The old Intercontinental Cup was always the weak brainchild of FIFA and never had much chance of surviving in the competitive world of football. For sure - it was competitive at times. Not least toward the end of the sixties when over-zealous Argentineans transformed the alleged friendly game into a field of blood soaked horror. In the end it got so bad that three players from that very same nation got thrown in jail for their violently destructive excesses on the playing field.
Sending this exhibition to a neutral field in Japan helped clean up the game. But even so, the South American Champions always tended to take the game much more seriously than their European counterparts. Whilst the annual match-up helped football gain some much needed publicity in Japan, it never really was much of a competition.
Adding teams from the other continents was never in the interest of reviving the competition in so much as a tool for Sepp Blatter to thank these lesser regions of football for their help in electing him to the highest position within FIFA itself. It comes as no surprise then, that we are still waiting for a team from one of these other continents to reach the final. It still remains strictly an affair between the South American and European Champions.
Whatever the dubious reasoning behind adding teams to the competition may have been, it seems it has breathed some much needed air into the collapsing lungs of this outdated cup. Calling the competition “the FIFA Club World Cup” surely added some prestige in to the mix.
Signs of this were seen last year as Milan took the competition very seriously indeed, winning it in the end by defeating Boca Juniors. Maybe not surprising, seeing as Milan are the no.1 PR-club of Europe: The recent acquisitions of Ronaldinho and loan signing of Beckham underline this observation.
Exactly how seriously Manchester United took the victory of this years cup is debatable, but undoubtedly they saw it as a great marketing opportunity. Going on almost yearly pre-season tours to Asia, the region is an important market to the Red Devils, who have many fans there; not least in Japan. In this respect you can see the competition more as an opportune opportunity for clubs such as Milan and Man United to get some quality branding in the region.
And don’t let yourself be kidded; there’s a lot of money and reputations at stake: Both for clubs, FIFA and football as a whole. The future economic center of the world is gravitating more and more toward Asia… and where the money goes; so does football (remember that absurd little proposition of a 39th round of the Premier League being played abroad… it should be seen in this context).
So what about the big final itself?
Not much to say really. Manchester United dominated the game as expected. LDU Quito backed home with ten men and didn’t start to open up their game until Vidic was sent off around the hour mark for United. Nonetheless, Man United always looked more likely to score and did so around a quarter of an hour later. A brilliant piece of attacking flair - involving the three wise men of the game; Carrick, Ronaldo and Rooney, who coolly slotted home from the left-inside of the penalty area, decided the game decisively. Quito only had one quality chance in the game, which gave Van Der Saar a rare chance to shine. Overall Manchester United dominated in every compartment and Sir Alex probably fears his next opponents (Stoke) more than he did LDU.
Indeed, that is the missing ingredient to really make this a showpiece competition: Quality. There’s simply not enough of it to make any headlines or convert new followers. Perhaps if UEFA scrapped the annual Super Cup and allow the UEFA-cup winners to join in the festivities instead, it would add an extra dimension. Maybe also add the South American Cup equivalents while at it. Or let the reigning Champions return to defend their title (honestly, wouldn’t Milan vs Man United be a slightly more mouthwatering contest?) There is undoubtedly potential here, but so far FIFA seem content not to rock the boat and have this rather meaningless (in a competitive sense) PR-coup.
Personally I look more forward to seeing Man United take on Stoke on Friday, than seeing the next installment of the FIFA Club World Cup…
