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Starting position is often crucial to the end result so yesterday at Barcelona the United States of America had plenty to celebrate when selected as last team into the ring for today’s final leg of the 2004 Samsung Super League at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona.
The draw took place in the elegant polo club pavilion and the team starting order is as follows:
1, Spain; 2, Italy; 3, Ireland; 4, France; 5, Belgium; 6, The Netherlands; 7, Germany; 8, Great Britain; 9, USA.
As host country Spain, a non-Super League side, are also permitted to compete and the home team is hoping for a repeat of the exceptional performance which saw them slot into second position behind Germany at the 2003 final.
However, as CSIO Barcelona Show Director Hanspeter Vogelsanger said yesterday, "anything can happen - remember last year". It was in Barcelona last September that the French, in flying form all year, suddenly crashed and finished last, yet still claimed the Samsung Super League title following an otherwise excellent season.
The FEI’s Sports Director Michael Stone said yesterday "it’s tight at both ends of the table – if Italy wins tomorrow then Ireland or the USA could be relegated so it has turned into a really exciting finish".
Mr Ahn, Director General of Samsung Electronics Espana said that the 2003 event was very successful and thanked the FEI and CSIO Barcelona for the opportunity to support the top nations cups series. "I wish good luck to all the riders and countries" he added.
Mr Juan Angel Calzado, President of the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, welcomed the Samsung Super League series to his venue – "we want you all to feel at home and we would like to continue hosting this competition for many years. We wish all the teams every success tomorrow and in the future" he added.
At the top of the league table going into the final the French are looking strong, and Chef d’Equipe Jean-Maurice Bonneau said "I will send in Jean Marc Nicolas and Lauren Goffinet first and my strategy is to jump clear rounds! If we finish third we can still win and we want to take our second Super League title – however all the teams are close, so it’s very important to concentrate" he pointed out.
The British are lying second and their Chef d’Equipe Derek Ricketts stated that "we would like to win tomorrow but we will be doing quite well to finish in second place in the series – we will be trying very hard to take the 100,000 CHF winners prize but whatever happens it will be a great competition".
The man with the biggest headache as the action begins will be Italian team manager Duccio Bartalucci but he is not contemplating a place for his country in the lower-division nations cup series next season.
A long way off the leaders and struggling to survive at the bottom of the leaderboard the Italians will be hoping to avail of the double-points on offer at the final and Mr Bartalucci said today "I’m not worrying about who will drop out of the Samsung Super League after tomorrow, I want my team to finish at least in second place and we will fight all the way to stay in the series".
Last September the Italian side produced a truly courageous performance but they are faced with an even greater challenge this time around and the closing stages of the 2004 Samsung Super League series promises to be a thriller.
Round one gets underway at 15.30 and round two begins at 17.30.
For full details about the 2004 Samsung Super League final at Barcelona on Sunday 19 September telephone: + 34 932031008 or fax: + 34 9320556616. Show Director is Hanspeter Vogelsanger and you can email him at hanspeter@hpwood.com. Press Officer is Isabel Suter and you can visit the CSIO Barcelona website at www.csiobarcelona.com.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 LEADERBOARD (AFTER ROUND 7 IN DUBLIN):
France – 44.3
Great Britain – 32.5
Germany – 32.3
The Netherlands – 29.5
Belgium – 28.3
Ireland – 25.5
USA – 25.0
Italy – 10.0.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
ROUND 1, La Baule (Fra) 6-9 May; ROUND 2, Rome (Ita) 27-30 May; ROUND 3, Lucerne (Sui) 3-6 June: ROUND 4, Rotterdam (Ned) 17-20 June; ROUND 5, Aachen (Ger) 13-18 July; ROUND 6, Hickstead (GBR) 21-25 July; ROUND 7, Dublin (Irl) 4-8 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL, Barcelona (Esp) 16-19 September.
YOU CAN SEE IT ON TV –
The MBPTV broadcast schedule for the 2004 Samsung Super League final is as follows:
TVE Teledeporte - Live (second round)
(Spain – Host)
RAI (Italy) - Live/Delayed Live – awaiting confirmation
RTE (Ireland) - Live/Delayed Live - 21 September
Equidia (France) - Delayed Live -19 September 18.00
Repeat 22 September 22.00
Eurosport - Highlights - 22 September 20.00
(Pan Europe) Repeat 23 September 09.00
Finnish Sport TV - Highlights - 28 September 19.00
(Finland)
Sport TV (Portugal) - Highlights – awaiting details
XXP (Germany) - Highlights – 26 September 19.00
CNBC Europe - Highlights – 2 October 15.00
Fox World - Highlights – 7 October 22.00
(Middle East)
Horse TV (USA) - Highlights – 10 October 17.00
Repeat 16 October 17.00
CNBC Asia - Highlights – 10 October 15.00
ESPN Star Sports - Highlights – 29 September 18.00
(Asia, Taiwan, India) Repeat 30 September 07.00
M-Net (Pan-Africa) - Highlights – 15 October 21.00
Repeat 16 Oct 03.30, 17 October 02.00,
17 October 08.00, 18 October 12.00.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE – NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
© Copyright 2004 by SportHorseCM.com
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