2013 FIFA Club World Cup: Tournament News & Qualifiers [R]

unclesox · Jul 18, 2013

Tough to count out Atletico-MG just yet. Still...

Nico Limmat · Jul 23, 2013

The CAF Champions League group stage is now underway and has already seen a major upset. Angola's Clube Recreativo Desportivo do Libolo have beaten Esperance de Tunis. The first two rounds fall fully into Ramadan and I suspect more unaffected teams are looking to take advantage against the North African powerhouses.

PS: tomorrow Wednesday is the second leg of the Libertadores final.

Paul Calixte · Jul 25, 2013

The next qualifier is in...

The galos brancos overturned a 2-0 deficit thanks to a late header, but then failed to break down a 10-man Olimpia in overtime. Nonetheless, their keeper Victor saved the first penalty in the shootout (off his line, by his own admission), and another Olimpia player hit the post to give Ronaldinho and co. their first-ever Libertadores.

Nico Limmat · Jul 25, 2013

UEFA: FC Bayern Munich (Germany)
CONMEBOL: Clube Atlético Mineiro (Brazil)
CONCACAF: CF Monterrey (Mexico)
OFC: Auckland City FC (New Zealand)
Host: Raja Club Athletic (Morocco)

TBD: AFC; CAF

So that makes Ronaldinho the 7th player to win both - Libertadores and UEFA Champions League. That only leaves the Club World Cup missing in his career. Just how popular is Atletico Mineiro in Brazil? Don't think we can expect quite the same invasion as last year even if Morocco is closer than Japan. Not that the organizers need it now to sell out the Mineiro semifinal.

unclesox · Jul 25, 2013

Nico Limmat · Jul 25, 2013

What a crushing defeat for Olimpia who certainly had chances to score a goal of their own before being forced into overtime with just minutes to go. How do South American fans rate Atletico Mineiro's chances against Bayern?

unclesox · Jul 25, 2013

SwissGCZ said: ↑

So that makes Ronaldinho the 7th player to win both - Libertadores and UEFA Champions League.
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I know RSSSF lists Juan Pablo Sorin among those seven but I question whether he's given credit for the Juventus victory. He rarely played for the club and only appeared in one match during Juve's Champions League run, as a halftime sub against Dortmund in the group stage, matchday 5. He wasn't even named to the substitutes bench for the final v Ajax. So I question whether he received a winner's medal and whether he should be counted among those who have won both tournaments. Unless someone can confirm that he was, in fact, awarded a winner's medal.

staafros · Aug 3, 2013

The 2015 FIFA Club World Cup will probably be hosted by India. Not a strange choice, because they are THE world power of the future.

druryfire · Aug 3, 2013

staafros said: ↑

The 2015 FIFA Club World Cup will probably be hosted by India. Not a strange choice, because they are THE world power of the future.
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Also in contention appear to be USA, Colombia and Australia

Nico Limmat · Aug 3, 2013

druryfire said: ↑

Also in contention appear to be USA, Colombia and Australia
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Got a link? I have only heard of India and China (and would assume that Japan applies as usual)

Seeing that FIFA has started the bidding process for all its tournaments in 2016/2017 except the CWC, I would say there is a major review pending on the tournament. Minor format changes and annual host rotation could be a possibility.

druryfire · Aug 4, 2013

SwissGCZ said: ↑

Got a link? I have only heard of India and China (and would assume that Japan applies as usual)

Seeing that FIFA has started the bidding process for all its tournaments in 2016/2017 except the CWC, I would say there is a major review pending on the tournament. Minor format changes and annual host rotation could be a possibility.
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Ignore me.
Had a quick look on Wikipedia yesterday but USA, Colombia and Australia have no creditable source.

It's called FOOTBALL · Aug 5, 2013

SwissGCZ said: ↑

Got a link? I have only heard of India and China (and would assume that Japan applies as usual)

Seeing that FIFA has started the bidding process for all its tournaments in 2016/2017 except the CWC, I would say there is a major review pending on the tournament. Minor format changes and annual host rotation could be a possibility.
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The only format change I'd like to see is the abolition of the host berth. But please, no group stage or holder's berth or 2nd tier champ berth. The last 2 would completely ruin this event.

staafros · Aug 10, 2013

I think the Club World Cup is a great tournament that deserves more respect. I think it should be recognized as the most important sports tournament in the world, because it is the world title in the most popular sport in the world. Comparable with the World Cup and the Summer Olympics. By the way, India will probably host it in 2015.

jared9999 · Aug 10, 2013

staafros said: ↑

I think the Club World Cup is a great tournament that deserves more respect. I think it should be recognized as the most important sports tournament in the world, because it is the world title in the most popular sport in the world. Comparable with the World Cup and the Summer Olympics. By the way, India will probably host it in 2015.
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Damn right!!

