CLUB WORLD CUP
Chelsea train sights on first Club World Cup title
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel will attempt to lead Chelsea to more silverware and a first Club World Cup title as the seven-team competition kicks off Thursday (Feb 3) in Abu Dhabi.
The European champions fly out to the UAE following Saturday’s FA Cup tie against third-tier Plymouth, and are aiming to become the third English club to win the trophy after Manchester United and Liverpool.
“I have to say once you are in it you are pretty excited,” Tuchel told the Chelsea website.
“Once you are not in it, it is a competition that has not the highest focus and highest value. It seems like this in Europe, or only for me.
“But once you are in it and you start planning it and you see it coming on the horizon is it quite exciting.”
Tuchel guided Chelsea to a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in last season’s Champions League final. The Blues then edged Villarreal on penalties to claim the Uefa Super Cup in August.
Chelsea return to the Club World Cup for a second time having finished as runners-up to Corinthians in 2012 in Japan – the last time a team from outside Europe won the trophy.
They will play Asian Champions League winners Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, local side Al Jazira or Tahiti’s AS Pirae in the semi-finals here on February 9.
“It is a big opportunity to win an extraordinary trophy which is far from daily business and that is why we will do anything to take the chance to make it happen,” said Tuchel.
Palmeiras, one of a record nine Brazilian clubs to have graced the tournament, should pose the main threat to Chelsea after defending their Copa Libertadores crown in November.
Concacaf Champions League winners Monterrey are taking part for the fifth time. They face African giants Al Ahly in the second round, with Palmeiras awaiting the victors in the last four.
Al Ahly will make their seventh appearance after capturing a record-extending 10th Caf Champions League title, but the Cairo-based club are without a number of key players who are still involved with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The latest edition of the tournament – which features the champions of the six continental confederations along with the top team in the host nation – was due to be played at the end of 2021 in Japan before it pulled out as host because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Club World Cup is usually played in December but this is the second successive year in which it has been delayed – the 2020 edition in Qatar was played in February last year.
Oceania champions Auckland City withdrew for the second year running due to pandemic complications, leaving Pirae to step in and become the first Tahitian team to compete.
However, the amateurs from French Polynesia were forced to delay their departure last week after seven players and two members of staff tested positive for Covid-19.
Pirae must overcome the 17,000km-plus trip and 14-hour time difference going into the tournament opener against Al Jazira, who came fourth in 2017 and led Real Madrid in the semi-final before losing 2-1.
“First we want to beat Al Jazira and then we want to go all the way and win the trophy. Why not? It’s football, anything can happen,” Pirae captain Alvin Tehau told Fifa.com.
Bayern Munich won the most recent edition of the Club World Cup, which has been held in the UAE on four previous occasions, most recently in 2018 when Real Madrid were the winners.
A lucrative, revamped 24-team Club World Cup, including eight sides from Europe, was due to be played in China last year before the pandemic put that project on hold.
Recent Club World Cup winners
2020: Bayern Munich (GER)
2019: Liverpool (ENG)
2018: Real Madrid (ESP)
2017: Real Madrid (ESP)
2016: Real Madrid (ESP)
2015: Barcelona (ESP)
2014: Real Madrid (ESP)
2013: Bayern Munich (GER)
2012: Corinthians (BRA)
2011: Barcelona (ESP)
CLUB WORLD CUP
Referees’ body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, says FIFA
FIFA unveiled its team of 117 match officials, opens new tab on Monday for the inaugural Club World Cup and said referees would wear body cameras and enforce stricter goalkeeper time-wasting rules at the tournament to be staged across the United States.
The FIFA Referees Committee appointed the officials from 41 member associations – 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials – for the June 14 to July 13 event.
Body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, FIFA said, while goalkeepers who hold the ball beyond eight seconds will now see opponents awarded corner kicks rather than indirect free kicks.
“We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision, which was never offered before,” said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.
“It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing.”
Collina highlighted the historic nature of the appointments for the expanded tournament featuring 32 teams from all six FIFA confederations and spanning 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. host cities.
“The selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time, so I’m sure that all the match officials will be thrilled,” he said.
“We are coming from high-standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments. So the bar is higher and when you set the bar higher it’s more difficult to keep the standard. But we are working very hard and ‘Team One’ will make a solid contribution to the success of this exciting competition.”
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The expanded Club World Cup holding in the US has brought another innovation to football.
Referees at the championship holding from June 14 to July 13 will be equipped with body cameras and will implement a new rule to combat goalkeeper time-wasting.
Game directors will wear “body cameras as part of an experimental phase, the tests having been approved by IFAB ,” the body that oversees the rules of the game, the International Football Federation explained in a statement.
“We believe this is a good opportunity to offer viewers a new experience, with images taken from a perspective that has never been offered before,” explained FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina.
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The change in football rules that allows goalkeepers to be punished with corner kicks will be implemented at the Club World Cup holding in June in the US.
The revelation was made by FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina after the announcement that referees will wear body cameras.
This initiative is “both innovative for broadcasters and for referee training,” added the Italian, “because it is important to be able to put yourself in the referee’s shoes during the debriefing, to evaluate how the referee made his decisions, his point of view, etc. “
The competition will implement the new rule approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on March 1, aimed at reducing time wastage by goalkeepers.
“If they hold the ball for more than eight seconds, the referee will award a corner. Previously, an indirect free kick could be awarded after six seconds.
Seminars for referees have been held recently. The one for UEFA referees was held at FIFA headquarters from March 31 to April 4. Another seminar was held in Dubai for referees from the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), and OFC (Oceania) from February 2 to 4, and a third for referees from CONMEBOL (South America) and CONCACAF (Central America and the Caribbean) took place in Buenos Aires from February 24 to 28.
“We need to see the game and the goals, not the refereeing,” said refereeing director Massimo Busacca. “The referee is the protagonist who should not be noticed during the match. A good referee doesn’t need to be seen or known. But he must be prepared. “
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