Three out of three

Sao Paulo won the tournament of the strongest clubs in the world

Brazilian Sao Paulo won the title of the best club on the planet. The title is quite conditional. Despite the sonorous name of the tournament “Club World Championship”, the participation of representatives from six parts of the world and the prize fund of 15 million dollars, it still came down to a confrontation between the best clubs in Europe and South America. In fact, the final match turned into a game for the good old and so familiar Intercontinental Cup, in which the winner of the Libertadores Cup, Sao Paulo, beat the winner of the Champions League, Liverpool, 1:0.

All other matches were a kind of “warm-up battles”. Quite boring, but very instructive. Instructive because where else can you see the Costa Rican club Saprissa, the Egyptian Al Ahly or Al Ittihad from Saudi Arabia, not to mention the distant Australian Sydney. Boring due to the fact that it was not possible to retain any new impressions, different from those that can be made at real world championships, after the club championship of the planet. And well-mannered Japanese fans, although they always carefully filled the stands of the 70,000-seat stadium in Yokohama, behaved quietly and modestly. Like in the theater.

But still, the title remains a title, and Liverpool head coach Rafael Benitez was keen to add it to what he already has. Moreover, the Reds’ two previous attempts to win the Intercontinental Cup failed: in 1981, Liverpool lost to the Brazilian Flamengo, and in 1984 to the Argentine Independente. In turn, Sao Paulo won both of its games for the title of the best club in the world, beating Barcelona in 1992, and Milan the following season. Yesterday it was time to add to this list of victims of the Brazilian club and Liverpool.

In the semi-final, won by Sao Paulo against Al Ittihad with a score of 3:2, the Brazilians somewhat underestimated their opponent. But before the meeting with Liverpool, such complacency was out of the question. “Everyone knows how prestigious these competitions are,” Sao Paulo coach Paulo Autori prepared his players for the match. “It’s an honor to represent Brazil and South America.” It seems that his players were imbued with the importance of the moment and played against Liverpool very carefully and academically, as if they were not Brazilians at all.

The Copa Libertadores winners scored their only goal in the 27th minute. Brazil national team defender Cisinho, who is due to move to Real Madrid in the near future, brought his partner Mineiro one on one with Liverpool goalkeeper Reina, and he converted his chance. And then Sao Paulo, not very eager to attack, completely focused on defense. However, it cannot be said that Liverpool went to storm someone else’s goal. The game did not take place at a very high pace, although the European representatives managed to take 17 corners during the match (Sao Paulo had none) and hit 24 shots on goal (the Brazilians had only four). Moreover, the “reds” even scored three goals. But all of them were canceled by the main referee of the meeting, Mexican Benito Archundia and his assistants.

Even with such support from the referee, Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni had to work hard. This goalkeeper is better known for being, on top of everything else, a goalscorer - he has more than 40 goals scored from set pieces. But yesterday Rogerio Ceni proved that he can cope with his direct responsibilities. Several of his saves were exemplary, and his dive into the top corner for Steve Gerard's free-kick was sure to be decisive. So it is not surprising that Rogerio Ceni was recognized as the best player of the match, and, according to tradition, received the keys to the new Toyota.

Andrey VDOVIN