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15/07/2008 | THE JULIUS BAER POLO SUMMER MASTER CUP – COSTA SMERALDA, ITALY 2008
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 Costa Smeralda has played host to some spectacular polo tournaments, and the Julius Baer Summer Master Cup, from 6th to 13th July 2008, in its inaugural year, will definitely be a tournament that is remembered.
The Julius Baer Polo Summer Master Cup is somewhat unique with all the league matches being played at night. This is a first for Costa Smeralda and has been done a limited number of times internationally. A massive amount of organisation was required in order to prepare the grounds for evening polo with eight massive towers being erected to support the lighting. The result was breathtaking and was met with massive support from the players and spectators alike. In fact for most this tournament was the ideal, spending all day in the beautiful Mediterranean sea and at night playing the superb sport of polo. Philipp Maeder said “it was very kind of the organising committee (Maurizio Zuliani and Claudio Giorgiutti) to arrange this event so we can enjoy the best that Costa Smeralda has to offer”.
Six teams (Audi, Cala di Volpe, Julius Baer, Jaeger LeCoultre, Malo and Web Eyewear) battled it out for the Master Cup trophy in two leagues. The teams were 12-15 goals in handicap and featured a large number of top players from Argentina. Twelve matches took place before the final was decided and each match was a superb display of polo skill in a truly unique evening environment. All the league matches were incredibly close and the teams were very evenly matched.
Yet again the weather in Italy was at its best for the eight-day tournament, with dry, clear evenings, encouraging many spectators to fill the stands.
The final was played in the afternoon amidst beautiful Italian sunshine. The final featured Audi a team with Italian patron Luca D'Orazio (0), supported by three Argentine players, Manuel Carranza (4), Juan Pedro Chavanne (5) and Santiago Toccalino. It only seemed fitting that the title sponsor in this unique event managed to get their team into the final after some incredibly tough league matches. Julius Baer featured Italian Gian Luigi Marchiorello (0), again supported by three Argentine players Paulo Bertola (4), Juan Gonzales (4) and Agustin Garcia Grossi (7).
These two teams had met earlier in the tournament where Julius Baer had run out the victors in a narrow 6-4 victory. Everyone knew the final was going to be a tough match to call. In a fast and exhilarating match Julius Baer maintained their winning edge over Audi and won 9-8 in a match that could have gone either way and that had spectators on the edge of their seats as the score fluctuated for either side.
The best playing pony of the Julius Baer Polo Summer Master Cup 2008 was awarded to Macchina played by Agustin Garcia Grossi in the final for Julius Baer.
The Best Player (Goleador) of the tournament was awarded to Edouardo Menendez (7) who played for Jaeger-LeCoultre Polo Team and Pablo Pieres (6) for Malo Polo Team: both scored the most goals in the tournament (22 goals). Both Jaeger-LeCoultre and Malo Polo Teams played off for the Subsiduary final that resulted in a 3-3 draw.
The programme for next year’s Polo Summer Master Cup has not yet been planned as the G8 conference is to be held in Sardinia next year and it may be difficult to organise the tournament during that period. The Spring Gold Cup tournament will however go ahead as planned in Costa Smerelda and will be held the last week of April. Plans for the summer tournament will be made and announced soon. |
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| 14/07/2008 - TEAM JULIUS BAER WINS THE POLO SUMMER MASTER CUP IN COSTA SMERALDA |
| 03/07/2008 - JULIUS BAER IS THE TITLE SPONSOR OF THE POLO SUMMER MASTER CUP IN COSTA SMERALDA |
| 11/06/2008 - POLO BY NIGHT'S DEBUT IN COSTA SMERALDA WITH THE JULIUS BAER POLO MASTER CUP 2008 |
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