Club World Cup
Review
The Club World Cup is never a priority for European clubs. Both unloved and unwanted, the tournament is even considered a distraction during busy winter months. Yet Bayern Munich, the 2020 Champions League winners, demonstrated enough German cool to win the global crown with a 1-0 victory over Mexico’s Tigres UANL in the competition’s final in Qatar and lift their sixth trophy in nine months. In a low-wattage final, Bayern struggled to break down the tenacious Mexicans. Joshua Kimmich’s wonderful 18th-minute strike was chalked off by VAR for Robert Lewandowski’s offside, but Bayern’s perpetual movement and sheer class eventually fatigued their opponents. In the 59th minute, the ball dropped to Benjamin Pavard in the box and with Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman out of position, the full-back slammed the ball into an empty net.
The Mexicans, the tournament’s surprise package, were the first team from North and Central America to reach the Club World Cup final. In the semi-finals, they upset South American champions Palmeiras 1-0 thanks to a 54th-minute penalty conversion from their talismanic French striker AndrePierre Gignac. Crestfallen, the Brazilians were left to ponder why they had missed out on a tantalizing match-up with the European champions.
In South America, the Club World Cup matters: reaching and winning the final is considered the pinnacle a club can achieve. It is why Neymar and Santos couldn’t stop talking about playing Barcelona in 2011, or why
30,000 Corinthians fans travelled to Yokohama a year later. It is a victory that carries huge prestige.
Palmeiras had never won the global crown, although they claim that victory in an international tournament in 1951 counts as one. In reality, local rivals Santos, Sao Paulo and Corinthians can all point to victories in the former Intercontinental Cup or the present Club World Cup.
Local bragging rights then were an extra motivation for the Brazilians, but the semi-finals have often represented a difficult obstacle. In 2019, Flamengo struggled in the semi-finals against Asian champions Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia. It took the Rio club 78 minutes to take the lead before running out 3-1 winners.
Against Tigres, Palmeiras were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure, a strategy that had worked wonderfully well in the Copa Libertadores final against Santos. Tigres’ coach Ricardo Ferretti cleverly switched his wingers Javier Aquino and Luis Quinones, who, alongside the overlapping right-back Luis Rodriguez, ensured Mexican dominance. In the 54th minute, Tigres’ goal arrived from a Gignac penalty. The Frenchman’s presence, energy and experience galvanized Tigres.
The contrast with his counterpart Luiz Adriano at the other end of the pitch could not have been bigger. The former Shakhtar Donetsk forward was largely peripheral throughout and when a major chance finally did arrive in the second half, he failed to connect with the ball. Following in the footsteps of River Plate, Atletico Nacional, Atletico Mineiro and Internacional, Palmeiras became the fifth Copa Libertadores champions to be eliminated at the semi-final stage.
The result was a stinging indictment of Palmeiras and Brazil’s congested calendar. Palmeiras’ reactive style is typical of a football culture that is increasingly obsolete. There was not even consolation to be found in the third-place play-off, with African champions Al Ahly beating the Sao Paulo giants on penalties. The Brazilian side were punished for some dreadful spot-kicks: a bizarre, stuttering run-up and weak strike by Rony was easily saved by Mohamed El Shenawy, then Adriano was at fault again, missing the target completely. On Palmeiras’ fifth and final penalty, the Egyptian keeper kept out captain Felipe Melo’s effort to give his side the bronze medal, matching their previous best result in the 2006 Club World Cup.
Going into the tournament, Al Ahly’s coach Pitso Mosimane had evoked the heroics of Leicester City’s title-winning season to inspire his players, but his team were no match for Bayern Munich. The African champions played with the organisation and intent that had secured a 1-0 quarter-final victory over local club and host representative Al Duhail. In contrast, Bayern Munich’s attitude, hunger and finesse were overwhelming. Two goals from Robert Lewandowski, the world’s best striker, ensured Munich’s passage to the final.
Against Tigres, Bayern were without Thomas Muller, who tested positive for COVID-19 on the morning of the final, a reminder of the health restrictions that the tournament was staged amid. Stadiums were reduced to 30 per cent capacity and fans were handed face shields at the turnstiles.
Leroy Sane deputized for Muller in an attacking line-up, but the first chance of the final fell to Gignac. The striker’s unconventional personal and professional story came to symbolise Tigres’ superb campaign in Doha. The Frenchman is an atypical centre-forward who has blossomed in the Mexican league, roaming around the field and spraying passes everywhere. He guided his team past Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai in the quarter-finals with a brace. Tigres, however, is more than just Gignac. The club boasts sterling credentials: a savvy coach, a formidable record in the CONCACAF Champions League and a huge fanbase.
The final against Bayern was the cherry on the cake. The Germans were not at their brilliant best, but exhibited enough quality and enterprise to record a 1-0 win and cement Europe’s dominance in the competition. The team of coach Hansi Flick follows in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola’s vintage Barcelona by completing a unique sextuple, the fruit of nine months of relentless excellence.
Bayern’s perpetual movement and sheer class eventually fatigued their opponents