BRAZUCA The Ball of Fifa Club World Cup 2013 & 2014




Poor kids around the world will kick just about anything resembling a ball to get a soccer game going. Rolled up socks or rags, cans, tennis balls. For those kids with a little more money, say $160, and the highly paid professionals who will contest the World Cup in Brazil this summer, there’s the brazuca. That’s the name picked by a poll of fans in Brazil for the official soccer ball of the World Cup. According to Adidas, the manufacturer, brazuca is a local expression that’s used to describe the Brazilian way of life.


It’s also a name that could make the controversial Jabulani ball used in the 2010 Cup in South Africa disappear. The Jabulani was proclaimed by the company’s designers to be the roundest ball ever made; and proclaimed by goalkeepers to be the stuff of nightmares. Struck hard enough, the Jabulani had a tendency to dance the hula, wiggling on its way to the goal.

The ball has been completely redesigned since the last World Cup, and is made using just six panels, the fewest adidas has ever used. By comparison, the innovative Telstar ball of 1970 had 32 hexagonal and pentagonal panels. Once again Adidas is claiming the title of world’s roundest ball. This time, the only wiggles will be the green, orange and light blue patterns that have been designed on the ball itself.  “It’s more stable and has very reliable flight pattern,” says Patrik Nilsson, CEO of Adidas North America.



To make sure of that, Adidas subjected the ball to unprecedented testing.  “What we learned from South Africa is that we need to test even more and involve more players in the in process,” says Nilsson. Adidas tested camouflaged versions with its top clubs and players, including Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), and Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich). To eliminate bias, the company also did blind tests with non-Adidas affiliated players and in the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The World Cup soccer ball is a huge piece of business for adidas. In the last World Cup, the company sold some 13 million balls worldwide, including miniballs and replicas. The brazuca’s $160 match ball also comes in a miniball and replica versions starting at $13. But even at an average price of say, $50, that’s a $650 million business for Adidas.

Nilsson expects a big chunk of that business to be in the U.S. “Our retail partners were surprised by how many balls they could sell last time,” says Nilsson. With the World Cup played in the same time zone this summer, fans will find it even easier to follow the games.  And see for themselves whether brazuca flies true.
History of Adidas Balls

Sunderland 1 - 0 Stock City 2014 Adam Johnson Goal

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FIFA Club World Cup 2010 CHAMPIONS








