Flickering Dreams: The Subbuteo World Cup

Words: Steve Sharman

Images: Sasha Hartman

Images © Sasha Hartman.

The Eland Cables Federation International Sports Table Football (FISTF) World Cup, or as it is better known, the Subbuteo World Cup recently touched down in Royal Tunbridge Wells.

Between the 20th and 22nd September, over 300 players from 26 countries descended onto the Kent town to compete for a host of honours, in individual and team events, from U12’s up to veterans.

Perhaps better known for its picturesque Pantiles and mineral-rich spring water that led to sovereign recognition, Royal Tunbridge Wells may not at first glance seem an obvious choice for a table football World Cup.

However, dig slightly deeper and we discover that Subbuteo was in fact invented in Tunbridge Wells, so this World Cup is very much a case of football coming home.

The action flicked off in the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre on Friday morning with the ‘old rules’ Subbuteo World Cup.

The old rules is a much smaller event, played on old style, thicker cloth pitches with miniatures on slightly heavier bases.

Bathed in sunlight streaming through the shopping centre glass roof, the action drew attention from curious shoppers and boisterous school children alike. Even a security guard from the jewellery store next to the tables seemed more engrossed in the action than warding off any would-be thieves.

Having completed the group stages, the tension increased as we progressed through the knockout rounds. As the sun dropped and shadows cast by the miniature players lengthened, American Christian Filippella triumphed in the final, beating Greece’s Cesare Santanicchia 2-0. In doing so, Filippella sealed the first title of the weekend -and secured USA’s first ever table football world title.

On Saturday, focus moved to Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre - a vast sports hall filled with 48 tables, upon whose smooth green surfaces Subbuteo legend would be written. The atmosphere was friendly yet serious, with players clad in full kit preparing to do battle in the individual tournaments.

With both the current world No.1 ranked player Carlos Flores from Spain and Open World Cup holder Luca Colangelo absent from this year’s event, the field was wide open. The group stages didn’t throw up any shocks, however the Round of 32 saw the surprising early exits of world No.2 Christophe Dheur of Belgium, and home favourites Casper Bennet and Elliot Bellfontaine of England.

As dusk settled and the rain clouds closed in, the competitors were whittled down to the final two in each competition. The stage was set for glory, or heartbreak. In the Open competition, Dimitrios Dimopoulos of Greece secured a highly-dramatic golden goal extra-time win against Belgium’s Justin Leroy, whilst reigning Women’s World Champion Eleonora Buttitta of Italy fought from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against 13-time World Champion Delphine Dieudonné of Belgium.

In the veterans’ tournament, Mario Camilleri of Malta beat Greece’s Antonios Kastellanos in a tense shootout following a 1-1 draw, whilst young players from Italy largely dominated the youth categories; in the U’20 competition, Matteo Esposito overcame compatriot Christian Fricano 2-1, whilst in the U’16 final Francesco Manfredelli beat Nicolo Colossi 5-0.

The U’12 title was won by Portugal’s Max Pereira, who beat Italy’s Alberto Capoferri 2-1.

Saturday champions barely had time to celebrate before the Teams Competition started bright and early on Sunday morning.

Seen by many as the blue riband events of the entire weekend, the Team Competitions are when single players become part of something bigger, where individual glory bows to shared responsibility.

A match consists of four one-on-one games - each victory is worth a point, with overall goal difference the defining factor if points are level. Each team must pick their four warriors from a squad of seven, and then analyse and strategize to finalise the match-ups.

The hall was alive with the buzz of each country’s brains trust as we moved deeper into the tournaments.

In the Open Competition, hosts England bowed out to the mighty Italy in the quarter-finals; the Italians then overcame Greece to set up a final with Belgium - and what drama followed.

Having fought back from losing positions in all games at half-time, the Belgians headed into the final seconds with a single point lead. With the final flick of the entire weekend, Filippo Cubeta scored a vital equaliser to bring Italy level on points, and ahead on goal difference.

Devastation for Belgium, absolute joy for Italy.

The Women’s Open was even closer, as Belgium edged out rivals France by the narrowest of margins - 7-6 on goal difference, after a 2-2 draw. Belgium also won the Veteran’s tournament, beating England 4-0 in the final.

To add to the Open Team victory, Italy won the U’20 title (2-0 vs. Belgium) and the U’12 competition (3-1 vs. Greece), whilst Belgium won the U’16 competition (2-1 vs. Italy).

As the lights went down on a brilliant event, we were left to reflect on everything the weekend had given us: unadulterated passion, utter heartbreak, and unbridled ecstasy.

Beyond the raw emotion, there was so much more. Unbelievable levels of skill, friendships born, rivalries intensified, and despite the fierceness of the competitive spirit, a wonderful sense of belonging within a community.

This truly was a World Cup where Subbuteo came home.