GERMANY WINS 2007 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS' CUP

GERMANY - Tomasz Gotard, Entcho Wladow, Michael Gromöller, Andreas Kirmse, Michael Elinescu and Josef Piekarek
THE NETHERLANDS Berry Westra, Sjoert Brink, Bauke Muller, Vincent Ramondt, Simon de Wijs and Bas Drijver		ITALY Guido Ferraro, Giorgio Duboin, npc Maria Teresa Lavazza, Agustin Madala, Antonio Vivaldi and Norberto Bocchi (Mario d'Avossa was not available)

GERMANY became the first country, other than Italy, to win the European Champions' Cup, when they beat The Netherlands in the final stage of the competition, held in Rome's prestigious Parioli Tennis Club, in Italy, 12-15 October 2006.

This was a surprising result, as everyone expected the Parioli Team, winners of the last three titles, to repeat their triumph in their own seat. Indeed, the Parioli team qualified for the knockout stage, but lost narrowly (110-115) in the semifinal against Germany. In the other semifinal, The Netherlands prevailed over Italy's champion team (Torino's Allegra), which was the first winner of the Cup, in 2002. In the final, between Germany and The Netherlands, the new champions scored a convincing victory, 137-73. At the same time, the all-Italian playoff for third place went the way of Torino's Allegra who won the bronze medal.

12 teams took part in the competition for the European Champions' Cup 2007, representing the top 11 countries of the most recent European Team Championships, and the host country. A round robin took place first to qualify four teams for the knockout stage, followed by the semifinals, the final and playoffs. In this competition, teams represent clubs which won the national inter-club championship in their country.

The fifth edition of the European Champions' Cup was splendidly organized by Ercole Bove and the Parioli Tennis Club, coinciding with the club's centenary celebrations.

The 5th European Champions’ Cup was held at the Parioli Tennis Club, in Rome, Italy, 12-15 October 2006. The top eleven contenders of the 48th European Team Championships 2006, held in Warsaw, Poland were invited to participate: England, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. The format was a round-robin qualifier, followed by semifinals, a final and playoffs.

This was the fifth event of the competition which was revived in 2002 in Warsaw, Poland with the above format. The winners of that event were Italy, followed by Israel and Norway. Italy was more than successful ever since, as no other country has succeeded in winning this tournament. After the inaugural event, the tournament travelled to Rome, Barcelona and Brussels. This year, the Champions' Cup returned to Rome's Parioli Tennis Club, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of this prestigious club.

The European Champions’ Cup competition was originally tried under the support of PHILIP MORRIS in the eighties. The ‘Europa Cup’ addressed the winners of the national club championship in each EBL country. Every two years, the winners of neighbouring countries met in a qualifying stage, with the top ones advancing to the European final. The competition was discontinued in 1988, and gave way to another championship that was established in 1990 as a biennial event: the European Mixed Championships.

• For a complete list of the previous events, their venues and winners, click here.
• To see the reigning champions, click here to go to the 4th European Bridge Champions' Cup site.