European champions Inter Milan squashed the demons which had haunted coach beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez to win the Fifa Club World Cup presented by Toyota when they breezed past a spirited TP Mazembe side 3-0 in the final at Zayed Sports City stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.
Inter Milan became the first Italian side to collect five major trophies in a single calendar year after seizing control of the match following a tentative start with two strikes within the space of five minutes in the first half.
A crowd of over 42,000 saw Goran Pandev and Cameroon star Samuel Eto’o put Inter in the driving seat before substitute Jonathan Biabiany completed the rout five minutes from time.
The victory will come as some relief to Spaniard Benitez, who has failed to live up to the high expectations since taking on the unenviable task of succeeding Jose Mourinho.
Inter add the Club World Cup crown to their Champions League, Serie A, Italian cup and European Super Cup titles, emulating the achievement of Barcelona last year. Inter also won the Italian Supercup in pre-season.
Fifa president Joseph Sepp Blatter presented the Club World Cup trophy to Inter Milan skipper Javier Zanetti amidst thunderous applause and a deafening fireworks display.
Benitez, embraced by Inter president Massima Moratti at the end, was a happy man having landed his first silverware since leaving Anfield - but also struck a cautious note.
“My relationship with the chairman is good - but I ask the club for help and respect - they did not come up with the goods after what they told me in the summer about (new) signings and so it’s not easy,” said the Spaniard alluding to his desire to strengthen his injury-ravaged squad.
He insisted his overall relationship with the club was solid.
However, he laid out three conditions to the club management.
“One, 100 percent support for the coach and buy four or five players - to build a stronger team with competition among the players to be able to carry on winning matches and trophies,” said Benitez.
“Two, carry on like this without a project, without planning and go ahead with one person to blame, for the whole season getting to May this way.
“The third is to speak to my agent, reach an agreement if there is not this support. Simple.”
The coach’s comments brought an immediate response from Moratti, who praised Benitez for the way he masterminded the win but said it was not the time to talk about new signings.
“It’s not the moment to ask (for reinforcements) and it is not something we will decide now,” Moratti told reporters.
“He managed the game very well, I saw his handiwork.”
However, Benitez told the post-match news conference: “I want the support of the club and the players...I’m a professional who has worked (in soccer) for 25 years so I want respect and support.”
The Spaniard said Inter had spent nothing to strengthen the squad this season after he had initially asked for three or four new players to ensure the team improved.
“After winning so much the competition among players will be positive,” said Benitez.
Benitez concluded there must be a reason for a squad with so many injuries so he ordered a scientific study.
“It’s clear that this team has all the risk factors,” he said. “The first is age - there are 15 players over 30.”
Players had not had sufficient rest after the World Cup in South Africa which brought more risk of injury, he added.
“The players were squeezed to the maximum,” said the former Liverpool coach.
TP Mazembe coach Lamine N’Diaye said Inter deserved their win.
“They were much stronger than us and thoroughly deserved their victory. Experience won out this evening. Physically we were exhausted.
“The previous games we played against Pachuca (the Mexican side they defeated in the quarter-finals) and then against Internacional (of Brazil, in the semis) were tough and took a lot out of us,” N’Diaye admitted.
“We lacked an extra day to get over that. The team were not at their best tonight,” he said.
But N’Diaye added that the team should still feel proud of its achievement in coming so far.
“There are many good players on the African continent. But we are still a little way off where we need to be. Mazembe have taken an important step and another team can emulate this in the future. Africa has progressed - we saw that with Ghana at the World Cup as they came close to reaching the semi-finals.
“We will get there,” he insisted.
 TP Mazembe, who had stunned Brazilian club Internacional to earn their place in the final, attempted to hustle the opposition particularly in the second half but never threatened to cause another upset.
However, in their over exuberance they found themselves on the wrong end of Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura’s decision, with four players earning yellow cards.
Eto’o, who won the adidas Golden Ball award, laid on the 13th-minute opener for Pandev with a defence-splitting pass, and then got on the end of a pass from the outstanding Zanetti to grab the second.
Zanetti was the midfield general for Inter as he controlled the passage of play in attack particularly in the first half before dropping back in defence to join the rock solid Brazilian Lucio.
Winner of the Toyota Player of the Final award, Eto’o chipped over the defence for Pandev to deftly to toe the ball with his left foot through two defenders just inside the near post.
Esteban Cambiasso launched the next scoring move with Zanetti finding Eto’o whose powerful drive from the middle on the edge of the area nestled in the left corner of the goal giving the Mazembe stopper Muteba Kidiaba no chance.
Inter had further chances to finish off their Congolese opponents, but Diego Milito faltered after breaking the offside trap in the 24th minute but Kidiaba made the first save with his right leg before Joel Kimwaki cleared it to safety.
The goalkeeper would deny the Argentine forward again in similar fashion just before half-time before Mazembe enjoyed their best chance, Dioko Kaluyituka’s powerful shot being blocked by Ivan Cordoba.
In the second half, Maicon made a charging run only to see his shot strike the outside of the post.
Kaluyituka, winner of the adidas Silver Ball award, then had another chance to halve the deficit but while attempting to round Julio Cesar, he was forced wide and the angle became too acute.
He then forced a good save from Cesar with a strong volley as Mazembe looked dangerous on the break.
Inter were pinned in their side for most of the second half before Biabiany who replaced Milito in the 70th minute made inroads. He got the breakthrough by timing his run superbly, juggling the ball with his right before beating Kidiaba with a left footed shot from close range.
Sport Club Internacional rout Seongnam
Former Club World Cup champions Sport Club Internacional from Brazil produced a goal fest to win the third place playoff against 10-man Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma FC 4-2.
Brazilian Alecsandro was their star performer scoring a brace after laying up for Tinga to score the opening goal in the 15th minute with a downward header.
Andres Alessandro, who won the adidas Bronze Ball award, got on the scoresheet in the 52nd minute with a powerful drive from over 30 metres which went in off the right post.
Colombian Mauricio Molina scored two late consolation goals for the South Korean champions with superb left-footed strikes but the match was over as a contest when Jang Suk Won saw red after a second yellow card offence when he shouldered a charging Tinga in the 34th minute.
Seongnam’s Radoncic Dzenan having come in as a substitute, added to their woes when he hobbled out holding his leg after having attempted a shot which was blocked by the advancing Internacional’s stopper Renan. Rafael Sobis also followed suit early in the second half pulling up after missing a clear chance.
Alessandro set up Alecsandro’s first goal in the 27th minute with a deft pass to his left. Alecsandro volleyed it to the top left corner of goal from just inside the area but blasted over the crossbar minutes later.
SC Internacional’s were attacking in ceaseless waves after Alessandro’s effort early in the second half with Tinga’s shot being tipped over the bar by Seongnam goalkeeper Jung Sung Ryong who made several good saves.
But he could not prevent Alecsandro getting a second in the 71st minute latching onto a cross from Nei.
However, Seongnam gained some consolation with Molina’s late heroics, the second coming in the last seconds of the match.

