2012 Club World Cup - Winners Corinthians

It had been 6 years since a South American side had won the Club World Cup as European sides enjoyed a period of domination. Bidding to end the run was Corinthians after finally winning their first ever Copa Libertadores.

Strangely Corinthians had previously won the Club World Cup without having won the Copa Libertadores. In the inaugural Tournament in Brazil back in 2000 Corinthians qualified for the Tournament as the host side having won the Brazilian Championship and beat a strong field to clinch the trophy.
Just how much a 2nd victory in this Tournament meant to the Brazilians was demonstrated by around 30,000 Corinthians fans making the journey to Japan, some having reported to selling their cars, fridges and taken out loans to finance the trip.

The team most likely to stand between them and a second Club World Cup triumph was English side Chelsea, who like Corinthians had become Champions of their Continent for the first time in 2012.
Chelsea had recovered from a mid-season crisis in 2012 to unexpectedly win the Champions League, thanks to some resolute defending where they overcame the odds, despite being outplayed by Bayern Munich, Barcelona and to a lesser extent Napoli en route to the Title.
There had been much change to the Chelsea side that won the Champions League, with Manager Di Matteo sacked, replaced on an interim basis by the unpopular Rafa Benitez, with star striker Didier Drogba among others also departing as the Club brought in technically gifted midfielders, such as Eden Hazard and Oscar in a bid to change the style of play to a more attractive, fluid style.

Looking past the 2 favourites there were some strong underdogs, with Mexican side Monterrey having qualified thanks to a 2nd consecutive CONCACAF Champions League victory, although the loss of star striker Humberto Suazo to injury prior to the Tournament was a major blow to the sides chances of improving on their disappointing showing in 2011 where they went out in the Quarter Finals to J League Champions Kashiwa Reysol.

Egyptian Giants Al Ahly were another side returning to the Club World Cup, making their 4th appearance in the Tournament. The Egyptian side won the African Champions League under incredible conditions as their domestic League had been suspended for 9 months following troubles in their home Country, with Ahly also having to play the 'home' leg in the Final at a Military facility.

South Korean outfit Ulsan Hyundai qualified as Asian Champions, having won their first Asian Champions League, and came into the Tournament in good shape having rested their star players since securing qualification in November.

Rank outsiders and Oceania representatives Auckland City from New Zealand were another side coming into the Tournament in good shape, with a run of 8 wins, including a friendly victory against a J-League Div 2 side in preparation for their clash with Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Finally, Japanese side Sanfrecce Hiroshima clinched the Hosts berth following their J-League triumph under the guidance of Hajime Moriyasu in his first season as a Manager.

Road to the Final

Playoff
Despite the 1v0 scoreline, Auckland City were well beaten by J-League Champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Only a combination of brilliance from Kiwi Keeper Tamati Williams and the woodwork prevented an increased margin of victory.

Quarter Finals
Sanfrecce Hiroshima bowed out at the Quarter Final stage after a narrow 2v1 loss to Egyptian Giants Al Ahly. The Purple Archers lost their Keeper Nishikawa early on and then fell behind to as Hamdi gave Ahly a deserved lead.
Sanfrecce fought back to level the scores through J-League Top Scorer Sato, and had chances to take the lead, but were made to pay when veteran Ahly legend Aboutrika fired the winner to set up  clash with Corinthians in the Semi Final.

The other Quarter Final was more one sided as Monterrey breezed past a disappointing Ulsan Hyundai side 3v1. From the outset Monterrey dominated and had already threatened before Corona gave the Mexicans a 1v0 lead after 9mins.
Ulsan failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, and although the Asian Champions improved in the 2nd period, Monterrey remained in control and Cesar put the tie to bed with 2 late goals before Monterrey Keeper Orozco managed to somehow allow a speculative strike from Asian Player of the Year Keunho pass straight through him for a consolation strike.

