2007 FIFA Club World Cup: Continental Competitions [R]

Nico Limmat · Jan 19, 2007

Who will make it to Japan this year?

Before we look at the continental competitions, here are the tournament winners & statistics again:

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)

Club World Cup

2000 Corinthians (BRA)
2005 São Paulo (BRA)
2006 Internacional (BRA)
2007 ???

Clubs with Multiple Titles

3 - AC Milan (ITA)
3 - Boca Juniors (ARG)
3 - Nacional (URU)
3 - Peñarol (URU)
3 - Real Madrid (ESP)
3 - São Paulo (BRA)
2 - Ajax Amsterdam (NED)
2 - Bayern Munich (GER)
2 - FC Porto (POR)
2 - Independiente (ARG)
2 - Inter Milan (ITA)
2 - Juventus (ITA)
2 - Santos (BRA)

Titles by Association

9 - Argentina
9 - Brazil
7 - Italy
6 - Uruguay
4 - Spain
3 - Germany
3 - Netherlands
2 - Portugal
1 - England
1 - Paraguay
1 - Serbia

Titles by Confederation

25 - CONMEBOL
21 - UEFA

Nico Limmat · Jan 19, 2007

The ball gets rolling this year at the re-branded OFC Champions League (before OFC Club Championship)

Unlike before when a single site was used, the tournament now operates under a home & away group format:

Group A
Auckland City (NZL)
AS Mont Dore (NCL)
Waitakere United (NZL)

Group B
AS Temanava (TAH)
4R Electrical Ba (FIK)
Marist FC (SOL)

Strong favorites are the two New Zealand sides. Play begins tomorrow Saturday.

Moderator's Note:
We will not discuss Bolton or whether Europeans care in this thread. We will try to focus on the six continental competitions and the occasional CWC news bit from FIFA. Distracting posts will be deleted/moved if necessary.

Bengoechea · Jan 19, 2007

My Picks for the participating teams.

CONMEBOL- São Paulo - BRA
AFC- Urawa Reds - ******
CAF- Asec Mimosas - CIV
UEFA- Lyon - FRA
CONCACAF- Chivas Guadalajara - MEX
OFC- Auckland City - NZL

Nico Limmat · Jan 20, 2007

Picking the teams at this point is nearly impossible, but I'll give it a try:

UEFA: Arsenal (ENG)
A bold pick, I know.

CONMEBOL: Boca Juniors (ARG)
After three years without one, Argentina gets another Libertadores.

AFC: Seongnam (KOR)
The winner will either come from Korea or the Middle East.

CAF: Espérance (TUN)
It's tempting to pick Al Ahly again, but I think this will finally be the year for a Tunisian team.

CONCACAF: Pachuca (MEX)
Copa Sudamericana champions.

OFC: Auckland City (NZL)
I would be very surprised if the winner isn't from New Zealand.

CONCACAF and the OFC are much easier than the others, but I'll be happy if I get three right...

SoccerScout · Jan 20, 2007

SwissGCZ said: ↑

Picking the teams at this point is nearly impossible, but I'll give it a try:

UEFA: Arsenal (ENG)
A bold pick, I know.

CONMEBOL: Boca Juniors (ARG)
After three years without one, Argentina gets another Libertadores.

AFC: Seongnam (KOR)
The winner will either come from Korea or the Middle East.

CAF: Espérance (TUN)
It's tempting to pick Al Ahly again, but I think this will finally be the year for a Tunisian team.

CONCACAF: Pachuca (MEX)
Copa Sudamericana champions.

OFC: Auckland City (NZL)
I would be very surprised if the winner isn't from New Zealand.

CONCACAF and the OFC are much easier than the others, but I'll be happy if I get three right...
Click to expand...

God I hope not Aukland...they were awful....

Sagy · Jan 21, 2007

SoccerScout said: ↑

God I hope not Aukland...they were awful....
Click to expand...

Which OFC team do you think will be a marked improvement?

Colorado_GAUCHO · Jan 22, 2007

Internacional will win the Libertadores 07 and will defend his CUP in 07. Winning the Club World Cup as well.

