FIFA Club World Cup 2008
Man Utd Attempt to be First English Winners of FIFA Club World Cup
Dec 18, 2008
The second semi-final of the Club World Cup sees UEFA Champions League holders Manchester United face Gamba Osaka, the Asian Champions, for the right to play Ecuadorian side Liga de Quito in Sunday's final.
Liga de Quito, who last year became the first Ecuadorian side to lift South America’s prestigious Copa Libertadores, overcame Mexican side Pachuca 2-0 in Wednesday's opening semi-final.
United Strong Favorites
Manchester United, who flew over to Japan with their strongest available squad, will be strong favorites, not only to beat Osaka, but also to win the tournament outright and delight their legions of Asian fans.
United will be missing £30m Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, who has contracted a virus and has been unable to train since arriving in Japan, but they have a ready and willing replacement in Argentinian Carlos Tevez, who will partner Wayne Rooney in attack.
History
In 2000 FIFA decided to open up the World Club Championship, which had traditionally been a one-off match between the champions of Europe and South America, to the champions of its other confederations, Asia, Africa, Oceania and North and Central America.
Manchester United, as European Champions, were one of the eight sides that were invited to Brazil in 2000 to compete in the inaugural competition, which was won by Brazilian side Corinthians.
United Withdraw From FA Cup
Manchester United's participation that year was the source of great controversy as the format, two groups of four followed by semi finals and a final, and timing of the competition left United with little option but to withdraw from their defense of the English FA Cup.
This decision was met with great anger by their fans and media alike who felt United were demeaning the oldest Cup competition in the world but in reality the club felt that they had to fulfill their obligations to FIFA, the world football governing body.
Due to a number of factors, notably the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner, the next tournament of this kind did not take place until 2005, in an improved format that gave the winners from the dominant continents, Europe and South America, direct entry to the semi-final stage, thus avoiding the fixture congestion problems that had marred Manchester United's previous tournament.
Will United's League Defense Be Affected?
Many in the UK media are predicting that Manchester United's title ambitions will be heavily compromised by their trip to Japan, with it coming so close to the hectic English Premier League festive schedule of games.
When United return home they will have played two games less than their title rivals and will have to fit these games into an already congested fixture list due to their continued presence in all competitions.
This, on top of the inevitable jet-lag from traveling halfway around the world, will mean that Sir Alex Ferguson will have to utilize his strong squad to its utmost if United are going to be crowned Premier League champions in May.
