Nuuk's
B-67 won the recent men's national championship in Greenland courtesy
of a 3:2 win against G-44 from Qeqertarsuaq, but the club's triumph was
marred somewhat by the arrest of two of its squad the day before the final on 21/8/13 on
suspicion of possession of and intent to sell marijuana.
Binge drinking and drug use apparently occurred during the competition, but, over a month down the line, the true extent of both remains unclear. State TV and radio station KNR stated that the country was in "uproar" following the revelations of alcohol and drug abuse during the competition, while newspaper Sermitsiaq referred to the drugs find as a "scandal." The two B-67 players arrested have been suspended by the club, and also from all GBU (Grønlands Boldspil Union) competition - and, indeed, all sporting within the remit of the GIF (Grønlands Idrætsforbund) - until 1/9/13. B-67, meanwhile, released a statement to the press in which the following (with apologies for any errors in translation) was included:
"It should be made clear that the club takes a strong stance regarding marijuana and other drugs..B-67 Football Club has worked hard on the development of football, in particular focusing on children and young adults, and we are very proud of how far we have come.
"The club has, in addition to a serious approach to training, a number of basic values that we propagate and demand that club members must comply with, such as leading a healthy lifestyle, plus respect for themselves and for others.
"Now the club is allegedly faced with a case that goes against all of its core values, which has left everyone connected with the club very disappointed.
"B -67 is now considering how we can actively engage in the fight against alcohol and cannabis, which is obviously a big problem in this country."
The two players involved, whose identities were not revealed, were released after questioning by local police in the men's GM play-off competition venue, Qaqortoq. The Deputy Chief Officer of Greenland's police force, Morten Nielsen, was also quoted on the KNR website as saying that no other players or staff were currently helping police with their enquiries. He added that it was "unfortunate that two persons trading in cannabis would lead to unfounded suspicion being placed on the whole team."
Meanwhile, east Greenland's representatives in this year's competition, K-64 from the small town of Kuummiut, also found themselves at the centre of attention after it was reported that a number of the squad had indulged in bouts of binge drinking during the competition, according to an article published in Sermitsiaq on the same day that the two B-67 players were arrested.
It was even reported as being proposed at one stage by the GBU that there would be no automatic qualification for the final tournament for any club winning the regional tournament in eastern Greenland, but that they would instead have to travel to western Greenland to take part in that region's tournament first, and then come through that.
It would appear that this proposal has since faltered; should it ever come to pass, it would be prohibitively expensive for any team from the east of the country to travel twice to western Greenland to take part in a football tournament, especially for a village the size of Kuummiut, which has fewer than 350 inhabitants, and would unfairly punish those players from K-64 who did not take part in any of the alleged festivities, not to mention other teams from that side of the country who might win their regional championship in the future.
A pity that both controversies should overshadow what was otherwise quite an historic tournament; it was the first time in the history of the tournament that KNR broadcasted every single game live on television. It was a bold move, given the logistical difficulties of moving an entire outside broadcast unit plus staff down to southern Greenland, and despite one or two glitches with their coverage, it was one which paid off handsomely.
As was perhaps expected, perennial front-runners G-44, who hail from Qeqertarsuaq and who were the northernmost team taking part in the tournament, came top of Group A, drawing 1:1 against group runners-up NÛK, thrashing K-64 8:0 and defeating a spirited Eqaluk 54 by 4 goals to 1.
I-69 were unable to come anywhere near adding the men's title to that of their women's team, who triumphed in their competition in July, losing all three of their games in Group B. B-67, who put six past I-69 in their encounter, won all three of their games to top the group, though they were made to work hard by FC Malamuk before winning 1:0. The Ummannaq side, winners of the national championship in 2004, had to make do with the runners-up spot; K-33 finished third in the group, but did not disappoint.
G-44 and B-67, not unexpectedly, cruised through their semi-finals, defeating FC Malamuk and NÛK respectively, the second match being a Nuuk derby, to set up a much-anticipated - not to mention expected - final.
