Club World Cup shows Asia’s growth
Leading European football clubs have become superpowers with their increased income from TV rights and merchandising. For instance the annual revenue of both Real Madrid and Barcelona is in excess of £400 million.
Consequently the annual Fifa Club World Cup event is losing its competitive edge, as the European clubs are able to purchase the best talent in the world.
This was evident in the recent Club World Cup in Japan, when Barcelona demolished South American champions Santos of Brazil 4-0.
Despite the match being hyped as a showdown between superstars Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Neymar (Santos), it was really a no-contest, as the Spanish champions led 3-0 by half time.
European clubs have won the last five editions of the Club World Cup without really being stretched. AC Milan (2007), Manchester United (2008), Barcelona (2009 and 2011), Inter Milan (2010) have been dominant. The margins of victory are increasing each year.
In 2010 Inter Milan beat TP Mazembe (Congo) the first African team to reach the final 3-0 and this year Barcelona triumphed 4-0.
An example of how European clubs use their money power was seen after the final last Sunday. Barcelona reached an agreement with Santos FC that from the period 2011—2014 they would have first right of purchase of the dribbling maestro Neymar.
Santos were paid 10 million euros to sign this deal. During this period in case Santos off-loads Neymar to another club, they will have to repay Barcelona 20 million euros.
In the 2011 event, for the first time two Asian clubs Al Sadd (Qatar) the Asian champions and Kehiwa Reysol (Japan) the Japanese champions reached the semi-finals. This indicates the growth of club football in Asia as they ousted their rivals from Africa and Mexico in the quarter-finals.
So despite the overwhelming superiority of the European clubs, exposure in this tournament helps growth of club football in other regions.
The idea of such an inter-continental trophy started in 1960 when the European club champions Real Madrid beat South American champions Penarol (Uruguay) 0-0 and 5-1 in a double leg encounter.
For the next 20 years the matches were played on a home and away basis. From 1980 this tie was played as a one-off match in December in Japan and sponsored by Toyota.
During the eighties, such matches were much more competitive. For instance in 1981 when Flamengo beat Liverpool 3-0 in the final, the Brazilian club had star players like Zico and Junior in their ranks. The exodus to Europe had not started in large numbers.
Fifa took over this event in the 21st century and since 2005 it is known as the Fifa World Cup in which the champion clubs of all continents take part. The United Arab Emirates hosted the event in 2009 and 2010; otherwise the tournament has been staged in Japan.
The winners get $5 million and can display the Champions badge on their kit for a year. The second-placed team get $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 receive $500,000.
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