5th Place Playoff
Sanfrecce won this all Asian clash which capped off a miserable tournament for Asian Champions Ulsan Hyundai.
Ulsan started the stronger and went ahead after a disastrous mix up in the Sanfrecce defence when Mizumoto knocked the ball past his own keeper. Ulsan levelled before half time but Ulsan were looking to regain the lead but failed to take their chances. Sanfrecce's Sato made them pay with 2 2nd half strikes to put the host side 3v1 ahead. Ulsan continued to chip away and reduced the deficit late on, but 5th place went to the Purple Archers. 

Semi Finals
The Semi Finals ultimately went as expected, although Corinthians were made to work much harder to earn their place in the Final compared to their European counterparts.
Guerrero gave Corinthians a 1st half lead, and with only flashes on danger from Al Ahly it looked like the Brazilians would ease through this Semi Final clash.
But the introduction of Aboutrika in the 2nd half galvanised the Egyptian side, and Corinthians were hanging on at times to their slender lead. Ahly could not get the equaliser their play deserved as the Brazilians reached the Final.

By contrast Chelsea's place in the Final was never in any doubt as they dominated their clash with Monterrey. Prior to the match the Monterrey Coach Victor Vucetich taunted his opponents by saying "It is time to dance with the ugliest", a reference to the way in which Chelsea ground their way to victory in the Champions League, although much had changed since then and the English sides playing style was much more easier on the eye.

Chelsea dominated from the outset and Juan Mata gave Chelsea an early lead. Any hope Monterrey had of making the Final were scuppered early in the 2nd half when Torres doubled Chelsea's lead with a deflected effort and Chavez bundled the ball into his own net soon after to make it 3v0.

Monterrey grabbed a late consolation as Chelsea took their foot off the pedal and started looking towards the Final v Corinthians.

3rd Place Playoff
Monterrey won 3rd place after a 2v0 victory over African Champions Al Ahly. Al Ahly were all at sea in the opening moments and had already survived a scare in the opening seconds when a Monterry goal was ruled out, but they did not learn and fell behind after just 3mins after some comical defending.
Al Ahly improved as the game wore on but as they pushed on and were on top, only to get hit by a sucker punch halfway through the second half by Delgado who extended the lead from which Al Ahly could not respond. 

Final
Chelsea 0v1 Corinthians
The thousands of Corinthians fans who had made their way from Brazil to Japan were in ecstasy as Corinthians lifted the trophy for the 2nd time following a hard fought 1v0 win v Chelsea.
It took a brilliant performance from Tournament MVP Corinthians Keeper Cassio to keep Chelsea at bay as the English side failed to make the most of the opportunities that presented them in the 90mins.
Chelsea had the better of a scoreless first half and should have taken the lead when the ball fell invitingly to the feet of Gary Cahill inside the penalty area, but Cassio managed to stop the ball from crossing the line as he sat on the ball amid a number of bodies in the area.
Emerson had the first real chance for Corinthians following a mistake from Cahill, but, blazed well over.
Both teams had chances to take the lead before half time, as Emerson failed to find the target from an acute angle after good work from Guerrero. At the other end Cassio produced the save of the tournament as he flung himself to his left to keep out a curling effort from Moses.
As the game wore on Corinthians started to look the stronger side, and it was the Semi Final match winner who again delivered the killer blow. The Chelsea defence became stretched after good work from Paulinho and as the ball looped into the air after a Danilo effort was blocked, Guerrero was on hand to head the ball home.
The ground erupted, but Chelsea were not quite finished and with just 6mins remaining £50 Million Fernando Torres was presented with  golden opportunity, but the much maligned striker somehow fired the ball straight at Cassio.
To add insult to injury, in the closing stages, Cahill received a late red card for an off the ball incident to cap off a miserable evening for the English side.
There had been the usual condemnation of the tournament from some areas in England, but the South American contingent in the Chelsea side were clearly distressed at the final whistle, with David Luiz in tears