Four matches took place on finals day, and first up was the seventh-place match between K-64 and Eqaluk 54 from the tiny settlement of Tasiusaq, and K-64's woes continued in the play-off for seventh place as they found themselves on the end of a 6:1 thrashing.
Inuuteq Petersen opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a free-kick that deceived everyone in red and white before Eli Simonsen added a second on the half-hour. In the second half, Petersen's second and a brace (including a penalty) from Nuqaaraq Knudsen added to Eqaluk 54's total before Frederik Uitsatikitseq pulled one back for K-64 with four minutes left. Piuaattoq Kristiansen rounded off the scoring for Eqaluk 54 in the last minute with a delightful lofted shot into the top left-hand corner of the K-64 net.
Next on the agenda was the fifth-place play-off between local side K-33 and I-69. As it turned out, three unanswered second-half goals for K-33 against the team from Illulisat saw them take fifth place in the tournament, Nuka Hedtoft Lorentzen's terrific 55th minute half-volley from some 25 yards opening the scoring. Hans Rasmussen coolly added a second ten minutes later, and scored his second and K-33's third in the 91st minute.
In the third-place match, meanwhile, FC Malamuk took the lead against NÛK in the 33rd minute thanks to Morten Fleischer's curling effort from more than 20 yards out, though Minik Petersen levelled for NÛK in the 50th minute following a counter-attack. Jens Peter Dahl scored the winner for NÛK 15 seconds into second-half injury-time.
On to the final itself, then, and it was a match between last year's champions (B-67) and the team which won the championship in 2011 (G-44), and this year's encounter was played before several hundred people.
Despite B-67 seting up camp in the G-44 half for most of the opening period of the match, it was G-44 who took the lead in the 15th minute, Maasinnguaq Brandt taking advantage of casual B-67 defending before running on, exchanging a one-two with Juannsinnguaq Therkelsen before flicking the ball with the outside of his foot past John Kreutzmann at the near left-hand post.
B-67 kept up the pressure, and equalised in the 32nd minute courtesy of - to use a hackneyed expression - an absolute howler by G-44 goalkeeper Knud Brandt, who completely misread a cross-shot from Maasi Maqe and, instead of catching the ball, dropped it behind his head and fumbled it over the line. The goal was, from a B-67 point of view, thoroughly deserved, but it would have been hard not to sympathise with Brandt, who had performed well up to that point.
Brandt could do nothing about Norsaq Lund Mathæssen's effort which gave B-67 the lead four minutes later; he could only stand and watch after Matthæaessen's fine swivel and subsequent shot from the edge of the area hit the underside of the G-44 crossbar before landing over the line.
It was fairly even until well into the second half, when Frederik Funch scored B-67's third in the 66th minute; some scrappy play in midfield led to the ball being played into the G-44 penalty-area by Hans Karl Berthelsen, where Matthæussen rounded Brandt and attempted a cross-shot, which was fired across the face of goal, and which resulted in Funch clipping the ball from the angle of the six-yard box past G-44 captain Nukannguaq Zeeb's despairing lunge.
G-44, enjoying much more possession since B-67's third goal, got themselves back into the the game eight minutes later, when Zeeb's free-kick found Malik Jeremiassen, whose looping header across Kreutzmann's goal left the B-67 'keeper in no-mans-land and bounced gently into the back of the net.
B-67 could have made the game safe moments later, but Frederik Funch's header from close range was well saved by Brandt. Funch's subsequent attempt to bundle both Brandt and the ball into the net earned him a yellow card; Brandt also ended up in the referee's note-book, but redeemed himself in the 80th minute, coming out on top in a one-to-one against Mathæussen.
The remainder of the match saw a collection of shots from both sides which whistled high or wide, though G-44 almost levelled in the last minute or so of normal time, first through Gedion Kleist, and then Jeremiassen's volley went just wide of Kreutzmann's right-hand post.
