And The World Champions Are… Milan.

Perhaps surprisingly, the FIFA Club World Cup left the best until last, with two magnificent matches to mark the end of the 2007 competition. In the first match, for third place, Urawa Red Diamonds came from a goal down to lead Etoile Sportive De Sahel 2-1, before a horrific goalkeeping error pegged them back to [...]

Bosphoric Acid

Well, here’s a cautionary tale, should Umbro ever take it upon themselves to follow through the increasing amounts of red on England shirts to its logical conclusion. A Turkish lawyer is planning on suing Internazionale for wearing a shirt with a red cross on the front of it. It seems pretty straightforward to me that [...]

The Steamroller Is In Town

They might not be the most famous club in the world – that dubious honour probably lies with Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United – but they are one of the most successful club sides in the history of the game. They are a football juggernaut, with a hint of controversy about them [...]

Livin’ The Vida Boca

Later today (if you’re in Japan) or tomorrow morning (if you’re in Europe), the first of the giants finally take their bow in the FIFA Club World Cup, and they don’t come much bigger than Boca Juniors. The Argentinian giants from Buenos Aires are one of the biggest club sides in the world and, as [...]

Diamonds Are Forever?

Later on this morning, the roof will most likely be lifted off the FIFA Club World Cup when Urawa Red Diamonds make their entrance into the tournament against Iran’s Sepahanat the Toyota Stadium. In a rare sensible move from FIFA, the decision has been made to allow a team from the host country to enter [...]

As Good As It Gets?

Other commitments meant that I was unable to bring you the low-down on Pachuca and Etoile Sportive De Sahel ahead of their World Club Cup match. Somehow, it still registers as a surprise that the African champions should be able to see off the champions of Central and North America, but it happened when the [...]

Seconds Out, Round One!

Well, I hope you’re paying attention at the back, there. There are some slight differences to this year’s FIFA World Club Cup – most notably that FIFA have invited the Japanese champions, Urawa Red Diamonds, to make the number of entrants in this year’s jamboree up to seven. The seven entrants this year are as [...]

…On The World Club Cup

Has it been a year already? For those of you that were previously unaware of this, last year I was at the FIFA World Cup in Japan, bringing you daily reports of the goings on at this tournament, and I returned to the UK somewhat enamoured with it all. Now, I know that popular opinion [...]