The Beckenbauer Column: Messi, Neymar, Suarez make Fifa Club World Cup worth watching

By Franz Beckenbauer Very soon, Fifa Club World Cup is about to start. This year the tournament, which was and remains somewhat controversial, is taking place in Japan, as it will again in 2016. Above all it has been the clubs from Europe who in the past had complained about the additional burden in an already crowded calendar. Such complaints are in contrast to the other continents, above all South America. There, every match of the tournament running December 10-20 will be closely watched. But we Europeans can also be happy about what’s coming, because of the glorious trio of strikers that FC Barcelona will be fielding - Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. This lineup of strikers at the same time defines what makes the Club World Cup so special. Whereas in normal world championships those nations that have qualified are fighting to succeed and putting their best national players in action, Barcelona is, thanks to its foreign players, the odds-on favourite. Messi is from Argentina, Suarez from Uruguay and Neymar from Brazil. [caption id=“attachment_2538786” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of German football legend Franz Beckenbauer. Reuters[/caption] I am even willing to risk making a prediction. As the opponent of Barcelona in the final I foresee River Plate. By no means do I mean to belittle the five other continental champions and Sanfrecce Hiroshima, which automatically qualified as being from the host country, Japan. Auckland City (Oceania champions), for example, has now qualified for the seventh year in a row for the Club World Cup. Hats off to them! Last year, when the tournament took place in Morocco, the New Zealand club even sensationally attained third place. This time, the team has already arrived two weeks early in Japan in order to get used to the colder temperatures. River Plate’s roster is filled with a number of great names like Javier Saviola and Luiz Lucho Gonzales. Both men - Saviola at 34 years of age and 14 years in Europe, and Gonzales at 35 and 11 years, respectively - see this tournament as a chance to close out their careers with crowning glory. Before Saviola returned to Argentina, he had played at, among others, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Monaco, Benfica Lisbon and Seville. Gonzales was a standout at FC Porto and Marseilles, before he wound up playing in Qatar’s second division. By no means do I wish to underestimate the Mexican side, Club America, champions of the CONCACAF group. Whereas in the past they put the emphasis on older, big-name players from Europe, in the meantime the club from Mexico City is showing confidence in is local home-grown footballers. In Oribe Peralta, Moises Munoz and Paul Aguilar, Club America has three experienced Mexican national team players. [caption id=“attachment_2281328” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Messi, Neymar and Suarez will look to add yet another trophy to their cabinet. Getty[/caption] And, football fans will be keenly watching how Tout Puissant Mazembe, the African continent champions from the Democratic Republic of Congo, will fare. The club, which created a sensation by reaching the final in 2010, also is counting on its own young talented players, in addition to some reinforcements from Ghana. Tout Puissant Mazembe runs a youth football academy along the same lines as those in Europe. It has more than enough talent to draw from. Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande will be heading into the tournament with high ambitions. China is investing strongly in football and wants to make it to the top at the world level. Guangzhou is seeking to succeed under a famous trainer, none other than Felipe Luiz Scolari. After his debacle at the 2014 World Cup with the Brazilian team, he has quickly succeeded again, something that I really wish for him. Scolari has brought two Brazilian national players, Paulinho and Robinho, onto the Guangzhou team, adding to a roster that includes half of China’s national team. Last year, 20 goals were scored in the eight matches of the Club World Cup. This year the scoring should be somewhat higher - thanks, certainly, to Barca’s trio of strikers. Courtesy: DPA Global Media Service