A Look at the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup

It's a day late, but hopefully not a dollar short: here's a quick look at the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, which kicked off yesterday in Japan.

Seeing as how this is a site focused on international soccer, it's rare that I dedicate coverage specifically to a club level tournament. But since this is the lone senior-level club tournament administered by FIFA, I figured I'd make an exception.

For those who aren't familiar, the FIFA Club World is a 7-team, single elimination tournament not unlike the Confederations Cup in that it brings together the continental champions from each of the 6 confederations and a host team to duke it out for the title of Club World Champion.

Since its reincarnation in 2005, the tournament has been held in Japan for all but two years, with the 2009 and 2010 editions taking place in the United Arab Emirates. The competition will stay in Japan through 2012, at which point it will move to uncharted territory: Morocco. After the UAE, Iran, and South Africa dropped out of the bidding process, Morocco was the only candidate left standing, and thus won the right to be the first African nation to host the Club World Cup. That will be a welcome change, though, for whichever European club is obligated to make the trip, as it will be far less cumbersome than, say, a jaunt to Japan or the Middle East.

But enough of that; that's a few years away. For now, our attention is on this year's tournament, which is taking place in the cities of Toyota and Yokohama despite some initial concern following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami last April.

Let's take a look at the 7 participants and how they managed to get to this point:


Host Team: Kashiwa Reysol (Japan)

As the host nation, Japan was guaranteed at least one representative in the tournament, with the 2011 J. League champions earning a spot in the playoff round. Kashiwa Reysol won its first J. League title just a year after being promoted to the top flight, clinching that host berth in the process. They managed to hold Nagoya Grampus and Gamba Osaka on the final match day of the season, with first and third place being separated by just two points.

As the host representative, Kashiwa Reysol was put in the playoff round against the OFC representative for a spot in the quarterfinals.


OFC Representative: Auckland City (New Zealand)

Auckland City earned their third trip to the FIFA Club World Cup by winning the 2010-11 OFC Champions League. After winning their group, they managed to outclass Vanuatu's Amicale in the two-legged final, earning a 6-1 aggregate win thanks to a second leg blowout.

While some overlook the OFC representative, Auckland City can pride themselves on being a team that has actually made a dent in the tournament (though that wasn't the case this year, which I'll get to later on): in 2009, they managed to secure fifth place thanks to wins over host representatives Al-Ahli and African champs TP Mazembe, who you might recall ended up losing to Inter Milan in last year's final. Not too shabby, all things considered.


AFC Representative: Al-Sadd (Qatar)

Al-Sadd managed to win the 2011 AFC Champions League, but it wasn't without some serious controversy along the way. (What? Qatar and soccer controversy?! I would have never guessed...) Read all about it here, and see video of the highly contentious victory over South Korea's Suwon Bluewings in the semifinals.

Ultimately, though, it doesn't quite matter how they got here, but rather simply that they did in fact reach this point at all. Now in the field, they'll face a tall task to advance any further. I'm sure plenty of Koreans will be hoping that their campaign is a short one.


CONCACAF Representative: Monterrey (Mexico)

It will surely pain a lot of MLS fans to revisit last spring's CONCACAF Champions League final, in which Real Salt Lake couldn't close things out at home and earn the league's first ever FIFA Club World Cup berth.

Instead, Humberto Suazo scored a goal that stunned the raucous crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium, securing a 1-0 win for the visitors and a 3-2 aggregate triumph.




CAF Representative: Esperance (Tunisia)

After losing in last year's CAF Champions League final to eventual FIFA Club World Cup finalists TP Mazembe (DR Congo), Esperance managed to redeem themselves by doing one better this time around.

They managed to knock off Morocco's Wydad AC Casablanca over two legs to claim their second continental crown and their first trip to FIFA's premier club tournament.


CONMEBOL Representative: Santos (Brazil)

With Brazilian starlets Neymar and Ganso lighting up opposing defenses, Santos managed to win their first Copa Libertadores title since a young forward named Pele was playing for the club way back in 1963. As such, this is their first trip to the FIFA Club World Cup.

Tune in to see Santos if for no other reason than to see the aforementioned pair of youngsters. You'll be seeing plenty of them as Brazil 2014 approaches.


UEFA Representative: Barcelona (Spain)

And last, but not least, Barcelona, who earned their spot with a spectacular 3-1 win over Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final. The victory capped off another stunning season under Pep Guardiola in which three more pieces of silverware were added to an already crowded trophy case.

Barcelona will head to Japan after playing a crucial edition of El Clasico, as Real Madrid currently lead them in the La Liga table by three points. Messi, Iniesta, and company will be looking to repeat their 2009 performance in which they won the club's first ever world title.

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So how does the tournament bracket look? Glad you asked.

The tournament- single elimination, as I mentioned earlier- starts with a playoff match between the host representative and the OFC representative.

As the CONMEBOL and UEFA representatives, respectively, Santos and Barcelona get byes to the semifinal round. So the winner of the playoff will join the CONCACAF, AFC, and CAF representatives for the quarterfinal round. This year's draw pits the playoff winner against Monterrey for a shot at Santos, while Esperance and Al-Sadd will play for the right to take on Barcelona in the semifinal round. The semifinal winners, naturally, will then play in the final at International Stadium Yokohama. There will also be consolation matches held to determine fifth place and third place.

As I alluded to earlier, the tournament has gotten underway, with the playoff round taking place yesterday. Kashiwa Reysol managed to top Auckland City by a score of 2-0, eliminating the Kiwis from the tournament. Here's what the remaining schedule looks like:


December 11: Kashiwa Reysol v. Monterrey; Esperance v. Al-Sadd
December 14: (Kashiwa Reysol/Monterrey winner) v. Santos; Fifth place match
December 15: (Esperance/Al-Sadd winner) v. Barcelona
December 18: Final; Third place match


It's hard to track down official numbers on prize money this time around, but I haven't heard much indicating that things have changed a great deal since last year. In 2010, the champions took home $5 million, second place won $4 million, third place won $2.5 million, fourth place won $2 million, fifth place won $1.5 million, sixth place won $1 million, and seventh place received $500k. Needless to say, not a bad chunk of change for a week's work.

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To wrap up, we'll do what we do best: make predictions that are sure to go wrong.

I'll say that Monterrey and Esperance will move on to the semifinals, with Barcelona and Santos moving on to the final. Twitter explodes as Messi and Neymar duke it out, but Barca ultimately prevails to take home their second Club World Cup title.

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Enjoy the tournament, folks. Impress your friends with some of the knowledge you picked up in this post. We'll have updates on Twitter and a wrap-up following the final.