FIFA Club World Cup 2011 CHAMPIONS


Barcelona win Fifa Club World Cup

Barcelona were crowned Fifa Club World Cup winners when they thrashed Brazilian side Santos 4-0 in Japan.

The win capped a remarkable year for the Spanish side in which they also won the La Liga title, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.

Argentine Lionel Messi scored two impressive goals with Xavi and former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas also on target for Barcelona.

The win confirms Barcelona's standing as the best club team in the world.

Barcelona win Fifa Club World Cup

Barcelona were crowned Fifa Club World Cup winners when they thrashed Brazilian side Santos 4-0 in Japan.

The win capped a remarkable year for the Spanish side in which they also won the La Liga title, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.

Argentine Lionel Messi scored two impressive goals with Xavi and former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas also on target for Barcelona.

The win confirms Barcelona's standing as the best club team in the world.
 Santos were better in the second half and Neymar should have scored when put through with only Victor Valdes to beat, but was denied by the Barcelona goalkeeper.

"Barcelona deserved to win. They are the best team in the world and we learned an important lesson," said Neymar.

Qatari team Al Sadd, who lost 4-0 to Barcelona in the semi-finals, beat Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol 5-3 on penalties to take third place at the annual intercontinental tournament.



History of The FIFA Club World Cup

 

 

 

The FIFA Club World Cup is a football competition between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations.

The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in January 2000. It ran in parallel with the Intercontinental Cup, contested annually since 1960 by the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the South American Copa Libertadores, until the two merged in 2005.


History
The 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, held in Brazil, consisted of eight qualifiers: the six continental champions, the 1998 Intercontinental Champions and the host nation champions. The tournament was controversial, most notably in England where Manchester United had to withdraw from a national cup competition, the FA Cup, in order to compete. The launch of the competition was understood by some to be part of a struggle between FIFA and UEFA, who were competing for control of international club football: the existing Intercontinental Cup was outside of FIFA's jurisdiction. The final was competed between the two Brazilian sides and the winner was Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in a penalty shoot-out over Clube de Regatas Vasco da Gama.

The second competition was penciled in for Spain in 2001, to feature 12 teams. This was cancelled owing to a combination of factors, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL. It was then intended to hold the event in 2003, but this also failed to happen. FIFA eventually agreed to terms with the UEFA to merge the two competitions.
The trophy since 2005

The final Intercontinental Cup was in 2004, with the first installment of the relaunched Club World Championship Toyota Cup held in Japan between December 11 and December 18, 2005.

The 2005 relaunched version was shorter than the previous World Championship, reducing the problem of scheduling the tournament around the different club seasons across each continent. It contained just the six reigning continental champions, with the CONMEBOL and UEFA champions receiving byes to the semi-finals of the tournament. A completely new trophy was introduced, replacing all previous cups: the Intercontinental trophy, the Toyota trophy and the trophy won by Corinthians in 2000.

