Soccer tournament

DIVULJE TRAINING BASE, Croatia – Macedonian Emil Nadjenovski charges down the field during a soccer tournament here May 8. The multi-national soccer tournament helped was designed to help 2008 Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe (MEDCEUR) participants gain cultural insights both on and off the field. Fifteen nations are participating in the 2008 Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe from May 2 through 14. The exercise focuses on mass-casualty training scenarios and humanitarian aid in response to crises situations. MEDCEUR is a Joint Chiefs of Staff regional/multilateral exercise sponsored by U.S. European Command. Croatia is hosting the 2008 exercise which has drawn about 400 multi-nationals in support of the Partnership for Peace initiative. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kristin Ruleau)

Multi-nationals get kick out of MEDCEUR

Published May 11, 2008
By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe Public Affairs

DIVULJE TRAINING BASE, Croatia -- Cheers, claps and gasps at missed opportunities radiated through the crowd as service members deployed took a break from the Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe (MEDCEUR) to indulge in a friendly soccer tournament here May 8 through 9.

Players with a wide range of experience formed the teams. Some members said they had had not played the game in years while others had taken the field only days ago. Some countries delegations had enough players to form two five-man teams while other countries reached out to fellow MEDCEUR participants to band together as one team.

The tournament featured 11 games to narrow down the playing field, followed by a two-game semi-finals round to determine who would play the championship game.

Christoph Otto, defender, played on the American team. The German marathon runner said it was a pleasure for him to play on the team. "They were pretty good players, I was surprised," he said. "We had fun. The most exciting thing is to be on the field participating."

Despite his speed, the team took a crushing defeat at the hands of a mixed multi-national team in their first game with a final score of 7-1.
As the tournament progressed teams were slowly eliminated building up to the final match-up: the two Croatian teams faced off in a contest for more than a championship title. The competed for the bragging right of having bested their fellow countrymen.

Croatian Host Nation Support Team and the Croatian Special Forces Team were almost evenly matched in the final battle; however, Croatian Host Nation Support player Robert Matic belted the ball past the defending goal putting his team on the board in the first half of the game. His goal secured their victory as the only score of the 30-minute game.

"It feels nice to win," said Matic who plays soccer with friends for fun. "We are glad to win because we are the host nation."