by The first final of the Club World Cup in the history of Manchester City, as Pep Guardiola likes to point out, and waiting for them on Friday is an unlikely opponent for the title of world champion: the Fluminense side from Brazil in which there are seven veterans of the game.
The South American champions won their semi-final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday with an XI that included two players in their forties and five in their thirties. Real Madrid’s five-time Champions League-winning left-back Marcelo, aged 35, is back at the club he played for as a teenager and he is by no means the oldest.
Felipe Melo, once of Juventus and Inter Milan is 40. Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio is 43 – he made his professional debut in 1997. Right back Samuel Xavier (33) was also on the team that beat African champions Al Ahly; attackers Ganso and Keno (both 34) and Argentine German Cano (35).
Fluminense manager Fernando Diniz is also now Brazil’s interim coach, and his style of play has drawn comparisons to Guardiola’s possession-based approach. But in a nation that is among the best producers of young talent – and Fluminense have some youngsters too – Diniz has a strong faith in experience. He also tried to convince Thiago Silva, another graduate of the famous Xerem Fluminense academy in Rio de Janeiro to return. The Chelsea goalkeeper is 39 years old.
Fluminense finished seventh in Serie A Brasileiro this month and look more like a Soccer Aid team than a team ready to take on the might of Guardiola’s European champions. But there is another crucial aspect to this: FIFA needs Fluminense to make the final against City on the Arabian Red Sea coast a proper competition, due to its Club World Cup reputation.
At a Fifa Council meeting on Sunday, the governing body confirmed plans for its new, far more lucrative, 32-team Club World format, starting in 2025. There will be 12 European teams competing and the concern is that they will be ahead of the winning stage. of the competition, which will be held every four years, starting in the United States. In short it could be a repeat of the Uefa Champions League, which takes place during the summer when players need to rest, and with little sporting merit.
City’s 3-0 semi-final win over Asian champions Urawa Red Diamonds was one-sided. Urawa are not Japanese champions since 2006 and have only managed one effort on target. Fluminense, who Diniz has drilled into an open passing team, must now decide if they will carry that belief into a final against the strongest side in world football.
As for reducing the quality gap between club teams in Europe and the rest of the world – that’s one issue the Club World Cup will do more to emphasize than to fix. It may benefit Fifa’s finances but it will also show that European sides are better off because of the wealth advantage afforded them by domestic broadcasting contracts and UEFA. Only three of the last 18 Club World Cups have been won by South Americans – Brazilians each time – and the rest have been European sides.
Fluminense have some promising young talent, including Andre, the 22-year-old midfielder Liverpool are interested in and young Brazilians Matheus Martinelli (22) and John Kennedy (21). Diniz himself is an undoubted star. He is regarded as Brazil’s current head coach and is holding down the fort with the beleaguered national team until Carlo Ancelotti arrives in the summer.
“The experience of players like Marcelo makes a big difference,” Diniz said after the semi-final win. His famous goal won the match-changing penalty with a nutmeg and an inside arrow that was coming off his peak years. “He played in many big games,” said Diniz, “and he is able to adapt to the conditions and the opponent.”
What Fluminense has achieved so far is amazing. Diniz, 49, has had 17 jobs in 14 years as a manager. His 18th place leads Brazil. A former midfielder who spent his playing career in Brazil, he has told the big names coming back to the club that they will have to learn a new approach as they are all bought in. The Copa Libertadores victory was the first in Fluminense’s history.
Fluminense have reached the Club World Cup final on an annual income of £60 million, around 10 per cent of City’s turnover. The club is run by the sports lawyer Mario Bittencourt, who was re-elected as president this year, and who came to prominence when he acted in corruption scandals in football in Brazil.
Rivals Rio Flamengo have more wealth, and in the litigious world of Brazilian football, the perception among Fluminense fans is that their neighbors have far more influence too. Fluminense was founded in 1902 by an Englishman, Oscar Cox, and in 1952 won the predecessor of the Club World Cup, the Copa Rio. Fluminense has lobbied FIFA to recognize that tournament, which the governing body helped organize at the time, and featured European teams including Rapid Vienna and Sporting Lisbon, as a bona fide honour.
For all the aging legs in the current squad, Xerem’s academy has produced some fine young talent – the problem is that they don’t stick around for long. Along with Marcelo and Thiago Silva, Joao Pedro de Brighton started at the club and Richarlison played some formative years there as a young professional.
Argentina did not limit Fluminense’s leading scorer, Cano, No. 10 physical, but he has 40 goals in 2023. That puts him fourth in the world behind Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland. Fluminense’s approach to the game will be interesting. They are used to attack. With City keen to gain possession, it could be a dull night in the Jeddah capital.