The game ended on a farcical note with Zeeb, who had been booked in the fourth minute of injury-time, earning himself a straight red card for dissent immediately after the final whistle. Referee Daniel Jakobsen kept a rather tight line on things throughout the match, with the only criticism one could level at him being that he was somewhat too liberal with the issuing of yellow cards.
So, in spite of everything, B-67 finished top of the pile and deservedly so, having looked comfortable throughout the competition, and the proof of the pudding was six of their players being included in the Team of the Tournament.
They will surely be among the favourites to lift the title again next year, when the national championship's final tournament will be held in Nuuk. However, NÛK have been given the right to host the competition in recognition of the 80th anniversary of the club's foundation, and so city rivals B-67 will have to take part in the qualifying stages.
Please find below the results for the final tournament of the 2013 Greenland men's national championship, and also details of the Team of the Tournament.
GROUP A
15/08/13 13:00 G-44 1:1 NÛK
15/08/13 15:00 K-64 2:5 Eqaluk 54
16/08/13 13:00 G-44 8:0 K-64
16/08/13 15:00 NÛK 1:0 Eqaluk 54
17/08/13 13:00 G-44 4:1 Eqaluk 54
17/08/13 15:00 NÛK 3:0 K-64
GROUP B
15/08/13 17:00 I-69 0:1 K-33
15/08/13 19:00 B-67 1:0 FC Malamuk
16/08/13 17:00 I-69 1:6 B-67
16/08/13 19:00 K-33 1:1 FC Malamuk
17/08/13 17:00 I-69 1:2 FC Malamuk
17/08/13 19:00 K-33 0:3 B-67
SEMI-FINALS
19/08/13 14:00 G-44 3:1 FC Malamuk
19/08/13 16:00 B-67 4:0 NÛK
SEVENTH-PLACE MATCH
21/8/13 10:00 Eqaluk 54 6:1 K-64
FIFTH-PLACE MATCH
21/8/13 12:00 I-69 0:3 K-33
THIRD-PLACE MATCH
21/08/13 14:00 FC Malamuk 1:2 NÛK
FINAL
21/08/13 16:00 G-44 2:3 B-67
G-44: 12 Knud BRANDT; 4 Nukannguaq ZEEB (C), 19 Jan LYBERTH (14 Ilasiannguaq MARTINSEN), 20 Malik JEREMIASSEN, 23 Gedion KLEIST; 7 Steve BROBERG (28 Ulloriaq GRØNVOLD), 9 Juaansinnguaq THERKELSEN, 22 Inooraq SVENDSEN, 26 Inooraq OLRIK (15 Hans Jørgen ZEEB); 8 Maasinnguaq BRANDT, 10 Aputsiaq OLSEN
MANAGER: Steve BROBERG
B-67: 1 John KREUTZMANN; 5 Peter KNUDSEN, 13 Aputsiaq BIRCH, 14 Lars Peter BROBERG (2 Miki PETERSEN), 21 Jakob MØLLER; 6 Anders HEILMANN PETERSEN (C), 9 Johan Ludvig BROBERG, 10 Maasi MAQE; 7 Frederik FUNCH, 11 Malik BERTHELSEN (17 Hans Karl BERTHELSEN), 18 Norsaq Lund MATHÆUSSEN
MANAGER: Rene OLSEN
TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT
GOALKEEPER: John KREUTZMANN (B-67)
DEFENDERS: Jakob MØLLER (B-67), Nukannguaq ZEEB (G-44), Aputsiaq BIRCH (B-67), Lars Peter BROBERG (B-67)
MIDFIELDERS: Hans KNUDSEN (K-33), Maasi MAQI (B-67), Kaassannguaq ZEEB (FC Malamuk), Maasinnguaq BRANDT (G-44)
FORWARDS: Norsaq LUND MATHÆUSSEN (B-67), Jens Peter DAHL (NÛK)
Dahl also won the Fair Play trophy, while Lund Mathæussen won the "Fighter" (most combative player) award.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Much of the information contained in the article above was taken from articles on both the KNR (www.knr.gl) and Sermitsiaq (www.sermitsiaq.gl) websites.
