The Europa League has concluded, and Borussia Dortmund's campaign also ended with a bitter 2-0 defeat in the Champions League final. But there was little respite for the die-hard BVB fans who weren't ready between matches. Up next is the soccer tournament! The second edition of the TST will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, USA, from June 5th to 10th. 48 men's teams competed in separate groups, with eight women's teams also competing. Both tournaments concluded with the usual group stage, with the top teams progressing to the knockout rounds.
What is TST? The Soccer Tournament, as the name suggests, is a highly entertaining 7v7 tournament with a unique set of rules. It's a little unusual, but a lot of fun. Teams field seven players at a time and have unlimited substitutions on a 65 x 45 yard field, which is roughly half the size of a regulation field. Halftime is 20 minutes. After the whistle for the second half, teams play a third period with no time limit, called “target score time.” During this period, the “target score” is set to one goal higher than the score of the leading team. If the score is 4-2, teams play to first to five points. If the score is 3-3, teams play to first to four points. This not only gives every team a chance to make a comeback in the second half, but it also adds tension and a unique excitement to the conclusion of the game, as every match ends with a goal. Additionally, for every three minutes of the “target score time”, teams are required to send off one player and not substitute any others, so the longer the target score time, the fewer players remain on the pitch. Additional rules include the elimination of sliding tackles and changing throw-ins to indirect free kicks.
Borussia Dortmund participated in the TST for the second time. This time, the club's legends were all there, including Roman Weidenfeller, Kevin Grosskreutz, Felipe Santana, Tinga, Evanilson, Márcio Amoroso and Lucas Barrios. They were also joined by youth coach Dru Wright and TST commentator Michael Lahoud. As a journalist with accreditation to cover the tournament, I was very excited to see this line-up. Unfortunately, life had other plans and I was unable to attend the tournament due to COVID-19. This gave me a different perspective as a spectator from home and I have to admit that it was really nice to hear such complimentary comments from Lahoud throughout the tournament. He seems to really enjoy playing for the BVB team and had nothing but positive things to say. If positive PR was what Dortmund were aiming for, they certainly succeeded.
BVB's involvement with the TST appears to be focused on goodwill, with meet-and-greets with players as part of the “Dortmund Experience” at the TST, and a strategic partnership with the Wandering Wolf Food Truck to deliver real sausages to tournament guests throughout the week. A video emerged of Roman Weidenfeller handing a sausage to NFL legend Pat McAfee during the live broadcast, a sight I never expected to see, but enjoyed every moment of it.