Back in Copenhagen I have fallen into a routine around work. One such activity is football, which also accounts for most of my physical exercise, along with bicycling 7 miles to and from work. Final game of the spring season was the 3rd round match for the Danish cup which took place last Wednesday.
CBS Sport (the university team) is a relatively new squad and is only in the 9th best league in Denmark (out of 10). We enter the cup matches in the very first round, playing teams ranked similar to us. The second round sees opponents from the 7th and 8th best league enter the draw, and the third round sees teams from the 5th and 6th best league enter. These three rounds take place in the spring, and then the actual cup starts from autumn to summer the following year. So basically this is qualifying for the cup in the season 12 / 13.
Cup football is brilliant. 1 match, winner progresses. The way it should be, as it allows smaller teams to create upsets and to have a run for glory. However, semi-finals are two matches, with the aggregate winner progressing, but that is well out of our league. After beating a team from our own league 2-0 in the first round, we created an upset by coming from 0-2 at half time to beat a team two leagues higher than us on penalties. Now in the 3rd round, we were the lowest ranking team remaining in our conference, and we had drawn Jægersborg, a team four leagues above us. They had 4 different types of coaches, players who had previously played first division or for top flight youth teams, and anything less than a resounding thrashing of us would be a disappointment for them.
However, we played out of our skin. A brilliant strike after 25 minutes gave them the lead, but at half time we were still in with a chance. But as the game progressed, we slowly ran out of steam. A well-struck header from a corner by their best player, a former striker from Lyngby in the second-best league, doubled their lead. We mustered chances but they were disciplined and never gave away anything and ultimately sent us crashing out of the tournament.
The result was fair, but it didn't reflect the four-league distance between us. Man for man they were a better side: fitter, more comfortable with the ball, more disciplined, and more experience playing together. They also had more possession of the ball, but only around 60-40, and while they produced some 8 shots on target, we still managed around 5. Especially their goalkeeper did well, stopping decent strikes from just outside the box, as well as showing great reflexes to deny us an equalizer just before half time.
It was a great experience, especially for those who had never previously played against a side that strong. It showed how the difference in teams is not based on individual technique, but rather on playing together and working for each other. If we can make the effort we did that day in ever league match next season, we'll win our league by miles. So although losing is never fun, it can be really constructive as in this instance. Final practice next week, then we sit down and work out a plan for CBS Sport to get promoted. Of course the cup is over for us now, but next spring we'll be back - the fastest way to get to Europe! :)
søndag den 24. juni 2012
mandag den 18. juni 2012
Internship 2012
Having finished my exams and being back in Copenhagen, it is time to embark on the next phase in life: summer 2012. Most of that will be spent on working for Procter & Gamble, the enormous global multi-brand firm. I have chosen an internship in order to regain some financial security before I head out to the States, but I chose this specific one to get a better understanding of working for and life in a global firm.
I have pretty much been employed for the past 10 years, except when travels or boarding school did not allow it. This, however, will be my first experience with a larger company, and it shone through on day one. The structure and uniformity of all electronics, software, and facilities meant that all computers, conference rooms, and phones were pretty much identical. This is super practical: The monitors are all set up for the same screen dimensions, and there is power cords installed so one does not have to bring their own.
Of course the size also makes things more bureaucratic. Loads of forms had to be filled out and signed. Everything you want / need for your work, both physically and electronically, has to be requested and signed of on; other jobs simply gave you an extra apron if you needed it. I don’t mind it, not least because the flow of information seems to be extremely efficient, but it would simply be impossible to retain costs if tens of thousands of employees worldwide were allowed to supply their own power-cords or USB cables. Nor is it, thank God, not over the top: Pens, paper, printing and general office supplies are free for all.
The most impressive event on my first day was their gesture of providing me with hotel / plane tickets for Stockholm the following day. Since the Denmark office is part of P&G Nordic, they gather all their interns at their main office in Stockholm for 3 days of ”onboarding” (explaining the company, the divisions, provide training courses, meeting country leaders, answering questions, etc.). So before I contributed anything to the company, I flew out of Copenhagen Tuesday morning. It might not seem like that much, but for a new guy, it shows a lot of goodwill and faith in my abilities. Hopefully I won’t disappoint.:)
I have pretty much been employed for the past 10 years, except when travels or boarding school did not allow it. This, however, will be my first experience with a larger company, and it shone through on day one. The structure and uniformity of all electronics, software, and facilities meant that all computers, conference rooms, and phones were pretty much identical. This is super practical: The monitors are all set up for the same screen dimensions, and there is power cords installed so one does not have to bring their own.