Sebsasour · Aug 11, 2013

I think this tournament would be a lot better if went with a format similar to the Confed Cup and had 2 groups. I know it wont happen because of the Euro calender, but it would make it a lot more interesting

Nico Limmat · Aug 12, 2013

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_CAF_Champions_League#Group_stage

After two rounds played in the CAF group stage the two Cairo clubs find themselves at the bottom of Group A. While Ramadan is over the Egyptian league is once again suspended indefinitely due to the political unrest in the country. It's going to be tough for them without domestic football, and holding on to players after two years of chaos will also be challenging. All this opens the door for others, and Orlando Pirates are looking like they mean business. After all the terrible years this could be a chance for South Africa. Esperance on the other hand got two of its key players back from the Swiss league - Oussama Darragi and Yannick N'Djeng. With the nutjob running FC Sion I don't blame them.

In other news Bayern lost the German Super Cup to Dortmund and can no longer equal Barcelona's magical six title calendar year in 2009.

Atletico Mineiro were not able to hold on to their star player Bernard as he signed for Shakhtar Donetsk for 25M Euros. This certainly weakens them for the CWC.

unclesox · Aug 12, 2013

Always appreciate the updates, Swiss.

Nico Limmat · Aug 20, 2013

The AFC Champions League is back in full swing tomorrow Wednesday with the first legs of the quarterfinals.

Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) - FC Seoul (Korea Republic)
Esteghlal (Iran) - Buriram United (Thailand)
Kashiwa Reysol (Japan) - Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia)
Guangzhou Evergrande (China) - Lekhwiya (Qatar)

Still no news on ticket sales and the competition logo. This is really taking a lot longer than usual.

Nico Limmat · Aug 22, 2013

Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) - FC Seoul (Korea Republic) 1:1
Esteghlal (Iran) - Buriram United (Thailand) 1:0
Kashiwa Reysol (Japan) - Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia) 1:1
Guangzhou Evergrande (China) - Lekhwiya (Qatar) 2:0

Good goals, good crowds (more than 95K in Tehran, more than 53K in Guangzhou) - the stage is set for the return legs with only Guangzhou Evergrande feeling somewhat safe. This is the ACL at its finest.

Nico Limmat · Aug 23, 2013

Finally some news on Morocco 2013 (en francais):
http://www.lematin.ma/journal/mondial-des-clubs_le-tirage-au-sort-aura-lieu-a-zurich/186564.html

- the competition logo for 2013/2014 will be unveiled on September 2.
- the quarterfinal draw will be held in Zurich on October 11.
- tickets will go on sale on October 12, with prices ranging from 100 to 2000 Moroccan Dirhams (MAD).

Reportedly 50% of the tickets will be reserved for Moroccan fans with prices set at 100-200 MAD.

Nico Limmat · Aug 27, 2013

As can be read on John Jagou's blog CONCACAF champions Monterrey have been through a lot of changes. Gone are coach Vucetich, Aldo de Nigris and Jesus Corona. All this time the Rayados have been talking about making a run at the CWC final, but with these developments you haver to wonder whether another third place is in the cards.

It's called FOOTBALL · Aug 27, 2013

Well, their new coach has CWC experience with Atlante in 2009. Silver lining.

Once again, the gap between CWC and CCL Final rears its ugly head. I'm all for a change in schedule to an AFC/CAF type calendar.

elvasco · Aug 27, 2013

It's called FOOTBALL said: ↑

Well, their new coach has CWC experience with Atlante in 2009. Silver lining.

Once again, the gap between CWC and CCL Final rears its ugly head. I'm all for a change in schedule to an AFC/CAF type calendar.
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just slightly longer than that of UEFA and Conmebol, that is not the issue.

Paul Calixte · Aug 27, 2013

It's called FOOTBALL said: ↑

Once again, the gap between CWC and CCL Final rears its ugly head. I'm all for a change in schedule to an AFC/CAF type calendar.
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Lest we forget, last year Monterrey beat the Asian and African champions.

Nico Limmat · Aug 28, 2013

It's called FOOTBALL said: ↑

Well, their new coach has CWC experience with Atlante in 2009. Silver lining.
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Then again the only team Atlante beat in 2009 was Auckland City.

(but the Kiwis were quite formidable that year with their 5th place finish. Who in their right mind would have predicted TP Mazembe writing history the following year after even losing to the OFC champion?)