Tournament Home on FIFA.com M1 | 10.12.15 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima - Auckland City 2:0 (Playoff) M2 | 13.12.15 | Club America - Guangzhou Evergrande 1:2 (Quarterfinal) M3 | 13.12.15 | TP Mazembe - Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0:3 (Quarterfinal) M4 | 16.12.15 | Club America - TP Mazembe 2:1 (Match for 5th Place) M5 | 16.12.15 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima - River Plate 0:1 (Semifinal) M6 | 17.12.15 | FC Barcelona - Guangzhou Evergrande 3:0 (Semifinal) M7 | 20.12.15 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima - Guangzhou Evergrande 2:1 (Match for 3rd Place) M8 | 20.12.15 | River Plate - FC Barcelona 0:3 (Final) TV Coverage / Schedule (Time Zone Converter) / Squad Lists / Statistical Kit / Regulations Final Venue: International Stadium Yokohama UEFA: Futbol Club Barcelona (Spain) CONMEBOL: Club Atlético River Plate (Argentina) CONCACAF: Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V. (Mexico) AFC: Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club (China) CAF: Tout Puissant Mazembe (DR Congo) OFC: Auckland City Football Club (New Zealand) Host: Sanfrecce Hiroshima Football Club (Japan) Prize Money 1. USD 5,000,000 2. USD 4,000,000 3. USD 2,500,000 4. USD 2,000,000 5. USD 1,500,000 6. USD 1,000,000 7. USD 500,000 Total: 16.5 Million
OFC: Auckland City FC (NZL) CONCACAF: Club América (MEX) UEFA: FC Barcelona (ESP) CONMEBOL: CA River Plate (ARG) CAF: TP Mazembe (COD) AFC: Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC (CHN) JFA: Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN)
Tournament Winners & Statistics: Intercontinental Cup 1960 Real Madrid (ESP) 1961 Peñarol (URU) 1962 Santos (BRA) 1963 Santos (BRA) 1964 Inter Milan (ITA) 1965 Inter Milan (ITA) 1966 Peñarol (URU) 1967 Racing Club (ARG) 1968 Estudiantes (ARG) 1969 AC Milan (ITA) 1970 Feyenoord (NED) 1971 Nacional (URU) 1972 Ajax Amsterdam (NED) 1973 Independiente (ARG) 1974 Atlético Madrid (ESP) 1975 No competition 1976 Bayern Munich (GER) 1977 Boca Juniors (ARG) 1978 No competition 1979 Olimpia (PAR) Toyota Cup 1980 Nacional (URU) 1981 Flamengo (BRA) 1982 Peñarol (URU) 1983 Grêmio (BRA) 1984 Independiente (ARG) 1985 Juventus (ITA) 1986 River Plate (ARG) 1987 FC Porto (POR) 1988 Nacional (URU) 1989 AC Milan (ITA) 1990 AC Milan (ITA) 1991 Red Star Belgrade (SER) 1992 São Paulo (BRA) 1993 São Paulo (BRA) 1994 Vélez Sarsfield (ARG) 1995 Ajax Amsterdam (NED) 1996 Juventus (ITA) 1997 Borussia Dortmund (GER) 1998 Real Madrid (ESP) 1999 Manchester United (ENG) 2000 Boca Juniors (ARG) 2001 Bayern Munich (GER) 2002 Real Madrid (ESP) 2003 Boca Juniors (ARG) 2004 FC Porto (POR) [Merger with Club World Cup*] Club World Cup 2000 Corinthians (BRA) 2001 No competition 2002 No competition 2003 No competition 2004 No competition [Merger with Toyota Cup*] 2005 São Paulo (BRA) 2006 Internacional (BRA) 2007 AC Milan (ITA) 2008 Manchester United (ENG) 2009 FC Barcelona (ESP) 2010 Inter Milan (ITA) 2011 FC Barcelona (ESP) 2012 Corinthians (BRA) 2013 Bayern Munich (GER) 2014 Real Madrid (ESP) Clubs with Multiple Titles 4 - AC Milan (ITA) 4 - Real Madrid (ESP) 3 - Bayern Munich (GER) 3 - Boca Juniors (ARG) 3 - Inter Milan (ITA) 3 - Nacional (URU) 3 - Peñarol (URU) 3 - São Paulo (BRA) 2 - Ajax Amsterdam (NED) 2 - Corinthians (BRA) 2 - FC Barcelona (ESP) 2 - FC Porto (POR) 2 - Independiente (ARG) 2 - Juventus (ITA) 2 - Manchester United (ENG) 2 - Santos (BRA) Titles by Association 10 - Brazil 9 - Argentina 9 - Italy 7 - Spain 6 - Uruguay 4 - Germany 3 - Netherlands 2 - England 2 - Portugal 1 - Paraguay 1 - Serbia Titles by Confederation 28 - UEFA 26 - CONMEBOL
On Thursday Auckland City FC were the first side to arrive in Japan. On Saturday they drew 1-1 in a friendly against Yokohama FC.
