Germany's football team may have had a terrible World Cup, but normal service was resumed at the annual bankers versus shipowners football match in Hamburg.
The bankers were intent on improving their dismal performance, having won only one of the annual encounters since 2010.
This year the odds seemed stacked in their favour, as the match officials were all bankers.
However, referee Marc Richter and linesman Rudiger Frand from HSH Nordbank, and Christian Luders from Commerzbank presided over the shipowners hammering out a 2-0 victory.
The star of the show was Patrick Barao Martins, from project cargo specialist MACS, who scored both goals.
When the final whistle blew, the shipowners had notched up their eighth victory in the past nine meetings with bankers.
The shipowners were captained by Zeaborn’s Holger Strack and the bankers by Unicredit’s head of shipping Oliver Trennt.
The pre-match hype touted the prospect of Harren & Partner's chief executive Martin Harren showing off his sliding tackles. The event was played out at Hamburg’s Adolf Jager Stadium on 5 September to raise funds for the Duckdalben International Seamen’s Club.
