MONDAY, AUGUST 2 – FRANKFURT, GERMANY – The German senior national team was crowned 2010 European Champions defeating France 26-10 in the Gold medal game on Saturday, July 31 in front of 8,523 spectators at the Commerzbank-Arena.
The European Championship of American Football featured the continent’s top six senior national American football teams – Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain and Sweden – competing for the 12th EFAF (European Federation of American Football) championship.
As the top two European teams, Germany and France claimed a spot in the 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship to be held in Austria the summer of 2011. The IFAF Senior World Championship will feature eight of the best teams from around the world competing for the title. Europe will be represented by three countries – Germany, France, and host Austria.
Germany dominated the Gold Medal game with a well executed offense boasting a combination of an effective passing and running game and avoided mistakes that the team had previously made in their first two victories against Austria and Finland.
Tournament MVP, German quarterback Dennis Zimmermann threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns connecting with wide receiver Christian Bollmann for two scores. Running back Danny Washington had a 100-yard rushing game for Germany.
French wide receiver Marco Soumah received the MVP honors for France. The game was his last game as a player as he will now concentrate on his role as President of the French Federation.
Midway into the second quarter, Germany scored their first touchdown of the game as Zimmermann showcased his stellar arm finding receiver Christian Bollmann for a 75-yard touchdown pass and with an extra point Germany went ahead 9-0 to add to a safety from the first quarter. Germany would increase the lead further with a 24-yard field goal later in the second quarter.
Refusing to give up, France found some offensive rhythm as quarterback Max Sprael found wide receiver Soumah and Jeremy Rabot to get the ball moving. Right before halftime, kicker Bruno Nekili was able to put points on the board with a 49-yard field goal cutting the deficit to 12-3, ending the first half.
With France not relenting, Germany’s defense came up with some big plays in the second half. Defensive back Lenny Green intercepted a pass ending a drive that had France threatening to score. On the following possession, wide receiver Bollmann scored his second touchdown of the game with an 11-yard touchdown catch giving Germany a 16-point lead.
The lead was increased on the next drive as three deep passes from Zimmermann led to a 40-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Niklas Römer giving Germany a convincing 26-3 lead.
With three minutes remaining in the game, France’s defense forced running back Jerome Morris to fumble the ball on Germany’s 14-yard line. Defensive back Arnaud Vidaller picked up the ball and ran for 13-yards for the lone French touchdown of the game.
Germany celebrated their second European Championship while for France, it wastheir first-ever medal won at the European Championships.
Austria arrived at the 2010 European Championship as the winner of the 2009 B-pool tournament and left no doubts that they belong in the group among the best six European teams.
The senior national team shut-out defending European Champion Sweden 30-0 in the Bronze medal game, proving they will be competitive next year when hosting the 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship. Austria scored 27 unanswered points in the second quarter with four touchdowns and Sweden was unable to rebound from the deficit.
The Austrian offense exploded in the second quarter as quarterback Christoph Gross connected with receiver Klaus Geier for a 50-yard touchdown pass. Five minutes later, Gross found wide receiver Jakob Dieplinger for a 52-yard pass and Proeller for a 31-yard touchdown. The receiver corps caught 15 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Dieplinger, who also scored a 5-yard touchdown, was named Austria’s MVP.
In the Fifth-place game, four-time European Champion Finland defeated Great Britain 32-9 to remain in the European A-pool. The loss for Great Britain will move the senior national team back to the B-pool which they must win to re-enter the A pool.
Great Britain showed their best performance in the tournament only allowing Finland to score in the second and fourth quarters, but unfortunately struggled to get their own offense moving and were only able to score one touchdown during the game.
A key to Finland’s success was their running game which the GB Lions struggled to control. The Finnish running backs ran for a total of 200 yards and three touchdowns, among them Veikka Lehtonen who was named MVP as he ran for 77 yards and one touchdown.
All games reports and full statistics can be found at the official event website www.football-em.de.
Tournament results:
| Date | Game | Venue | City | Time |
| Saturday, 24.07 | Germany 22 Austria 20 |
Commerzbank-Arena | Frankfurt | 19:30 |
| Sunday, 25.07 |
Sweden 7 France 14 |
Stadium Wetzlar | Wetzlar | 16:00 |
| Tuesday, 27.07 | France 50 Great Britain 0 |
Stadium Wetzlar | Wetzlar | 16:00 |
| Tuesday, 27.07 | Austria 30 Finland 7 |
Stadium Wetzlar | Wetzlar | 19:30 |
| Thursday, 29.07 | Sweden 14 Great Britain 2 |
Brita Arena | Wiesbaden | 16:00 |
| Thursday, 29.07 | Finland 4 Germany 23 |
Brita Arena | Wiesbaden | 19:30 |
| Saturday, 31.07 | 5th place Game: Finland 32 Great Britain 9 |
Prefield Commerzbank-Arena | Frankfurt | 10:00 |
| Saturday, 31.07 | Bronze Medal Game: Austria 30 Sweden 0 |
Commerzbank-Arena | Frankfurt | 16:00 |
| Saturday, 31.07 | Gold Medal Game: France 10 Germany 26 |
Commerzbank-Arena | Frankfurt | 19:30 |
In its 11-year history, the European Championship has been won five times by Finland (1985, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000), which included four consecutive titles won between 1993 and 2000. Italy hosted and won the inaugural championship in 1983 and triumphed again in 1987 and is a two-time winner alongside Great Britain, who won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1991. and now Germany which won its first crown in 2001 and won in 2010. Sweden won for the first time in 2005.
Websites International Federation of American Football www.IFAF.org
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