Rest of the world News
Sydney brings home the Wes Cup in historic moment for RoW
Posted by: Newswire, 2021-07-20, 1244 ViewsThe Rest of the World region has been experiencing a Wes Cup drought. The last time a team won the trophy from here, or a team from Asia Pacific and Africa as the regions were before they were combined, was Singapore --- some 35 seasons ago in Season 3. It's a remarkable run of bad luck in the cup. However, the run was finally ended when outsider Sydney finally brought the trophy home by defeating Americas powerhouse San Juan in the final 1-0.
The win also marks manager Pavel Marceux's fifth Wes Cup trophy, won with three different teams. The record matches that of legendary manager Mark Jansen, who also won Wes Cup trophies with three different teams (Patrai, Palmira and Amsterdam). In terms of total trophies, Marceux is still well behind former Pristina manager Ivo with 9 Wes Cup trophies, and historic Mexico City manager James Sabanthe with 7. Current Bern / Brasilia manager Stefan also has 5 Wes Cups.
Sydney were a surprise to reach the final, having only been taken over by Marceux two seasons ago. However, a strong crop of existing players and some smart FA signings have helped rise the team to among the strongest in RoW. On its way to the title, Sydney had to defeat Liverpool and Beijing.
Another record of note -- this is only the second time in Wes history that a 2nd team wins the Wes Cup, with Zagreb having done it a few seasons ago under manager Johnny Rook. With Houston out of the Wes Cup this season, Marceux will have to hope Sydney are able to go on a deep run in the international competition again.
Meanwhile, surfers and stoners have been taking copious amounts of MDMA in celebration of the title win in Sydney. Surfs up!!!