Look at the 2025 Club World Cup, and you will see a who’s who of many of the game’s biggest names.
Manchester City, Chelsea, European champions PSG, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid are all there, and I wouldn’t bet on any other club emerging triumphant
As far as this SBOTOP scribe is concerned, the main Club World Cup 2025 highlights are yet to come, starting with a heavyweight last 16 clash between Real and Juventus.
But regardless of what happens during the last fortnight of the competition, we have already witnessed a managerial masterclass and a performance which shows how it is done.
Previewing the knockout tie between the Brazilians of Fluminense and Italians of Inter Milan, I could not envisage anything other than a win for the Serie A giants.
The cross-continental clash with no room for error was, I reckoned, a Nerazzurri banker. How wrong was I?
The upshot is that Fluminese have joined fellow Brazilian club Palmeiras in the quarterfinals, a triumph for South American romance and pragmatism against their much wealthier European counterparts.
Remember, this is a tournament where some big names have already fallen, including Atletico Madrid, eliminated at the group stage (despite winning two of their group games), much to the dismay of manager Diego Simeone. Now, Inter have followed.
With Atletico, the club was not happy with the performances of the officials during the tournament, and that was made public as the Argentine hinted that he blamed the officials for their group stage elimination.
Los Rojiblancos came away with a 1-0 win over Botafogo courtesy of Antoine Griezmann’s late winner, but knowing that they needed a three-goal victory, it was something of a pyrrhic victory.
At the very least Griezmann’s goal earned Atletico a €1 million win bonus, but overall, the club had budgeted for a much bigger booty from the tournament.
While their Club World Cup exit was a surprise, according to the Club World Cup 2025 betting odds the main managerial focus will be on Fluminense.
Currently sixth in the Brazilian league, few gave them too much of a chance against Inter. Yet striker German Cano’s stooping header in the third minute put the Brazilians ahead early on, and substitute Hercules scored a curling edge-of-the-box shot against the run of play in a difficult last 25 minutes.
Inter’s main man, Lautaro Martinez, had a series of chances to equalise before the second goal, including one against the post. Federico Dimarco also came close to scoring from two free-kicks and had a close-range shot from a wide angle, while Dutch defender Stefan de Vrij should have done better.
As they stood firm and rode their luck a little, the outcome was a triumph for Fluminense, none more so than veteran defender and captain, Thiago Silva, a Rolls-Royce of a player.
It may surprise you to learn that Silva wasn’t even the oldest player in their line-up. That accolade went to goalkeeper Fabio, who turns 45 in September, and he enjoyed a fine game between the posts with four important saves vital in securing a clean sheet.
For the 2023 Libertadores winners, it was all overseen by manager Renato Gaúcho, who saw his side well-drilled with five at the back, take advantage of opponents who, naturally, still appear a little crestfallen after their Champions League final hammering a month ago.
It doesn’t seem such a happy camp to be in at all right now, and new manager Cristian Chivu appears to have inherited a few issues.
The remarks of captain Martinez post-match seemed to send a clear message to teammate, the influential Hakan Calhanoglu (reportedly pushing for a transfer to Galatasaray), who has missed the tournament due to injury.
Martinez abruptly claimed “anyone who doesn’t want to be here ought to leave”.
Chivu, who took the Inter job just days before flying out to the USA for the Club World Cup when Simone Inzaghi walked away to take over at Al-Hilal, was more diplomatic than his skipper.
Whether he has seen many positives from the Stateside experience though remains to be seen.
At this moment in time, the managers with the biggest smiles on their faces belong to Brazil.
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