FIFA’s Club World Cup is back this winter, with new faces set to duel it out for the prestigious club trophy. Seven teams compete in the tournament. One host team and six teams representing their specific regions. This includes winners of the AFC Champions League, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions League, Copa Libertadores, OFC Champions League and UEFA Champions League. Club America is CONCACAF's representative.
We’re talking about the world’s top club teams. Even though several regions are involved in the tournament, only two regions have had champions. No other region has won the tournament besides European club teams and South American club teams. Not surprising since European club teams boast some of the best players in the world and South American club teams have produced world-class players such as Neymar, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Ronaldinho.
Winning the tournament is a daunting task for the underdog teams from the other regions, but one of the teams that could surprise the world this winter is Mexico’s Club America.
Las Aguilas de America are winners of last years CONCACAF Champions League. One player from Club America that is excited to be representing CONCACAF in the Club World Cup is Oribe Peralta.
"I want to continue growing, meeting goals and dreams. I want to go to the Club World Cup and to get Mexico’s sporting level recognised, which I think we can do," Peralta said recently.
Peralta was on fire during their successful CONCACAF Champions League run, ending as joint-highest scorer of the tournament. He will need to be in good-form in Japan if Las Aguilas truly want to overcome the likes of Barcelona, champions of the UEFA Champions League, who’ll they’ll potentially face in the semi-finals of the tournament.
They must first overcome their quarterfinal opponent, Guangzhou Evergrande, winners of the AFC Champions League.
Barcelona, on the other hand, will kick off their tournament by facing the winner of Club America vs. Guangzhou Evergrande. Regardless of who wins between the two, the result is the same, they face an incredibly tough task in the next round.
What a reward for winning, right? You get to come face to face against arguably the best team the world has to offer. With Lionel Messi, arguably the best player, in their ranks.
If Club America progresses to the semifinal and manages to beat Barcelona, not only would jaws drop in shock throughout the world but they would have advanced the farthest any Mexican club team has gone in the tournament.
The farthest any Mexican club team has gone in the tournament is third place, with Monterrey (2012) and Necaxa (2000) all achieving that. While the last time that Club America appeared in the tournament was back in 2006, where they came in fourth.
For America, It will take a lot of hard work and determination to overcome Barcelona in the semifinals. They’ll need Paul Aguilar and Pablo Aguilar to be a brick wall against the likes of the “MSN” trio, Neymar, Luis Suarez and Messi, who will all be vying to end their 2015 with yet another trophy.
They’ll need Osvaldo Martinez and Andres Andrade pulling the strings in the middle and providing as much service as they can to their strikers, while piling pressure on Barca’s incredible midfield. I’ve already mentioned how important it’ll be for Oribe Peralta to be on form in Japan but the same goes for Dario Benedetto, who will also have to be at his best.
Not only that but America will have to collectively be in a winning mindset, with their most recent 3-0 first leg semifinal loss in Liga MX Apertura championship to Pumas a bit demoralizing for the club team. Regardless of the outcome of the Apertura championship, they’ll have to pick themselves up and be ready for the challenge that awaits them in Japan.