The competition was then renamed as FIFA Club World Cup for the 2006 event, which was held annually in Japan until 2008. The United Arab Emirates hosted the event in 2009 and 2010. For the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, a play-off match between the OFC champions and the host-nation champions for entry into the quarter-final stage was introduced in order to increase home interest in the tournament. The reintroduction of the match for fifth place for the 2008 competition also prompted an increase in prize money by US$500,000 to a total of US$16.5 million. The winners took away $5 million, second-placed team received $4 million, the third-placed team $2.5 million, the fourth-placed team $2 million, the fifth-placed team $1.5 million, the sixth-placed team $1 million and the seventh-placed team received $500,000.

In February 2008 a FIFA Club World Cup Champions Badge was introduced, featuring an image of the trophy, which the reigning champion is entitled to display on its kit until the final of the next championship. Initially, all four previous champions were allowed to wear the badge until the 2008 final, where Manchester United gained the sole right to wear the badge by winning the trophy.

The teams with the most appearances in the competition are Al-Ahly of Egypt, Pachuca of Mexico, Auckland City of New Zealand, and FC Barcelona of Spain who have played in three out of the eight tournaments held – 2005, 2006 and 2008 for Al-Ahly; 2007, 2008 and 2010 for Pachuca; and 2006, 2009 and 2011 for Auckland City and Barcelona.

 

Past Competition Results

 

 

Year Winning team (Nation)
1980 Nacional Montevideo (Uruguay)
1981 Flamengo (Brazil)
1982 Penarol (Uruguay)
1983 Gremio (Brazil)
1984 Independiente (Argentina)
1985 Juventus (Italy)
1986 River Plate (Uruguay)
1987 FC Porto (Portugal)
1988 Nacional Montevideo (Uruguay)
1989 AC Milan (Italy)
1990 AC Milan (Italy)
1991 Red Star Belgrade (Yugoslavia)
1992 Sao Paulo FC (Brazil)
1993 Sao Paulo FC (Brazil)
1994 Velez Sarsfield (Argentina)
1995 Ajax (Netherlands)
1996 Juventus (Italy)
Year Winning team (Nation)
1997 Borrusia Dortmund (Germany)
1998 Real Madrid (Spain)
1999 Manchester United (England)
2000 Boca Juniors (Argentina)
2001 FC Bayern Munich (Germany)
2002 Real Madrid (Spain)
2003 Boca Juniors (Argentina)
2004 FC Porto (Portugal)
2005 Sao Paulo FC (Brazil)
2006 SC Internacional (Brazil)
2007 AC Milan (Italy)
2008 Manchester United (England)
2009 FC Barcelona (Spain)
2010 FC Internazionale Milano (Italy)
2011 FC Barcelona (Spain)
2012 SC Corinthians (Brazil)
2013 FC Bayern Munich (Germany)
2014 Real Madrid (Spain)

FIFA Club World Cup 2012 CHAMPIONS



Back in 2008 the mighty Corinthians found themselves in the ignominious position of having to play second division football. Four years on, they have completed their return from the wilderness by winning the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2012, a dramatic turnaround that also ended a five-year run of success for European clubs in the competition and brought the world title back to Brazil and South America for the first time since 2006.

Corinthians’ success recalls the early days of the competition, with Brazilian sides prevailing in the first three editions, among them O Timão, the winners of the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup. All that changed in 2007, when AC Milan initiated a spell of European domination that was continued by Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona, who won it twice, a record now matched by Tite’s Alvinegros.

Their triumph was founded on tactical organisation and the physical prowess and sheer commitment of an experienced group of players, though it is hard to envisage the side having enjoyed all their recent success without the breathtaking support of their loyal fans. The Timão faithful, who rightly describe themselves as a “gang of fanatics”, launched another of the invasions they have become famous for, descending on Japan in their thousands and creating an amazing spectacle.