Binge drinking and drug use apparently occurred during the competition, but, over a month down the line, the true extent of both remains unclear. State TV and radio station KNR stated that the country was in "uproar" following the revelations of alcohol and drug abuse during the competition, while newspaper Sermitsiaq referred to the drugs find as a "scandal." The two B-67 players arrested have been suspended by the club, and also from all GBU (Grønlands Boldspil Union) competition - and, indeed, all sporting within the remit of the GIF (Grønlands Idrætsforbund) - until 1/9/13. B-67, meanwhile, released a statement to the press in which the following (with apologies for any errors in translation) was included:
"It should be made clear that the club takes a strong stance regarding marijuana and other drugs..B-67 Football Club has worked hard on the development of football, in particular focusing on children and young adults, and we are very proud of how far we have come.
"The club has, in addition to a serious approach to training, a number of basic values that we propagate and demand that club members must comply with, such as leading a healthy lifestyle, plus respect for themselves and for others.
"Now the club is allegedly faced with a case that goes against all of its core values, which has left everyone connected with the club very disappointed.
"B -67 is now considering how we can actively engage in the fight against alcohol and cannabis, which is obviously a big problem in this country."
The two players involved, whose identities were not revealed, were released after questioning by local police in the men's GM play-off competition venue, Qaqortoq. The Deputy Chief Officer of Greenland's police force, Morten Nielsen, was also quoted on the KNR website as saying that no other players or staff were currently helping police with their enquiries. He added that it was "unfortunate that two persons trading in cannabis would lead to unfounded suspicion being placed on the whole team."
Meanwhile, east Greenland's representatives in this year's competition, K-64 from the small town of Kuummiut, also found themselves at the centre of attention after it was reported that a number of the squad had indulged in bouts of binge drinking during the competition, according to an article published in Sermitsiaq on the same day that the two B-67 players were arrested.
It was even reported as being proposed at one stage by the GBU that there would be no automatic qualification for the final tournament for any club winning the regional tournament in eastern Greenland, but that they would instead have to travel to western Greenland to take part in that region's tournament first, and then come through that.
It would appear that this proposal has since faltered; should it ever come to pass, it would be prohibitively expensive for any team from the east of the country to travel twice to western Greenland to take part in a football tournament, especially for a village the size of Kuummiut, which has fewer than 350 inhabitants, and would unfairly punish those players from K-64 who did not take part in any of the alleged festivities, not to mention other teams from that side of the country who might win their regional championship in the future.
A pity that both controversies should overshadow what was otherwise quite an historic tournament; it was the first time in the history of the tournament that KNR broadcasted every single game live on television. It was a bold move, given the logistical difficulties of moving an entire outside broadcast unit plus staff down to southern Greenland, and despite one or two glitches with their coverage, it was one which paid off handsomely.
As was perhaps expected, perennial front-runners G-44, who hail from Qeqertarsuaq and who were the northernmost team taking part in the tournament, came top of Group A, drawing 1:1 against group runners-up NÛK, thrashing K-64 8:0 and defeating a spirited Eqaluk 54 by 4 goals to 1.
I-69 were unable to come anywhere near adding the men's title to that of their women's team, who triumphed in their competition in July, losing all three of their games in Group B. B-67, who put six past I-69 in their encounter, won all three of their games to top the group, though they were made to work hard by FC Malamuk before winning 1:0. The Ummannaq side, winners of the national championship in 2004, had to make do with the runners-up spot; K-33 finished third in the group, but did not disappoint.
G-44 and B-67, not unexpectedly, cruised through their semi-finals, defeating FC Malamuk and NÛK respectively, the second match being a Nuuk derby, to set up a much-anticipated - not to mention expected - final.
Four matches took place on finals day, and first up was the seventh-place match between K-64 and Eqaluk 54 from the tiny settlement of Tasiusaq, and K-64's woes continued in the play-off for seventh place as they found themselves on the end of a 6:1 thrashing.
