ABU DHABI // Over the years, its name has changed, but its exclusivity has remained. And in December, the Fifa Club World Cup enters a new era when Abu Dhabi debuts as the competition's host.
In the past, it was known as the Club World Championship, and before that the Intercontinental Cup.
Now a competition pitting seven confederation champions from around the globe in a tournament to decide the "champions of the world", it was previously a Europe versus South America play-off.
Indeed, ever since the Copa Libertadores was launched in 1960, South America's best have tangled in direct, annual competition with the winners of the European Cup - now the Champions League.
And the Latin teams have more than played their part in spoiling their trans-Atlantic rivals' claims to international bragging rights.
In the 20 years of the Intercontinental Cup's two-leg format, South American clubs trumped Europe's finest with 10 wins to eight. In the 24 years the one-leg final was fought out in Tokyo - from 1980 to 2004 - the honours were even at 12 wins apiece.
And although the 2000 Club World Cup trial did not take-off until 2004, European clubs trail their South American contemporaries 3-2 in the modern format.
The Intercontinental Cup was born when Real Madrid and Uruguay's Penarol contested the inaugural edition in 1960.
The Spanish giants kept it tight on a terrible Montevideo pitch to come away with a 0-0 draw, In the Bernabéu return, Ferenc Puskas (two) and Alfredo Di Stefano gave Real a 3-0 half-time lead. Some 120,000 Madrid fans - and an estimated television audience of 150 million - saw Herrera and Gento hammer home two more goals for Real before Spencer scored a late consolation goal for the visitors.
Penarol got their revenge the following year, downing a Eusebio-led Benfica in a third play-off match.
Away goals were non-existent in the first two encounters, with both teams winning their home games - Penarol 5-0 and Benfica 1-0. The Uruguayans hosted the decider, and won 2-1.
Honours were even. And so they stayed for the majority of the 1960s and 1970s as contrasting football styles sparked countless bruising encounters.
None was more violent than Manchester United and Estudiantes' 1968 battles.
After a 1-0 home win for the Argentine side, in which United had Nobby Stiles sent off, Old Trafford hosted the return leg.
George Best was brutally targeted by José Hugo Medina throughout the game, and a scuffle broke out between them towards the end.
Both players were sent off, the match ended in a 1-1 draw and Estudiantes walked away triumphant.
Outrageous tackles and infamous on-pitch recriminations have made the notorious clashes are too plentiful to list. "Champions of the World" is, after all, a much-coveted title.
The referee rarely oversees a dull script, and cards, of both variety, bring constant colour to games already rich in tapestry.
Whether it's black and white footage of Puskas, Ruben Sune, Ferenc, Best and Luis Cubilla, or colour images of recent stars such as Zidane, Romario, Chilavert, Baresi and Van Basten, the enduring fantasy of the competition - and its prize - lingers.
Manchester United won't be in Abu Dhabi to defend the world title they won in Japan last year. But the club who beat them in the Champions League final, Barcelona, with Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Henry in their ranks, will be keen to even Europe's score on their behalf against Estudiantes, the Copa Libertadores winners.
emegson@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20%E2%80%93%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