Speaking to FIFA.com, Corinthians goalkeeper Cassio, who collected the adidas Golden Ball ahead of Chelsea’s David Luiz and O Timão’s goal hero Paolo Guerrero, praised their diehard followers: “We are so grateful to these fans. They’ve been like this all year in Brazil, in every one of our games. It’s fantastic. They always turn up and you never hear them booing or criticising at all. They’re always there to back the team.”

Losing finalists Chelsea FC had arrived in Japan determined to atone for their early UEFA Champions League exit, but had no answer to Corinthians’ application and workrate. As their comprehensive semi-final defeat of Monterrey showed, however, the Londoners have more than enough talent to turn their season around.





The rest of the field
Cesar Delgado’s one-man show for Club de Futbol Monterrey against Ulsan Hyundai entertained the crowd in Toyota City and also kept an unusual record going. For the fifth FIFA Club World Cup in a row an Argentinian player scored two goals in one game, Delgado continuing a sequence begun by Christian Gimenez of Pachuca in 2008 and extended by Leandro Benitez of Estudiantes in 2009, Dario Cvitanich of Pachuca in 2010, and Lionel Messi of Barcelona in 2011.

Delgado had a big hand in the Mexicans winning two of their three games and snatching third place from Al-Ahly SC, who were making their fourth appearance since 2005. The Egyptians have now played a record nine FIFA Club World Cup matches, with the vastly experienced trio of Mohamed Aboutrika, Hossam Ashour and Wael Gomaa having played in all of those games.

Cheered on by their vociferous support, surprise Japanese champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima were rewarded for their forward-thinking youth policy with two encouraging wins. After opening up with a 1-0 defeat of Auckland City FC in the quarter-final play-off, the home side were edged out by Al-Ahly in a tough quarter-final before recovering to take fifth place from Ulsan Hyundai in a five-goal Asian derby. The star of their show was captain Hisato Sato, who struck three goals to end the tournament as top scorer, while Toshihiro Aoyama scored the 200th goal in the competition’s history.

The South Koreans were unable to replicate the form that took them to their first AFC Champions League title and lost both their games. Finally, Auckland City can take consolation from two notable statistics: the New Zealanders are the first side along with Al-Ahly to make four appearances in the competition, while their striker Daniel Koprivcic is out on his own as the only man to play in five FIFA Club World Cups.

FIFA Club World Cup 2013 CHAMPIONS



German glory and high-flying hosts



When Pep Guardiola took over at the helm of Bayern Munchen in the summer of 2013, many observers wondered how he could improve a side that had clinched the Bundesliga title, the DFB-Pokal and the UEFA Champions League crown just a few weeks beforehand.

Judging from the confidence and talent exhibited by his charges at the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013, the Spaniard’s magic has not yet worn out.

In reality, it was no great surprise to see the German giants emerge victorious from the tournament for the first time, adding to a list of honours that includes the Club World Cup’s forerunner, the Intercontinental Cup, which they claimed in 1976 and 2001, when they beat the then South American champions Cruzeiro and Boca Juniors respectively.

“Everyone wants to win this competition, particularly the South Americans, who consider the champions to be the best club in the world,” explained Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro, who played in the 2001 victory and was involved again in the Bavarians’ 2013 campaign.

Following their commanding displays in Morocco, fans all around the world, and not just in South America, are likely to accord Bayern that status.

The first team to come up short against them was China’s Guangzhou Evergrande, who proved powerless to prevent a 3-0 defeat at the semi-final stage, despite the tactical nous of their FIFA World Cup™-winning coach, Marcello Lippi.

It was a similar story in the final, where home favourites Raja Casablanca could not cope with the Germans’ dynamic attack, spearheaded by an on-song Franck Ribery, who received the adidas Golden Ball award for his efforts.

Raja against the odds
While Bayern’s triumph was somewhat expected, Raja’s results were not. The Casablanca outfit, reigning Moroccan champions but guilty of a poor start to this current campaign, had not had the ideal preparation for the event, losing three and drawing one of their last four matches.