Inuuteq Petersen opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a free-kick that deceived everyone in red and white before Eli Simonsen added a second on the half-hour. In the second half, Petersen's second and a brace (including a penalty) from Nuqaaraq Knudsen added to Eqaluk 54's total before Frederik Uitsatikitseq pulled one back for K-64 with four minutes left. Piuaattoq Kristiansen rounded off the scoring for Eqaluk 54 in the last minute with a delightful lofted shot into the top left-hand corner of the K-64 net.
Next on the agenda was the fifth-place play-off between local side K-33 and I-69. As it turned out, three unanswered second-half goals for K-33 against the team from Illulisat saw them take fifth place in the tournament, Nuka Hedtoft Lorentzen's terrific 55th minute half-volley from some 25 yards opening the scoring. Hans Rasmussen coolly added a second ten minutes later, and scored his second and K-33's third in the 91st minute.
In the third-place match, meanwhile, FC Malamuk took the lead against NÛK in the 33rd minute thanks to Morten Fleischer's curling effort from more than 20 yards out, though Minik Petersen levelled for NÛK in the 50th minute following a counter-attack. Jens Peter Dahl scored the winner for NÛK 15 seconds into second-half injury-time.
On to the final itself, then, and it was a match between last year's champions (B-67) and the team which won the championship in 2011 (G-44), and this year's encounter was played before several hundred people.
Despite B-67 seting up camp in the G-44 half for most of the opening period of the match, it was G-44 who took the lead in the 15th minute, Maasinnguaq Brandt taking advantage of casual B-67 defending before running on, exchanging a one-two with Juannsinnguaq Therkelsen before flicking the ball with the outside of his foot past John Kreutzmann at the near left-hand post.
B-67 kept up the pressure, and equalised in the 32nd minute courtesy of - to use a hackneyed expression - an absolute howler by G-44 goalkeeper Knud Brandt, who completely misread a cross-shot from Maasi Maqe and, instead of catching the ball, dropped it behind his head and fumbled it over the line. The goal was, from a B-67 point of view, thoroughly deserved, but it would have been hard not to sympathise with Brandt, who had performed well up to that point.
Brandt could do nothing about Norsaq Lund Mathæssen's effort which gave B-67 the lead four minutes later; he could only stand and watch after Matthæaessen's fine swivel and subsequent shot from the edge of the area hit the underside of the G-44 crossbar before landing over the line.
It was fairly even until well into the second half, when Frederik Funch scored B-67's third in the 66th minute; some scrappy play in midfield led to the ball being played into the G-44 penalty-area by Hans Karl Berthelsen, where Matthæussen rounded Brandt and attempted a cross-shot, which was fired across the face of goal, and which resulted in Funch clipping the ball from the angle of the six-yard box past G-44 captain Nukannguaq Zeeb's despairing lunge.
G-44, enjoying much more possession since B-67's third goal, got themselves back into the the game eight minutes later, when Zeeb's free-kick found Malik Jeremiassen, whose looping header across Kreutzmann's goal left the B-67 'keeper in no-mans-land and bounced gently into the back of the net.
B-67 could have made the game safe moments later, but Frederik Funch's header from close range was well saved by Brandt. Funch's subsequent attempt to bundle both Brandt and the ball into the net earned him a yellow card; Brandt also ended up in the referee's note-book, but redeemed himself in the 80th minute, coming out on top in a one-to-one against Mathæussen.
The remainder of the match saw a collection of shots from both sides which whistled high or wide, though G-44 almost levelled in the last minute or so of normal time, first through Gedion Kleist, and then Jeremiassen's volley went just wide of Kreutzmann's right-hand post.
The game ended on a farcical note with Zeeb, who had been booked in the fourth minute of injury-time, earning himself a straight red card for dissent immediately after the final whistle. Referee Daniel Jakobsen kept a rather tight line on things throughout the match, with the only criticism one could level at him being that he was somewhat too liberal with the issuing of yellow cards.
