South America saves FIFA Club World Cup

FIFA Club World Cup - Ảnh 1. — Flamengo players' joy after defeating Chelsea - Photo: Reuters

A few hours later, it was the turn of the Argentinian representative, Boca Juniors, who almost created a surprise against Bayern Munich. They only lost 1-2 thanks to Olise's late goal.

Wherever South America goes, there are festivals.

Putting aside the professional quality, the number of spectators attending the stadium alone shows the strength of South American football. If Flamengo's victory over Chelsea had 55,000 fans attending the stadium, the Bayern Munich - Boca Juniors match attracted nearly 64,000 spectators.

This was what the organizers had anticipated, so they chose Hard Rock - the stadium that hosted the opening ceremony - to host Boca Juniors' first two matches at the FIFA Club World Cup.

How many Argentinians were there in that crowd of 64,000? It’s hard to say. But just a few days earlier, only 21,000 people had come to watch Bayern Munich thrash Auckland City. And the Boca Juniors-Benfica match had seen over 55,000 people come. When Benfica played Auckland City a few days later, they had fewer than 7,000.

It is easy to see that at least 40,000 - 50,000 Argentine fans followed Boca Juniors to Florida to cheer for their team. The enthusiasm of Argentine fans is beyond question.

And they also have to overcome a distance that is not shorter than the European fans. The distance from Buenos Aires to Florida is 7,400km, while from Munich to Florida is 8,000km. Although they are on the same continent, from South America to North America, it still takes 10 hours by plane.

And neighboring Brazil was equally enthusiastic. When Chelsea beat Los Angeles, only 22,000 people showed up. But when Chelsea lost to Flamengo, the atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field was electric with nearly 55,000 people in attendance.

A few days ago, the British complained about the high price of beer in America as a way of explaining why not many fans came here. But Brazilians and Argentines, with their lower incomes, were not bothered.

FIFA Club World Cup - Ảnh 2. — Messi in Inter Miami jersey at the FIFA Club World Cup - Photo: REUTERS

Rescue the quality of expertise

Group C became a clear example of the downside of the FIFA Club World Cup. After being "massacred" by Bayern Munich 10-0, Auckland City lost 0-6 to Benfica. FIFA received a heavy slap in the face for the tournament they promised to be a planetary football festival at the club level. It was absurd to exclude Liverpool and Barca to choose a semi-professional team to participate in the tournament.

The African, Asian and American representatives are not doing much better. Al Ain lost 0-5 to Juventus. Urawa were easily defeated by River Plate. Al Ahly and Esperance de Tunis are also almost out of the running after only two matches. Inter Miami is the best team among the three American representatives, all thanks to Messi. But if they continue like this, Inter Miami will hardly go further than the round of 16.

Europe is the strongest, then South America, and the rest of the continents are considered the rest of the tournament. Even before the FIFA Club World Cup started, fans could easily paint this picture of strength. Many fans were convinced that the quarter-finals would be all European teams.

It would be boring if the king of sports became so predictable. And fortunately for the FIFA Club World Cup, the Brazilians are saving the tournament's professional quality. If Boca Juniors were not strong enough to hold Bayern Munich, Botafogo and Flamengo created an earthquake against PSG and Chelsea. Those are results beyond prediction and create the beauty of football.

If the special edition of the FIFA Club World Cup continues after 4 more years, FIFA needs to take away tickets from Africa, Asia, Oceania, North Central America - Caribbean and give more to South America.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nam-my-cuu-van-fifa-club-world-cup-20250621231847545.htm