Da-lhe Inter

Templinho · Feb 16, 2007

FIFA and UEFA address various urgent matters

The meeting focused on problems regarding players’ agents, insurance for clubs and the players they release for international duty and the coordinated international match calendar. With regard to the latter issue, it was noted that, in December 2007, there will be a collision due to scheduled fixtures in the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. The two governing bodies will now examine two possible solutions to this problem as soon as possible.
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Interesting. Does anybody know why this clash has occured? In both 2005 and 2006, the CL Group Stage was finished a full week and a half before the CWC began.

Pachigii! · Feb 16, 2007

OFC is a joke. Jeonbuk thrashed Auckland City, and Jeonbuk is the K-League's weakest team. And Jeonbuk won the ACL Champions League.. Weird.. -.-

Forza AZ · Feb 19, 2007

Templinho said: ↑

FIFA and UEFA address various urgent matters

Interesting. Does anybody know why this clash has occured? In both 2005 and 2006, the CL Group Stage was finished a full week and a half before the CWC began.
Click to expand...

The schedule has shifted 1 week. Every year it off course shifts a few days back, so every now and then it shifts 1 week to the front. That also has to do with the FIFA dates for national team matches. These also are shifted 1 week ahead, so it's a FIFA problem then. They did shift the dates for national team matches (which results in the same shift for CL and UEFA-cup dates), but didn't shift the dates for the CWC.

ZeekLTK · Feb 27, 2007

SwissGCZ said: ↑

The ball gets rolling this year at the re-branded OFC Champions League (before OFC Club Championship)

Unlike before when a single site was used, the tournament now operates under a home & away group format:

Group A
Auckland City (NZL)
AS Mont Dore (NCL)
Waitakere United (NZL)

Group B
AS Temanava (TAH)
4R Electrical Ba (FIK)
Marist FC (SOL)

Strong favorites are the two New Zealand sides. Play begins tomorrow Saturday.
Click to expand...

Any results from this?

CONCACAF's 2nd leg in the quarterfinals is coming up (two tomorrow, two Thursday).

First Leg Results:

W Connection (T&T) 2 - 1 CD Guadalajara (MEX)
Puntarenas CF (CRC) 1 - 0 Houston Dynamo (USA)
CD Olimpia (HON) 1 - 4 DC United (USA)
Pachuca CF (MEX) 2 - 0 Deportivo Marquense (GUA)

Forza AZ · Feb 28, 2007

ZeekLTK said: ↑

Any results from this?
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OFC_Champions_League_2007

Nico Limmat · Mar 2, 2007

CONCACAF Quarterfinals, 2nd Leg:

CD Guadalajara (MEX) 3 - 0 W Connection (T&T)
Deportivo Marquense (GUA) 0 - 1 Pachuca CF (MEX)
Houston Dynamo (USA) 2 - 0 Puntarenas FC (CRC)
DC United (USA) 3 - 2 CD Olimpia (HON)

Semis:

DC United (USA) - CD Guadalajara (MEX)
Houston Dynamo (USA) - Pachuca CF (MEX)

A bit surprisingly, both MLS teams advanced to the semis after years of non-performance.

Nico Limmat · Mar 6, 2007

The AFC is the final confederation to commence its tournament tomorrow...

2007 AFC Champions League: Aussies bolster Asian field

WEST:

Group A
Al Arabi (Kuwait)
Al Wahda (UAE)
Al Rayyan (Qatar)
Al Zawra'a (Iraq)

Group B
Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan)
Al Kuwait (Kuwait)
Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Esteghlal (Iran) Disqualified

Group C
Al Karama (Syria)
Neftchi (Uzbekistan)
Al Najaf (Iraq)
Al Sadd (Qatar)

Group D
Al Ain (UAE)
Al Ittihad (Syria)
Sepahan (Iran)
Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia)

EAST:

Group E
Urawa Reds (Japan)
Sydney FC (Australia)
Shanghai Shenhua (China)
Persik Kediri (Indonesia)

Group F
Bangkok University (Thailand)
Kawasaki Frontale (Japan)
Arema Malang (Indonesia)
Chunnam Dragons (South Korea)

Group G
Adelaide United (Australia)
Dong Tam Long An (Vietnam)
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (South Korea)
Shandong Luneng (China)

*Defending champions Jeonbuk Motors (South Korea) with a bye to the quarterfinals.

mpfitz21 · Mar 13, 2007

UEFA - Liverpool
CONMEBOL - Sao Paolo
CONCACAF - DC United
CAF - Al Ahly
AFC - Sidney FC
OFC - Auckland City

Nico Limmat · Mar 16, 2007

CONCACAF Semis, 1st Leg:

DC United (USA) 1 - 1 CD Guadalajara (MEX)
Houston Dynamo (USA) 2 - 0 Pachuca CF (MEX)

Quite an upset by Houston, but the away leg will be a tall order.