Given that most of us will be watching the games on tape delay due to the time difference (including myself) I have decided to combine the various match threads into one single PBP thread. Keep it all here. For those wondering, Yokohama FC plays in the J. League Division 2.
Speak for yourself bruh. Other than for the opening game (I'll be in the air at the time) and the consolation matches, I'll be watching it live.
TP Mazembe will like their chances against a struggling River Plate (given they make the semis in the first place). BTW: When will they finally normalize the situation? Its obvious the second seeded spot should always go to the federations that had finalists in the previous year.
Well you know, it is the flu season in Dubai. I sense a sick leave coming on. My view is that if CONMEBOL fails to advance in the semis three times in five years (the time span usually considered in the club game) then the seeded status should be revoked. I agree it would be nice to have some performance metrics around this (coefficient?) But how to do this with the format at hand is probably a discussion better held in the general thread. Let's stick to the action on the field here.
Club América gave a valiant effort, scoring twice in the first half to reduce the aggregate to 3-2 but in the second half they had two players sent off and although they won 3-1 on the day they were knocked out 4-3 on aggregate. On to Japan for Los Aguilas.
Didn't America also have two players sent off in the first leg? I know it's a series against a fierce rival but do the Aguilas have a disciplinary problem? Guangzhou Evergrande knows how to benefit from this as Al Ahli had a player sent off in both legs of the Asian final.
Obvious? That's one way to do it but its not "obvious". It would actually be quite an abnormal way to do things. The standard practice in football is to change things only once a pattern emerges after several years. Anyway, no big deal. If TP is as good as you say, they should be able to beat Hiroshima.
This has nothing to do with TP Mazembe. There is no reason whatsoever why CONMEBOL should be given a free ride to the semis. My opinion would stay the same regardless if Hiroshima or whoever makes the final.
There is a good reason though: they have had more success in recent CWCs. Similar reason why Bundesliga teams enter the Champions League in the group-stage or last qualifying round, while a team from Scotland must enter in the 2nd qualifying round. Or why, say, Argentina were seeded for the 2014 World Cup and Cameroon were not. There are countless of examples where seeding is used, this is just another example of seeding teams higher or lower based on better recent performances.
Both legs followed a similar pattern from a disciplinary standpoint: the first red cards were for defenders committing fouls to break up a scoring opportunity for Pumas and earning their second yellows in the process. The second expulsions in each leg, OTOH, were for violent fouls, but I'm convinced that the rivalry atmosphere of the series (and perhaps some alleged racist insults from Pumas defender Darío Verón) contributed to América getting hot under the collar. I doubt Guangzhou could get under their skin the same way, unless the Brazilians start running their mouths off...
Agreed. CONMEBOL has done enough to hold onto the seeding in the semis for now. But the heat is on. Last year's unimpressive San Lorenzo was fortunate it didn't face a stronger team in the semifinals (without taking away from Auckland's tremendous run). Even then San Lorenzo needed extra time. A loss would have tallied to three defeats at this stage in the last five years after 2010 and 2013 - a majority.
