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With the FIFA Club World Cup due to kick off in less than a week, get set for an avalanche of headlines from Europe about how the tournament is a waste of time.
Manchester United are this season’s European representative having lifted the UEFA Champions League crown in May, beating fellow English club Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in Moscow.
Like Barcelona and Milan before them, United have mouthed diplomatic overtones in the build-up to the tournament, with Sir Alex Ferguson claiming that he is keen to add another world title to the Intercontinental Cup he lifted in 1999.
That is despite the fact that United have been forced to postpone an English Premier League clash with Wigan to accommodate their trip to Yokohama, although United’s American owners are no doubt keen to boost merchandise sales in Japan, with the English giants heavily in debt following the Glazer family’s controversial takeover in 2005.
Yet influential magazine World Soccer hinted at the prevailing attitude towards the Club World Cup when columnist Keir Radnedge wrote in the December issue, “the prospect is that whatever the other continental champions can offer… it will be Manchester United against LDU Quito in the Final.”
No disrespect to Mr Radnedge – who has been an authoritative voice on world football for years – but his sweeping dismissal of the five other participants is a smack in the face from a magazine that should know better.
His claim that three of the Club World Cup finalists were unknown at the time of press is incorrect – Adelaide United were guaranteed a place in the tournament regardless of the outcome of their AFC Champions League with Gamba Osaka.
Even Radnedge’s confidence in Ecuador’s LDU Quito is startling given their dreadful form in this season’s Copa Sudamericana, the South American equivalent of the UEFA Cup.
But perhaps the most telling indicator of World Soccer’s casual disregard for some of football’s lesser lights is a photo depicting two Japanese “fans” celebrating Urawa’s win in the 2007 AFC Champions League final, with the respected magazine failing to recognise that one of the fans captioned is actually ex-Urawa striker Washington.
All this despite the strides made by non-traditional powers in recent years, including South Korea’s run to the World Cup semi-finals in 2002, and a 2004 UEFA Champions League final that pitted Portugese outfit Porto against French club Monaco.
Naturally FIFA doesn’t consider the Club World Cup a waste of time, with millions generated through the sale of broadcasting rights and other commercial ventures.
The ten-day tournament also represents a pleasant end of season holiday for FIFA executives keen to escape the daily grind of Zürich, and no doubt Sepp Blatter and co. will be keen to sample some sushi and sake down by the famous Yokohama harbourside.
Yet to view the tournament as a waste of time – as many in the European press do – is to overlook the importance of the Club World Cup to the five non-European and South American teams involved.
Adelaide United have already reaped a financial windfall by taking part in the event, and that’s before they’ve even kicked a ball in anger. Whatever prize money they earn fails to take into account the added exposure they also generate by competing on the world stage.
Then there is the fact the tournament also represents a chance for the participants to test their mettle against supposedly superior sides.
For New Zealand’s semi-professional Waitakere United, a clash with A-League outfit Adelaide United is eagerly anticipated.
Similarly Adelaide United are desperate to book a rematch with Gamba Osaka, after the J. League side thrashed United in the recent Asian Champions League final.
In a world in which the English Premier League’s ‘39th game‘ has returned to the table as a serious proposal for discussion, it’s perhaps not surprising to see English protests about the Club World Cup less vehement than in previous years.
Yet as long as the tournament continues, we’ll have to put up with suggestions from the European press that the whole thing is a waste of time.
Logic dictates that Manchester United will ultimately be crowned world champions, but I for one hope there are some upsets along the way, if for no other reason than to remind sections of the world media that football is a game played by more than just Europeans and South Americans.