Club World Cup!!! Coming soon.

On the 8th of December, 2011, the Club World Cup kicks off in Japan with the hosts Kashiwa Reysol hosting Auckland City FC of New Zealand. The Kashiwa side were just a couple seasons ago slipping into relegation. Today? They have become the first ever Japanese side to win consecutive 2nd and 1st division titles one after the other. Jorge Wagner and Leandro Domingues are just two of the big names on this exciting team. Auckland meanwhile are rebuilding after a less than impressive 2010 season when they lost both national and international titles that they had won the year before. In qualifying for this years edition, they remained undefeated through 8 matches scoring 18 times and allowing only 3. After this play-off for the final Quarter-Finals spot, we will then well and truly get under way. Whoever wins between the New Zealanders and the Japanese will then face the stiff competition of Club de Futbol Monterrey in the Quarter-Finals. The Mexican side have been together for quite some time in most cases with much of the squad really in their prime for this tournament. After grabbing the 2010/11 CONCACAF Champions League title, they will now be playing in their first Club World Cup. They've earned it, now let's see what they can do with it. In the other Quarter-Final game, Esperance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia will challenge Al-Sadd of Qatar in what will be the huge match of Africa and the Middle East. Esperance will hope to continue their form that saw them win the treble in 2010/11: the CAF Champions League, the league, and the cup! Oussama Darragi, the bright captain, stands out in a group of largely home-grown talented players. Al Sadd meanwhile return to the top of world football after winning the 2011 AFC Champions League. With a mixture of old guard and new boys, they pose quite the threat to any side. Last but certainly not least we have Santos and Barcelona. These two giants await their challengers in the Semi-Finals with hopes of capturing a world title. After successful conquests at home (Sao Paulo state championship and Brazilian Cup in 2010), and abroad (claiming the club’s third Copa Libertadores), expect them to go for all of the gold in Japan. With Leo, Elano, Neymar, and Paulo Henrique Ganso, who knows what they will do? Barca meanwhile are the obvious favorites with a total of 10 trophies in the past 3 years. With Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and David Villa, expect great things from the Catalan side. Enjoy!