling from the fans on the sides when goals were scored- Sheffield emerged victorious from that one. Then it was another Leeds-Sheffield game – Leeds 1 vs. Sheffield 3 – and with the arrival of the ‘Incredible Hunkes’ banner, Leeds were spurred on to a cracking victory, despite an injured player and an unfortunate own goal! (For those not in the know, Morten Hunke is a football playing member of staff, and all-round living legend when it comes to anything football related!) The Sheffield goalkeeper’s face was as orange as his shirt by the end of the game, but at least his cursing and shouting kept his players up the Leeds end of the pitch, managing to just get in 2 goals next to Leeds’ 4.


Immediately after, Leeds 3 flattened Sheffield 1 3-0, and then came the Sheffield- Liverpool game. The Sheffield team were starting to get agitated, but the slightly troglodyte Liverpool players were rather scary themselves and kept Sheffield from becoming too agitated. The game came down to an exciting, if protracted, penalty shootout, in which everyone managed to look equally horrifically terrifying, making it a shame the national gurning squad talent scouts weren’t out in force. Sheffield managed to win the shootout on sudden death, causing much rejoicing and cage-rattling from the fans, while the Liverpool goalkeeper was put back in his cage.


The Leeds 2 vs. Bristol game saw the re-introduction of resident local living legend Morten Hunke and Leeds took a 4-2 victory, though well-contested by Bristol. A Leeds 1 v Leeds 3 semi-final put Leeds 1 in the final, with the former pulling off an exciting 3-2 victory. The second semi was equally if not more nerve jangling as a 2-2 draw led to penalties, which Sheffield saw out with some good goalkeeping to make it a Leeds v Sheffield final. And so, the culmination of four hours of gruelling football was reached, as the Sauerkraut cup final began. Two teams; one cup. Two stories; one rivalry. Two cities – two Universities – one game. Fußball. Sport of kings, commoners, young, old, men and women – eight entered equal, but only one team would leave victorious. It was end-to-end stuff from beginning to end, with nigh- equal possession and dazzling displays of talent from each side. It took a powerful right foot from Dom to break the deadlock for Leeds, which was closely followed by a fantastic strike from one of the players of the tournament, Franz. Sheffield came back with some majestic build-up play, but were having trouble breaching the Leeds goal due to some fine goalkeeping from Ali. Franz struck again to take the score to 3-0, but just as the lead was beginning to look unassailable, Sheffield finally got a break through to bring it back to 3-1. A nervous end to the game for Leeds saw more pressure from Sheffield, but there were to be no more goals and Leeds therefore avenged their defeat at the hands of Sheffield last year.


The final was followed by a social in the Old Bar, where rivalries were set aside in place of a few beers! The trophy was presented to the winning Leeds team to round off what had been a great day. Our thanks go to the visiting teams from Liverpool, Bristol and Sheffield – especially the latter two, for coming such a long distance and for bringing so many fans which added to the atmosphere on the day. Many thanks also go to those from Leeds who helped make the day such a success – players, fans, those who came early to set up, the girls for the banner, and last but not least Helga for gritting her teeth and watching a bit of football!


Prepare yourselves for next year, Bristol!