2012 FIFA Club World Cup: News & Analysis [R]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxLNemfVYtA"]4.25.12 CCL Highlights Santos v Monterrey - YouTube[/ame]

Monterrey return to Japan with their second CCL title in club history. That is title #28 for Mexico:

Code:

[i][U]Countrywise list of winners[/U]

Mexico                   28

Costa Rica                6

El Salvador               3

Guatemala                 2
Haiti                     2
Honduras                  2
Surinam                   2
Trinidad and Tobago       2
USA                       2
[/i]

O-League Final, First Leg:

Auckland City (New Zealand) - AS Tefana (Tahiti) 2:1

That is quite a good result for Tefana who get to take home an away goal. Auckland - who already missed out on the New Zealand ASB Premiership title this season - will be under pressure defending that slim lead in Tahiti.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai-nvZ9ZCUo"]2012 O-LEAGUE FINAL 1st LEG - HIGHLIGHTS AKL vs TEF - YouTube[/ame]

The first legs of the CAF second round were played this weekend. Al Ahly was beaten in the final minute in Mali and TP Mazembe took a major step towards the group phase. Virtually there are defending champions Espérance with a 6:0 victory over Dynamos FC.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwe1-8YHdCw"]CL 2012 Espérance Sportive de Tunis Vs Fc Dynamos 6-0 - YouTube[/ame]

The Copa Libertadores, Round-of-16, First Legs, are complete. Deportivo Quito has one foot in the quarterfinals and Bolivar beat defending champions Santos at home.



In the AFC CL group stage matchday five is now complete and several groups are extremely close. Abu Dhabi's Al Jazira has finally overcome the bad spell for UAE clubs and qualified for the next round. 2011 finalists Jeonbuk displayed an amazing turnaround, now leading Group H after losing the first two matches. Thailand's Buriram are still in it as well, despite this loss to Kashiwa.

There is not enough time to held such a large tournament. Even now the teams in question have to postpone league matches.

The Copa Libertadores quarterfinals are set. SC Internacional bowed out against Fluminese, defending champions Santos crushed Bolivar 8:0 in the return leg, and Universidad de Chile stunningly prevailed after a 4:1 loss in the first leg:

I wouldn't say that, just look at the FIFA World Cup.
But anyway I agree the current format is fine, because there just isn't enough time. However it also means the club world cup isn't a very prestigious competition.

For European teams the most difficult part is to win the UEFA Champions League to reach the CWC. After that the potential opponents actually become easier.

It is surely nice to win the CWC and of course the players want to win it, but for most teams it only has a low priority after CL, national championship and the national cup competition. I mean how important is a competition, when the participants have to reschedule their championship matches to take part in it? To me it's more like a Super Cup.

I would put it ahead of any domestic cup competition (also due to marketing reasons) and clearly ahead of any Super Cup. Hopefully you can tell us about the German coverage of the CWC in December.

Anyway, let's not get side-tracked with this old argument. The next participant will be known on Sunday. Either CWC regulars Auckland City or newcomers AS Tefana.

I predict the coverage would be massive in Germany if Bayern were to win the CL. That's just like us typical Euro snobs!

Bayern's last club world title. The corner was taken by no other than Swiss standout Ciriaco Sforza. Up next, Xherdan Shaqiri in 2012?

Only option that I see is OFC TV for $3 NZD: http://ofctv.e-cast.co.nz

Hope the Tefana fans can fill the Stade Louis Ganivet. The 1,500 in the first leg were a bit underwhelming for a final.

And team #2 is...



ACFC beat Tefana 1:0 in Tahiti, 3:1 on aggregate. It is the 4th OFC title for Auckland.

All-time list by FA:

6 - New Zealand
4 - Australia
1 - Papua New Guinea