While all the sides at the Fifa Club World Cup are – by dint of the fact they qualified in the first place – champions in their own right, some champions are more equal than others.
Take Sunday’s Group C opener between Bayern Munich and Auckland City FC. The forward line for the German giants will be led by the €95 million England captain Harry Kane, with an array of household name teammates beside him.
By contrast, one of the main goal threats for their opposition is a refugee-turned-car mechanic who commutes 90 minutes each way to get to Auckland City’s twice-weekly training sessions.
That might be an extreme case. Not all disparities are quite so significant, but they do exist elsewhere in the competition, too.
For the UAE’s entrant, Al Ain, the opening two matches in particular, are the stuff of dreams: Juventus and Manchester City.
The prospect of lining up against the gilded names of European football’s elite might be simultaneously thrilling and daunting.
But Al Ain have something to lean on from the past, which shows success is achievable. Beating Juventus? They have been there, done that, got the YouTube footage.
There might be some cyber dust on it. But the grainy clip shows Mohammed Omar, the former UAE captain, rampaging past the Juventus defence and firing a shot past the great Gianluigi Buffon.
It happened in the seventh minute of a mid-season friendly between Al Ain and Juventus in January 2003. And for the remainder of the game, the Marcelo Lippi-coached side of such stars as Pavel Nedved, Alessandro Del Piero, Edgar Davids, David Trezeguet and Antonio Conte could find no way past Al Ain.
That might have predated the involvement of any of the current vintage. But the lessons of history have been passed down to Al Ain’s Class of 2025.
“I think we have an opportunity to win against Juventus,” said Kaku, Al Ain’s Paraguayan playmaker. “Twenty years ago, Al Ain won against Juventus and I hope, again, we can take three points.”
Al Ain’s No 10 says there is no reason for the players to fear what they are going to be faced with when the competition starts. Rather, they should see it as an opportunity.
“When you play against big teams, your motivation is different,” Kaku said.
“The mentality of the team changes, and I think we have opportunities. For me, I have played against Brazil and Argentina, so I don’t have to be scared about Juventus or City. I’m confident in myself.”
It does stand to reason, though, that the players could be starry-eyed. For example, Park Yong-woo, Al Ain’s South Korean midfielder, might conceivably take his autograph book to the City game, given his reverence of Pep Guardiola, the opposition manager.
“I love Guardiola,” Park said. “I love his style, his philosophy. I love all of him.
“Maybe we will play all defenders against them! If we defend very well, then create two or three chances of our own, I believe we can score against them.”
Al Ain are giants of UAE football, and have twice been Asia’s best side. They took several significant scalps on their way to becoming the first Emirati participants in this new event.
Their extraordinary journey to AFC Champions League glory last season included wins over the Al Nassr of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Al Hilal of – the albeit injured – Neymar.
In the final, they demolished a Yokohama F Marinos side who were coached by Harry Kewell, and not so long ago by Ange Postecoglou.
They are no respecters of reputations. In fact, the bigger the names, generally the better they have performed.
“Last season, when we played big games we were different,” Park said.
“Our spirit was different, our attitude was different, and maybe at the Club World Cup we will be different, too. If we show our best, nobody knows what will happen.”
They are going to need to revive the spirit of last season if they are to make a mark in the United States, as this campaign has been deeply troubled.
Vladimir Ivic, who is overseeing their Club World Cup challenge, was Al Ain’s third coach in a campaign in which their Champions League defence faltered without even a whimper.
Hernan Crespo paid for a torrid start to the campaign as he was axed in November. Leonardo Jardim lasted 14 games before departing in February.
Now Ivic has been tasked with raising the misfiring side. They finished fifth in the UAE Pro League, but Ivic was satisfied they have improved on his watch, and suggested they could have been as high as second if refereeing decisions hadn’t counted against them.
“From the moment we started to play after Ramadan, we played good in all the games and we deserved to win the games,” Ivic said.
“It is frustrating. When you work, and you have players who fight, when you lose the game and it is not your fault, it is hard to take.
“I have seen the players adapt. They have had good performances and played good football, and created a lot of chances.”
Ivic has coached in Greece, Israel and Russia, as well as briefly with Watford in England, before he arrived in the UAE.
Such diverse experience will be useful given what lies ahead. The style of play his side will have to employ in the US will likely be a marked difference to how they play usually.
As one of the dominant forces of the Pro League, with an enviable following, Al Ain are expected to be on the front foot, playing attacking football. Trying to do the same against the likes of Juve and City could be folly.
“It is a totally different competition,” Ivic said. “We respect all of our opponents that we will face in our group.
“We will work and do our best to show our best face, and all of the players will be extra motivated.
“It is a World Cup. It is the best teams in the world. We believe we can show our best there and we will fight.”