So, in spite of everything, B-67 finished top of the pile and deservedly so, having looked comfortable throughout the competition, and the proof of the pudding was six of their players being included in the Team of the Tournament.
They will surely be among the favourites to lift the title again next year, when the national championship's final tournament will be held in Nuuk. However, NÛK have been given the right to host the competition in recognition of the 80th anniversary of the club's foundation, and so city rivals B-67 will have to take part in the qualifying stages.
Please find below the results for the final tournament of the 2013 Greenland men's national championship, and also details of the Team of the Tournament.
GROUP A
15/08/13 13:00 G-44 1:1 NÛK
15/08/13 15:00 K-64 2:5 Eqaluk 54
16/08/13 13:00 G-44 8:0 K-64
16/08/13 15:00 NÛK 1:0 Eqaluk 54
17/08/13 13:00 G-44 4:1 Eqaluk 54
17/08/13 15:00 NÛK 3:0 K-64
GROUP B
15/08/13 17:00 I-69 0:1 K-33
15/08/13 19:00 B-67 1:0 FC Malamuk
16/08/13 17:00 I-69 1:6 B-67
16/08/13 19:00 K-33 1:1 FC Malamuk
17/08/13 17:00 I-69 1:2 FC Malamuk
17/08/13 19:00 K-33 0:3 B-67
SEMI-FINALS
19/08/13 14:00 G-44 3:1 FC Malamuk
19/08/13 16:00 B-67 4:0 NÛK
SEVENTH-PLACE MATCH
21/8/13 10:00 Eqaluk 54 6:1 K-64
FIFTH-PLACE MATCH
21/8/13 12:00 I-69 0:3 K-33
THIRD-PLACE MATCH
21/08/13 14:00 FC Malamuk 1:2 NÛK
FINAL
21/08/13 16:00 G-44 2:3 B-67
G-44: 12 Knud BRANDT; 4 Nukannguaq ZEEB (C), 19 Jan LYBERTH (14 Ilasiannguaq MARTINSEN), 20 Malik JEREMIASSEN, 23 Gedion KLEIST; 7 Steve BROBERG (28 Ulloriaq GRØNVOLD), 9 Juaansinnguaq THERKELSEN, 22 Inooraq SVENDSEN, 26 Inooraq OLRIK (15 Hans Jørgen ZEEB); 8 Maasinnguaq BRANDT, 10 Aputsiaq OLSEN
MANAGER: Steve BROBERG
B-67: 1 John KREUTZMANN; 5 Peter KNUDSEN, 13 Aputsiaq BIRCH, 14 Lars Peter BROBERG (2 Miki PETERSEN), 21 Jakob MØLLER; 6 Anders HEILMANN PETERSEN (C), 9 Johan Ludvig BROBERG, 10 Maasi MAQE; 7 Frederik FUNCH, 11 Malik BERTHELSEN (17 Hans Karl BERTHELSEN), 18 Norsaq Lund MATHÆUSSEN
MANAGER: Rene OLSEN
TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT
GOALKEEPER: John KREUTZMANN (B-67)
DEFENDERS: Jakob MØLLER (B-67), Nukannguaq ZEEB (G-44), Aputsiaq BIRCH (B-67), Lars Peter BROBERG (B-67)
MIDFIELDERS: Hans KNUDSEN (K-33), Maasi MAQI (B-67), Kaassannguaq ZEEB (FC Malamuk), Maasinnguaq BRANDT (G-44)
FORWARDS: Norsaq LUND MATHÆUSSEN (B-67), Jens Peter DAHL (NÛK)
Dahl also won the Fair Play trophy, while Lund Mathæussen won the "Fighter" (most combative player) award.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Much of the information contained in the article above was taken from articles on both the KNR (www.knr.gl) and Sermitsiaq (www.sermitsiaq.gl) websites.
No comments:
Post a Comment