Consequently, the club fired coach Mohamed Fakhir in the run-up to the tournament, replacing him with Tunisian tactician Faouzi Benzarti, who did not lack for experience, but only met his players for the first time three days before the opening match.






In the end, they still managed to find a way to pierce the defence of Auckland City, Adelilah Hafidi’s last-minute winner doing the damage. The Moroccans had opened the scoring only to concede an equaliser, and that scenario would repeat itself on two further occasions, against CF Monterrey in the quarter-finals, and Atletico Mineiro in the last four.

Instrumental in those unexpected victories was Raja’s talented spine, made up of goalkeeper Khalid Askri, midfielder Mohsine Moutaouali and forward Mouhssine Iajour, and their enthusiastic fans, who guaranteed some of the best stadium atmospheres the competition has ever seen. Even the Atletico supporters, over 10,000 of whom had travelled from Brazil, had trouble making themselves heard.

The Atletico players also struggled to properly stamp their authority on matches, despite their elevated reputation gained via a recent Copa Libertadores success and the presence of several Brazilian internationals – including Ronaldinho – in their ranks.

The former Barcelona star’s sublime set-piece leveller was not enough to prevent Raja from striking twice on the counter-attack towards the end of the encounter to fashion a memorable 3-1 win, a scoreline that consigned the CONMEBOL representatives to the match for third place for just the second time, after Internacional in 2010.

The Belo Horizonte-based side, who became continental champions for the first time in their history earlier this year, would eventually have to settle for third spot on the podium. Their beaten opponents in the play-off, Guangzhou, will likely be satisfied with fourth place, in what was the first appearance of a Chinese club at the Club World Cup.

The great success that they have recently enjoyed, which has seen them secure three consecutive Chinese League titles and a maiden AFC Champions League crown, owes a lot to the skills of Argentinian attacking midfielder Dario Conca, who pulled on the Guangzhou jersey for the last time in Morocco, having previously agreed to return to former club Fluminense.

One of the two goals he notched at the tournament came against Al-Ahly who, in their fifth appearance at this level, put in two disappointing performances, losing 2-0 to Guangzhou in the quarter-finals and crashing 5-1 to Monterrey in the match for fifth place.

In their defence, the only competitive matches that the Egyptians had been involved in prior to the big kick-off were CAF Champions League fixtures, with their domestic league having been suspended due to security concerns.

That constraint did not stop the Cairo heavyweights from lifting the continental trophy for the eighth time in November, but Mohamed Aboutrika, Wael Gomaa, Sherif Ekramy, Sherif Abdelfadeel, Emad Meteab and Mohamed Naguib, all now in their thirties, found the going considerably tougher in Morocco.

Delgado sets new record
Given that their last official match took place over a month before the contest began, a lack of competitive football may also have played a role in Monterrey’s failure to advance past the quarters.

After finishing fifth in 2011 and third in 2012, the Mexicans had high hopes of going one step further in their third successive appearance. In the end, they were incapable of finding a way past an inspired Raja ’keeper in Agadir, but they consoled themselves with fifth place and Cesar Delgado’s capture of the all-time Club World Cup scoring record.

Having bagged three goals at two previous competitions, the Argentinian’s brace against Al-Ahly brought his total up to five, which was enough to surpass Lionel Messi, Denilson and Aboutrika, who all have four to their name.

Unfortunately, Delgado will not have the chance to increase his tally in 2014, as Los Rayados did not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League this season.

Auckland City, meanwhile, are hopeful of returning for a sixth time. Their five appearances to date, including Morocco 2013, have ended in first-round exits, but the New Zealanders, the only non-professional team present in North Africa, can hold their heads high, having only succumbed to a last-minute winner versus Raja Casablanca.

“We lost, but it was close and we showed that we were able to compete at this level, which is a big step for us,” said Ramon Tribulietx, the Navy Blues’ Spanish coach. “It was a great experience. We now want to keep improving and enhance the stature of the team.”

And that is what all of the participants at the Club World Cup have in common: irrespective of their nationality, style of play, quality of squad or level of experience, they are teams of stature that have made their mark. The impression left by Bayern in particular is unlikely to be forgotten.