Of course the size also makes things more bureaucratic. Loads of forms had to be filled out and signed. Everything you want / need for your work, both physically and electronically, has to be requested and signed of on; other jobs simply gave you an extra apron if you needed it. I don’t mind it, not least because the flow of information seems to be extremely efficient, but it would simply be impossible to retain costs if tens of thousands of employees worldwide were allowed to supply their own power-cords or USB cables. Nor is it, thank God, not over the top: Pens, paper, printing and general office supplies are free for all.
The most impressive event on my first day was their gesture of providing me with hotel / plane tickets for Stockholm the following day. Since the Denmark office is part of P&G Nordic, they gather all their interns at their main office in Stockholm for 3 days of ”onboarding” (explaining the company, the divisions, provide training courses, meeting country leaders, answering questions, etc.). So before I contributed anything to the company, I flew out of Copenhagen Tuesday morning. It might not seem like that much, but for a new guy, it shows a lot of goodwill and faith in my abilities. Hopefully I won’t disappoint.:)
tirsdag den 5. juni 2012
Roland Garros
Back with my parents on Fyn, visiting family and writing the final assignments of my fourth semester at University, I have become accustomed to the fact that not much happens. I have therefore taken a fond liking of Eurosport and the French Open in tennis in my breaks of writing.
Tennis is one of the few sports I remember a significant amount of CUHK students being passionate about, the notable other sport being football. It also appeared consistently in my Chinese class as a leisurely activity, and is therefore one of the few sports I know not only how to speak, but also how to write, in mandarin Chinese; 网球. I also have fond recollections of driving up the hill on the CUHK campus school bus, idly watching the first-year students, who chose tennis in their mandatory PE class, looking like fish out of water. There was also a significant amount of media attention in China, not least due to Li Na's success in Paris exactly a year ago.
This year will not be a repeat for the Chinese darling. In the women's tournament, several upsets has resulted in 4 of the last 8 players being ranked 15 or higher in the tournament. Highest rank remaining is Maria Sharapova (2nd seed), but I rate the fourth seeded Czech, Petra Kvitova, for her second Grand Slam title. Her only so far, last year's Wimbledon, was a straight-set victory over Sharapova, who she is set to meet in the semifinal.
The men's tournament is the exact opposite. The top 6 players in the world are still in contention, although they have been hard pressed at times, indicating the strength of what many commentators has deemed the strongest ATP tour ever. There still seems to be a slight gap up to the best, especially the top three in the world; apart from Juan Martin del Potro's US Open victory in 2009, they have won every Grand Slam between them since Marat Safin claimed the Australian Open in 2005. Furthermore, Nadal is chasing his record 7th title at Roland Garros, while Djokovic is looking to complete his career Grand Slam and be the first person to hold all 4 titles since Rod Laver in 1969. However, I personally am rooting for Federer, as he looks to beat del Porto, Djokovic, and Nadal on his way to an incredible 17th Grand Slam trophy.
Tennis is one of the few sports I remember a significant amount of CUHK students being passionate about, the notable other sport being football. It also appeared consistently in my Chinese class as a leisurely activity, and is therefore one of the few sports I know not only how to speak, but also how to write, in mandarin Chinese; 网球. I also have fond recollections of driving up the hill on the CUHK campus school bus, idly watching the first-year students, who chose tennis in their mandatory PE class, looking like fish out of water. There was also a significant amount of media attention in China, not least due to Li Na's success in Paris exactly a year ago.
This year will not be a repeat for the Chinese darling. In the women's tournament, several upsets has resulted in 4 of the last 8 players being ranked 15 or higher in the tournament. Highest rank remaining is Maria Sharapova (2nd seed), but I rate the fourth seeded Czech, Petra Kvitova, for her second Grand Slam title. Her only so far, last year's Wimbledon, was a straight-set victory over Sharapova, who she is set to meet in the semifinal.
The men's tournament is the exact opposite. The top 6 players in the world are still in contention, although they have been hard pressed at times, indicating the strength of what many commentators has deemed the strongest ATP tour ever. There still seems to be a slight gap up to the best, especially the top three in the world; apart from Juan Martin del Potro's US Open victory in 2009, they have won every Grand Slam between them since Marat Safin claimed the Australian Open in 2005. Furthermore, Nadal is chasing his record 7th title at Roland Garros, while Djokovic is looking to complete his career Grand Slam and be the first person to hold all 4 titles since Rod Laver in 1969. However, I personally am rooting for Federer, as he looks to beat del Porto, Djokovic, and Nadal on his way to an incredible 17th Grand Slam trophy.
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