Preview: FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014 – Final

MATCH FOR THIRD PLACE

Cruz Azul FC – Auckland City FC
December 20, 2014, h. 16.30 (local time, GMT), Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech.
Referee: Pedro Proença (Portugal).

Auckland City FC is a bit different team from the one we had introduced you for 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, but the most experienced player is always captain Ivan Vichelich (37, central back, former captain of New Zealandese NT, with whom he has played 88 matches and scored 6 goals so far, playing 2010 World Cup as well; in the past he had a decent caereer in the Dutch top tier with RKC and Roda JC), while other important players are: Tamati Williams (29, second GK of Neozelandese NT), Mario Bilen (28, a defender with a good experience in Croatian top tier), Ángel Berlanga (27, Spanish centre back), John Irving (25, English defender), Tim Payne (20, very interesting midfielder and Neozelandese International), Sam Burfoot (20, midfielder) and strikers João Moreira (28, Portuguese, he collected few games in Primeira Liga), Fabrizio Tavano (21, a Mexican/Italian former Santos Laguna II striker/winger), and, most of all, Emiliano Tade (26, the Argentinian team’s top scorer last season).

Il CD Cruz Azul è la terza squadra più popolare del Messico e nel suo palmares vanta 8 Campionati e 6 CONCACF Champions League, ed attualmente è in testa al Campionato grazie ad una squadra ricca di talento e di esperienza, praticamente una corazzata.
I giocatori che meritano una menzione sono tanti: José de Jesús Corona (33, portiere di riserva della Nazionale Messicana), Luis Perea (35, Nazionale Colombiano, ex difensore di Independiente Medellin, CA Boca Juniors ed Atletico Madrid, dove ha giocato per otto anni), Francisco Javier “Maza” Rodríguez (33, difensore della Nazionale messicana, ex Chivas, PSV, Stuttgart and América), Alejandro Castro (26, difensore), Rogelio Chávez (30, terzino), Julio César Domínguez (26, terzino cresciuto nel club, ex Nazionale messicano), Fausto Pinto (30, terzino sinistro, ex Nazionale Messicano), Gerardo Torrado (34, Capitano, ex FC Sevilla e Racing Santander, e soprattutto, se indossate un cappello toglietevelo per rispetto, ex centrocampista de “La Verde”, con la quale ha totalizzato finora 147 presenze), Pablo Barrera (26, ala, ex UNAM Pumas, West Ham United e Real Saragozza, Nazionale messicano), Hernán Bernardello (28, mediano argentino ex Almeria), Marco Fabiàn (24, trequartista, Nazionale de El Tricolor), Mauro Fòrmica (25, ex trequartista di CA Newell’s Old Boys, Palermo e Blackburn Rovers), Joao Rojas (23, esterno d’attacco della Nazionale ecuadoriana), Christian Giménez (33, Nazionale messicano, seppur nato in Argentina, ex trequartista di CA Boca Juniors e Pachuca CF) e Mariano Pavone (31, ex attaccante di Estudiantes La Plata, Real Betis Balompié, CA Lanùs e CA River Plate).

FINAL

Real Madrid CF - CA San Lorenzo de Almagro
December 20, 2014, h. 19.30 (local time, GMT), Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech.
Referee: Walter López (Guatemala).

San Lorenzo is a Club from Buenos Aires who was founded in 1908, also thanks to the idea of a Catholic priest, Don Lorenzo Massa, who let the children, who were playing football on the road use the backyard of his Church, under the condition they would have gone to mass on Sundays, because playing in the streets was becoming very dangerous because of increasing traffic.
“El Ciclon” (one of the several nicknames of the club) is considered one of the five big Club in Argentina, and has conquered so far 15 national Championship, 1 Copa Mercosur and 1 Copa Sudamericana, and is supported by Aragorn from “The Lord of the Rings” (a.k.a. Viggo Mortensen), and, it is very known, by Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a.k.a. Pope Francis.
The team is managed by Edgardo Bauza and its most important or famous members are goalkeepers Leo Franco (former Argentinian International and former Mallorca, Atlético Madrid, Galatasaray and Real Zaragoza GK) and Sebastián Torrico, the defenders Fabricio Fontanini, Mario Yepes (former Colombian International and Deportivo Cali, River Plate, Nantes, PSG, Chievo Verona, Atalanta and AC Milan centre back), Mauro Cetto (former Nantes, Tolosa, Palermo and Lille central back) and Wálter Kannemann, the right-back Julio Buffarini and the left one Emanuel Más.
In the midfield there are Juan Mercier, Enzo Kalinski and Néstor Ortigoza (Paraguaian International), the wingers Pablo Barrientos (former FK Moskva and Catania player) and Ignacio Piatti, and the offensive midfielders Leandro Romagnoli, a former Argentinian International who was one of the club’s brightest prospect at the beginning of 2000′s and has come back to his first club in 2009 after playing abroad at Sporting de Portugal and Veracruz, and is still one of the key element of the team.
In the attack there isn’ probably a top striker, anyway there are few decent forwards, such as the Uruguaian Martín Cauteruccio, Mauro Matos, Nicolás Blandi and the 19-year-old Héctor Villalba.

We don’t need to spend many words about this team, you surely know it better than us: a club that has won 32 La Liga, 19 Copa del Rey, 9 Supercopa de España, 10 UEFA Champions League, 2 UEFA Cups, 2 UEFA Super Cups and 3 Intercontinental Cups doesn’t need any introduction. The GKs are Iker Casillas, the Captain who sometimes is the weak ring of the chain because of few mistakes, but he can do great saves as well, and the Costarican International Keylor Navas, while in the defence we can find the centre backs Sergio Ramos, who can score sevaral goals as well, Pepe and their replacement Raphaël Varane, and the full-backs Marcelo and Daniel Carvajal. In the midfield there are the playmakers Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira, and the wingers/advanced midfielders James Rodríguez, Isco, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, probably the best, or one of the best, footballers in the world, while the main striker is Karim Benzema, whose replacement is Javier “Chicarito” Hernandez. Carlo Ancelotti brought “La Decima” (the tenth Champions League) to Madrid at the first attempt: he’s very good to manage a group of great stars, to make them coexist and keep them motivated.