In the AFC Sydney celebrated the first Aussie victory in Asia's top competition as they beat China's Shanghai Shenhua 2-1 away. Here are the goals and both Sydney strikes were truly terrific: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxVoTnn_Yik

Templinho · Mar 28, 2007

FIFA Executive Committee Meeting

Although the format for the six-match final tournament of this year's FIFA Club World Cup in Japan will be no different from in 2006, the executive agreed to introduce a qualifying play-off between the Oceania champions and the league champions of the host nation, with the victors then lining up alongside the champions of the five other confederations.
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It was always a matter of time. Plus, "six-match final tournament"? There have always been seven matches. Is this an error or has the fifth-place playoff been discarded?

Nico Limmat · Mar 28, 2007

Nice find Templinho.

Not thrilled about including a host side, but the underwhelming quality of the OFC champion was a problem for the tournament. Regardless, it was clear since last year that FIFA wanted to make this change. I hope the OFC winner still gets adequate financial compensation even if the playoff is lost. Fair is fair.

Templinho · Mar 29, 2007

CONCACAF Exco meets in Netherlands Antilles

Finally, the Committee also approved the proposal from the CONCACAF Secretariat to launch a CONCACAF Champions League starting in 2009. The new, CONCACAF Champions League, including group play, will become CONCACAF’s qualifying event for the annual FIFA Club World Cup. The complete format for the CONCACAF Champions League will be disclosed at the XXV CONCACAF Ordinary Congress in May.
Click to expand...

SJJ · Mar 30, 2007

Templinho said: ↑

FIFA Executive Committee Meeting"six-match final tournament"? There have always been seven matches. Is this an error or has the fifth-place playoff been discarded?
Click to expand...

My guess it is a mis-translation into English.

The early-round games didn't draw that well, and it led to calls for having a home side in the games. And the Australia move to Asia meant that a low-level team would come out of Oceania.

But they did get some support for the "O-League" (Oceania Champions League) games:
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?det=1&intArticleID=2218&sID=12
("The stakes could not be higher for Solomon Island champions Marist FC who drew a massive 17,000 crowd in their first match against Ba in Honiara.")

BTW, Oceania had formalized their competition format for the next few years. From the top 6 (group play), the teams finishing 1-5 would gauruntee their countries' spots for next year, with a qualifying round from the other countries to make the sixth spot. Plus, the teams must now qualify from league play, not a cup tournament.
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?det=1&intArticleID=2158&sID=12

FAR-QUE · Mar 31, 2007

will fifa bend the rules for wellington phoenix vs Oleague winner playoff

scaryice · Mar 31, 2007

Bad decision to include the host teams in such a small tournament.

Nico Limmat · Apr 4, 2007

Templinho said: ↑

CONCACAF Exco meets in Netherlands Antilles
Click to expand...

About time. When even the OFC puts in more effort you know you're doing a lousy job.

Speaking of the O-League, the final is set:

Ba FC (Fiji Islands) - Waitakere United (New Zealand)

Waitakere edged out Auckland City on goal differential in Group A. The final is April 21 & 28.

EvanJ · Apr 4, 2007

CD Guadalajara (Mexico) 2:1 DC United (United States)
Last night in Mexico, DC scored the first goal and Guadalajara tied it before halftime. Guadalajara scored the winner early in the second half of DC United goalkeeper Troy Perkins's hands. CD Guadalajara won the aggregate 3:2 after the first leg was a 1:1 draw. CD Guadalajara advances to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup final to play either Houston Dynamo (United States) or Pachuca (Mexico). That second leg is tomorrow night.

wufc · Apr 4, 2007

Including the host is an awful idea. If they're gonna do that, then, they shouldn't hold it in Japan every year. This isn't the World Cup where you have a bunch of teams from (almost) every confederation, this is supposed to be a simple and clean tournament where you get only real continental champions, regardless of how small they are.

And besides, Japanese seem to support this tournament pretty well without a J-league team in there. I mean, 20,000 came out to watch the fifth place game with Auckland City.