Gianni Torchio, the 2011 world champion and organizer of this world cup, loves playing and following baseball. He is probably aware of the famous phrase that New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle once said: "It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing all your life". Every player who attended the 12th Kick Off 2 World Cup considered those wise words, as to be there was to attend a true lesson in every aspect of the game. Not only were the three top KOA guns present for the first time ever, the notorious creator Dino Dini was also there to offer valuable inside information on the secrets of this amazing title. It is not surprising then that more goals per game were scored in Milan than in every past world cup: 7.97.

It was pretty much expected that the three best Kick Off 2 players of all time would gain the three medals. What remained to be seen was the color that each one would wear around his chest. In the end it was Dagh Nielsen, the Danish superman who only attends world cups on even years, who prevailed in the hardest competition ever, while picking up the top scorer & best defense awards along the way. He defeated Gianluca Troiano in the final, who returned to the competition after five years of absence. Gianni settled for the bronze medal, losing a semi-final in an epic battle versus his Roman rival for the first time in 6 years. Andy Gregoris proved that the year before had not been a fluke, by securing fourth place and losing the medal on details. The Slivel Cup was won by Mark Williams, who became the first player with both a Bronze Cup and a Silver Cup in his possession, while the Bronze Cup went to two-times shirt of shame winner Wolf Heyer.

Two additional awards were added to the usual ones in Milan: Fabio Fichera was the Revelation of the Year, and Helmut Hausmann won the David Vs Goliath award for drawing against Gianluca.

It was an emotionally charged atmosphere when the KOA honored Dino Dini with a commemorative plaque for his unparalleled services to the association. As for the Lifetime Achievement Award, it was given to Alkis Polyrakis.

 

Note: 40 players were divided into four groups of 10. The top four players from each group qualified to the World Cup Groups, those who finished in places 5-8 competed for places 17-32 in the Silver Cup Groups and the rest competed for places 33-40 in the Bronze Cup Group.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals in the finals (Click to enlarge):