The Club World Cup is Good

The Club World Cup is a special tournament. Though often forgotten about in the mainstream of the sport, it’s still the World Championship. The Europeans may value the Champions League more, but they do not take the Club World Cup lightly and they send their A squad every year.


Football organization has always been about climbing up. From the tiniest club to the largest in the country, there is always the dream of ascending to the next level. You’ve got to earn your way into the top division. Then you’ve got to become national champions. Further still you must conquer your continent. And finally, at the end of the road, the highest you can ever climb is the Club World Cup.


And make no mistake about it, though the UEFA champion may value their own competition more (understandably so), to everyone else these are the biggest games of their lives. Ask the CONMEBOL teams that have won what it means to them. Ask the Mazembe fans of 2010 what it meant to get a chance to play for the title of World Champions against Inter Milan.


That chance to take a swing at Real Madrid or Liverpool is what every fan outside the top few leagues wants more than anything; and is the subject of endless discussion at pubs, cafes and restaurants around the globe. If Tigres ever got a crack at Real Madrid, oooooh just thinking about it is exciting.


I say all of this because like many people, I love the Club World Cup. Enough to wake up at 4:30 AM to watch the games when possible. But this year you don’t have to love it as much as me to enjoy; kickoff times are 9:30 and 12:30 Eastern.


It’s also one of the last chances you’ll get to enjoy it, in the current format at least. In 2021 when the tournament switches to a 24 team field ran once every four years there’s no doubt the feel will be different and something will be lost. This is a tournament for the reigning champions of each continent, not for the runners up of the Champions League three years ago. The group stage format also doesn’t have the same drama as the current knockout one, and surely you’ll never see an Oceanian team make it to extra time of a semifinal, as Auckland City did a few years back, under the new format.


But the point of this piece isn’t to mourn the death of the Club World Cup as we know it; it’s to get you excited for the 2019 edition. There are a lot of intriguing teams this year. Hienghene Sport from New Caledonia are the rare Oceanian representative not from New Zealand. They will look for a legendary upset in the opener against hosts Al-Sadd, who are certainly no slouches, having made the semifinals of the Asian Champions League last year.


Esperance de Tunis are one of the strongest African challengers we've ever seen, and their first round opponents Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia are holding down first place in their home league and are fresh off a dominant run in the Asian Champions League.


Monterrey are headed back to the Liga MX final later this month, Liverpool are running away with the Premier League, and Flamengo won the Brazil Serie A title by 16 points in addition to their recent Libertadores crown. This might be the best group of teams ever assembled at this tournament.


So to recap for you, the Club World Cup: Dope every year, even better than usual, and on at a reasonable time (for anyone in the Americas at least). Please watch if you like fun.