Brazil has expressed its interest in hosting the next edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, and halfway through the inaugural version with 32 teams, it seems a suitable place for 2029.
The new FIFA initiative could be facing problems. Many matches have been played in front of sparse crowds, encounters have been interrupted by weather conditions, and the scorching heat could affect the final stages of the tournament. However, the Club World Cup is being saved, on and off the field, by the six South American teams.
The fans of Brazil and Argentina have arrived in the United States with pride and passion, sending a resounding message to the skeptics: this matters. If they are excluded, the entire competition could collapse. The traveling fans have had much to celebrate. With one round of group matches remaining, five of their teams — the four Brazilian participants, plus River Plate — are currently leading their groups. And if the remaining team, Boca Juniors, is in third place, they have played within their limitations with more success than many feared.
Has the South American performance been surprising so far? Few expected Botafogo’s epic victory over Paris Saint-Germain, and Fluminense has exceeded expectations. But, with contrasting styles, Flamengo and Palmeiras are more or less where they were expected to be. Their eyes are fixed on the prize.
The idea behind this new tournament is a dream come true for South American club football. The continental version of the UEFA Champions League, the Copa Libertadores, began in 1960 as an explicit response to the birth and rapid consolidation of the European Cup. Europe has a champion, they thought, so now we need to have our own champions and, therefore, have a way to challenge them to a contest. The quest to face the best in Europe is deeply rooted in the soul of South American football.
In recent years, the annual Intercontinental Cup has become something embarrassing for South America. They care a lot and win little. But they are at a disadvantage. The action takes place in December, at the end of a grueling South American season.
This time, everything is in their favor. Their fans make it feel like a home game, the heat plays to their advantage, and they are in the middle of the season and full of energy. And, like an Olympic athlete preparing for the Games, the greats have prepared to reach their peak at this moment.Maresca: We knew Flamengo were a good teamChelsea coach Enzo Maresca reacts to Chelsea’s surprising 3-1 defeat to Flamengo in the Club World Cup.
Flamengo flirted with disaster in the Libertadores. A last-minute block by their goalkeeper Agustín Rossi avoided what would have been a humiliating exit in the group stage. It was a calculated risk, with coach Filipe Luis managing his squad to avoid exhaustion. And the incorporation of midfielder Jorginho seems like the missing piece of the puzzle. The former Serie A and Premier League player can control the pace and provide precise passes for the team’s many talented wingers.
Palmeiras is a well-managed club that has spent unusually heavily in pursuit of glory. Forward Vitor Roque, acquired from Barcelona, is the most expensive signing in the history of Brazilian club football. Others have arrived, and the club made sure to keep Estêvão, bound for Chelsea, until the end of this competition. They may not have seemed particularly flashy so far, but that’s the style of their intelligent Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira, who may resemble a younger version of Jose Mourinho.
It will be difficult to stop Palmeiras, and Botafogo showed that the same applies to them with that famous victory over the glamorous PSG, recently crowned European champions. Botafogo had luck on their side in their match against the Seattle Sounders, but they faced PSG with a different system and a different approach, defending with such discipline that they suffered very few moments of real danger. And with Igor Jesus providing a one-man forward line as a modern version of Didier Drogba, they were able to play out from the back, breathe, and regroup continuously. At the very least, that match should forever end the inaccurate impression that Brazilian football is a kind of Carnival in boots, with everyone willing to express themselves and no one concerned with defending. The entire Botafogo team scored, ran, tackled, blocked, and cleared as if their lives depended on the result.
The big question now is whether they can do the same against Atlético de Madrid. All they need to do is avoid a three-goal defeat, and the Pasadena heat would seem to be in their favor. But if they conceded early, nerves could be frayed.
Flamengo has already secured its place in the knockout phase. Botafogo and the others should be fine, but interesting days await them. If Palmeiras has been affected by the heat of their last match, it could be more difficult to defend against Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami CF teammates, and in case of a (unlikely) defeat, they could be vulnerable in the goal difference against the winner of the FC Porto-Al Ahly match. And Fluminense, who oscillated between excellent and terrible in their previous match, will have to avoid defeat against the dangerous Mamelodi Sundowns.
The probability is, then, that there will be four Brazilian teams in the round of 16. And two from Argentina? Boca Juniors will be out if Benfica gets a draw against Bayern Munich. Assuming Benfica loses, they are caught in a shootout, needing as many goals as possible against Auckland City, with a stadium in Nashville to sing for them. River Plate’s situation is better, but they face a complicated match against Internazionale. River’s coach, Marcelo Gallardo, favors an expansive game, with both full-backs pushing forward. Keeping the team balanced is not easy. They have been receiving many cards in midfield, and the entire central trio from Saturday’s match against Monterrey is suspended for the crucial match against Inter.
But whatever the state of the game, River Plate and the other South Americans can be relied upon to roll up their sleeves and fight for the cause, roared on by a wall of sound coming from the stands. Whatever happens in the coming days, the images that come out of this tournament will make it impossible for any intelligent person to utter the dreaded phrase: “nobody cares about the Club World Cup”.
