Let’s start with this from Jurgen Klopp, former manager of Liverpool, who called the Club World Cup “the worst idea ever implemented in football.”
Of you can read between the empty seats…
The expanded CWC has not had a good look here in the ol’ anti-tourist U.S. Fans will watch their team practically day and night but the lackluster attendance shows that their might just be an upper limit on fans credit cards.
The teams invited, though diverse, have not been what I would call high quality. Just to take the Premier League as an example, there was no Liverpool, no Arsenal, no FA Cup winning Crystal Palace. Just edged into the top of the table Manchester City and Chelsea. I am a Chelsea fan and I was wondering who they slept with to get invited.
And I feel real bad for the players who have a month or more of extra games without a respite from their just concluded season or in the middle of theirs. I am sure that there will be injuries to players due to excessive use. Plus, for the love of all that is holy, why in summer? Who wants to play in the swampy heat of Florida in June and July?
But FIFA will keep continuing to schedule more and more and more games so they can get more and more money. The greed is right out there for all to see. I bet though, that some intern back at FIFA HQ is spitballin’ ideas for new competitions. Why not a best of English Club players against best of Spanish Club players. You know, half World Cup and half CWC.
For beer, go international. One for each of the four semi-finalists. Something British for Chelsea FC, a little Brazilian for Fluminense Football Club, Spanish beer for Real Madrid and then maybe a nice Saison for PSG.