Absolutely! If CONMEBOL's results are bettered by another confederation, FIFA should alter the seeding. But we still aren't there. In fact, we're not even that close. If we give 3 points for a first-place finish, 2 for second and 1 for third-place then here are the point totals for the last 5 tournaments*: 1. UEFA : 14 points 2. CONMEBOL : 9 3. CAF : 4 4. OFC : 1 4. AFC : 1 4. CONCACAF: 1 * Note: I'm even using 2010 as the starting-point, which helps CAF.
...mind you, CONMEBOL only has to win one game to gain a point in your calculations, while everyone below them has to win twice.
True, although AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC combined are guaranteed 2 semifinal spots yet combined they still racked-up fewer points than CONMEBOL. And they are also hosting every tournament, which for e.g. gave them an additional point in 2013. Also note that if the CAF champion deserved a bye to the semifinal, they should actually have better results than the CONMEBOL champion when we remove the "hosting" advantage from CAF and remove the seeding advantage from CONMEBOL: In the last 5 years... Record against UEFA teams: CONMEBOL: 1w, 2L ; CAF: 0w, 2L. Record against AFC/OFC/CONCACAF: CONMEBOL: 4w, 0L; CAF: 3w, 6L Head-to-head CONMEBOL v CAF: Even 1-1 The big difference is in the middle. That stat even flatters the CAF champions a bit since, for e.g. , if they lose the quarterfinal they have a relatively weak opponent in the 5th-place playoff. The 4 games for CONMEBOL are against the successful team that comes out of the previous 1 or 2 knockout rounds thus, on average, it is tougher competition. It also suggests that if the CAF champion switched places with the CONMEBOL team in the bracket for these 5 tournaments, the CONMEBOL champion's outcome in each tournament wouldn't have changed drastically.
thats right And no he has not yet played the World Cup of Clubs. He lost 2 Concacaf Champions League finals back to back with Santos. Then he made it to the big time...
Only two days to go. Let's talk about the opening playoff match: Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Auckland City met once before in 2012 - also in the opening game. Sanfrecce won that match 1:0. I for one predict another narrow Sanfrecce victory. Following up on their sensational 3rd place from last year will be a tough task for Auckland, especially without the leadership of injured captain Ivan Vicelich. Sanfrecce won't take them lightly, semi-professionals or not. The Navy Blues must keep a clean sheet and hope that their (superior) international experience kicks in as the game progresses with perhaps an opportunistic strike from someone like Ryan De Vries or Emiliano Tade. Can someone more familiar with Sanfrecce comment on their forwards? I have noticed they are the club with the least amount of foreigners - a mere two. The J. League has seen a bit of a talent drain over the last few years with a number of Japanese players leaving for Europe and high profile foreigners gravitating more towards the riches of the Chinese Super League. A lack of efficiency in front of the goal would open the door for Auckland to once again frustrate the host team. To those more recent to the international club game, Auckland City have been the kings of Oceania since Australia left and are one of those rare teams with more continental titles than domestic league titles (7 to 6). What they have built with their semi-professional resources in only 11 years of existence is simply impressive. Had Ivan Vicelich not been side-lined he could have equalized the record of CWC appearances as a player at 11. Sanfrecce Hiroshima on the other hand has never won the Asian Champions League. They have won a total of 8 Japanese top division titles with three of those being in the J. League era. Goals could perhaps be produced by Hisato Sato who recently became the (joint) all-time top scorer in the J. League with 157 goals. As a team Sanfrecce definitely want to surpass their unsatisfying 5th place at the 2012 CWC. As for the name and logo... (from wiki)
River Plate have no chance of winning this. I will be cheering them on but I'll be very surprised if they can win the whole thing. Thankfully the Argentine's have always had a good attitude in this tournament and that will bring them to the final. However that won't be enough to beat Barcelona. Especially not in the form Barca are currently in. I hope I'm completely wrong and River forget about recent performances and win this tournament. For South America.
I think most everyone felt Estudiantes had no chance in 2009 yet they came withing two minutes of causing a shock.
Participation medal given to everyone just for qualifying for the tournament. Tweeted by a member of TP Mazembe.