The Club World Cup is Sepp Blatter's favorite brainchild, with which he has been worn as a written bag for more than a year. The president still did not give a clear explanation of why the overloaded calendar was another tournament, but he nevertheless struck his idea: the world championship among clubs was held for the third time. Six champions of six continents (polar explorers from Antarctica are not yet called) come to Japan and determine the best team in the world. All of them are equal in their own way, but individual comrades are nevertheless "more equal" - Europe and South America are admitted immediately to the semifinals. Thus, the “Barcelona” game started only yesterday - the Catalans went to the Mexican “America”.
The titled Mexican club, in one name trying to grasp the immensity, boasts a good composition. Here and Claudio Lopez, the Argentine Flea, and the Mexican idol Quatemoc Blanco, and the Paraguayan dribbler Nelson Cuevas, and other famous people. But the Japanese did not come to the Yokohama International Stadium for their sake - the fans were interested in Barcelona and Ronaldinho. While the Brazilian wizard is inferior to David Beckham in Asian popularity, but the gap between them is melting before our eyes - this is not even a ravine, but just a ditch. The match, played on Thursday, further contributed to the overthrow of the Beckham cult. "Americans" portrayed extras, against which, by God, this talent of Ronaldinho was to be revealed in all the splendor of his greatness.
The performance was a success. In the first half, Barca scored two goals - Gudjonsson completed an excellent combination with Ronaldinho and Iniesta, and Marquez scored a goal to his compatriots. American football players didn’t cut down the cherry orchard - they didn’t beat the Catalans in the legs, didn’t hold anyone firmly, in short, they showed complete political literacy. After the break, Quatemoc Blanco appeared on the field - the Mexicans hoped that the opponent would appreciate their efforts and allow the Mexican sorcerer to portray something. But the blue garnet treacherously despised the ancient customs and continued to play for fun. Ronaldinho scored his goal, but he hit the most beautiful ball into the goal of Ochoa Deco. 4-0, and the Japanese squeal with delight.
In the final, Barcelona will play with the Brazilian and South American champion - Internacional from Porto Alegre. Here, presumably, there will be no window dressing - everyone needs the title. Barcelona lost its only final to the Intercontinental Cup in 1992 to the Brazilian club, São Paulo. Well, South Americans are always ready to remind Europe that even a billionaire cannot afford to buy all the local talents - no matter how much they leave, the field is not empty. So the final should succeed - it will be the same, good old Intercontinental Cup. You may ask: what does the club world championship have to do with it? Try Blatter, he knows exactly what.
Kirill DEMENTYEV