Article:
ISSUE No. 9 March - April 2008

Dubai Cup 2008
VfB Stuttgart Takes third Place against Ajax Amsterdam

During the international soccer tournament with the proud name of: “Mohammed Bin Rashid International Football Championship”, also known as the Dubai Cup, the German champions VfB Stuttgart earned third place.

From January 5th thru the 7th, many renowned soccer clubs like Inter Milan, Ajax Amsterdam and SC Internacional from Porto Alegre, Brazil played for the coveted Dubai Cup. Sport Club Internacional took the cup with a 2-1 win over Inter Milan. VfB Stuttgart secured third place with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam. The winning goal was shot by Alexander Farnerud 88 minutes into the game.
DiscoverME spoke with VfB Stuttgart coach Jochen Schneider about the experiences of his team in Dubai.

VfB has again chosen Dubai as its winter training camp. Why did you choose Dubai, since it is not really known as a soccer paradise?

The United Arab Emirates offer fantastic conditions for a training camp like: perfect weather, decent playing fields, plenty of friendly game opponents and extremely hospitable people. These are the reasons we just completed our fourth training camp in Dubai.

How important was the participation in the Dubai Cup and how were the conditions?

The Dubai Cup is a fantastic event with high caliber participants. The event is highly organized and allows the participants to test their skills under tournament conditions. This is why we accepted the offer to participate in the Dubai Cup. We are quite satisfied with the results of the tournament, although we would have preferred to have taken first place instead of third.

Was the team able to get acquainted with Dubai as a city? What were their first impressions?

Because of our intensive training, the players and trainers had very little free time. Some of our players have been here on previous vacations and are already acquainted with this fascinating emirate.

Will VfB return next year?

We can’t really say that yet, although Dubai is always worth a trip.