A solitary second half strike by Benjamin Pavard was enough for Bayern Munich to see off Mexico's Tigres in the Club World Cup final. Serial winners Bayern have now won six trophies under coach Hansi Flick.
Image: Mohammed Dabbous/REUTERS
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Bayern Munich 1-0 Tigres, Education City (Pavard 59')
The Club World Cup final was settled by a lengthy VAR check, in a game played miles from home during a raging global pandemic, in a soulless Qatari stadium built by exploited workers. If you've just tuned in, you're watching modern football.
Benjamin Pavard had the honor of scoring the winner, seizing on Robert Lewandowski's nod down and thrashing in from close range to maintain Europe's dominance in this competition. Bayern become the 13th European winner in the last 14 editions of an event that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is convinced will be the "best club competition in the world”.
FIFA's Club World Cup brings together the six continental champions, as well as the host nation's league champions. That's Al-Duhail, in case you were wondering. However, this sporting spectacle was between Europe's finest, Bayern Munich, and the CONCACAF Champions League winners Tigres.
Robert Lewandowski won the award for the tournament's best player.Image: Gaston Szerman/DeFodi Images/Getty Images
The Mexican side have dominated Liga MX for the best part of a decade and are among the best supported teams in Mexico. Spearheaded by former France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, they seemed to enjoy their chance to measure themselves against the best in the business. But after an intense display in the first half, Tigres run out of steam in the second.
Ultimately, even the second best team in this tournament were no competition for Bayern, who were without Thomas Müller who tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday and Jerome Boateng, who returned to Germany early on compassionate grounds.
According to the official Qatar 2022 website, Education City stadium is a "state-of-the-art arena with advanced cooling technologies and innovation and sustainability at its core”. However, the oil-rich state clearly couldn't stretch the budget to a decent pitch. Players from both sides were stumbling on a clearly inadequate playing surface which combined patchy grass with half of the Arabian Peninsula's desert.
Bayern coach Hansi Flick was concerned enough by the sandy conditions to hook Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman and Lewandowski from the game shortly after Pavard's goal. It didn't affect Bayern, who cruised to their sixth trophy under Flick and a 'sextuplet' that only the great Barcelona team of 2009 achieved.
Germans at the Club World Cup
The Club World Cup started in its current form in 2005, previously there was the Intercontinental Cup between the two best teams from Europe and South America. Four German sides have taken part, with differing results.
Image: Frank Hoermann/SvenSimon/picture alliance
1976 - Cruzeiro lose in the Munich snow
It was just too cold for the Brazilians. Bayern Munich won their home leg in November 1976 against Cruzeiro 2-0. Snow at the Olympiastadion did not help the visitors. Back in Belo Horizonte the second leg ended 0-0, giving Bayern their first Intercontinental Cup title. Bayern had won the European Cup in 1974, 1975 and 1976 but did not play in the "world championship" game in 1974 and 1975.
Image: Sven Simon/imago images
1977 - Gladbach lose to Boca Juniors
Next it was Borussia Mönchengladbach's turn to play in the Intercontinental Cup as European Cup runners-up. Winners Liverpool had opted out. In the first leg in March 1978, captain Berti Vogts and his side managed a 2-2 draw at the "La Bombonera" cauldron. The second leg had to take place in Karlsruhe and so felt like another away game for Gladbach. Argentina's Boca won 3-0 to take the title.
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1983 - Hamburg beaten 2-1 by Gremio
Hamburg entered the 1983 edition as European champions but the format had changed. In a one-off game in Japan, the Germans went behind to the Brazilians but leveled late on. Brazil international Renato Portaluppi (Gaucho) grabbed the winner in extra-time for Gremio, his second of the game. He is now coach of the Porto Alegre side.
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1997 - Zorc seals victory for Dortmund
Some 14 years later and Borussia Dortmund finally gave Germany a second win in the competition. They beat Cruzeiro 2-0 in Tokyo thanks to goals from current sporting director Michael Zorc and Heiko Herrlich, now coach of Augsburg. The Brazilians had been the same opponents when Bayern triumphed in 1976.
Image: Matthew Ashton/empics/dpa/picture alliance
2001 - Bayern edge Boca
A tough encounter went into extra-time where Bayern prevailed 1-0 over Boca Juniors. Bayern took the game seriously with top stars such as Oliver Kahn, Giovane Elber and Bixente Lizarazu in the lineup. It was Bayern's second win in the tournament but a first as coach for Ottmar Hitzfeld. He had moved upstairs at Dortmund months before their 1997 success.
Image: Matthias Schrader/dpa/picture alliance
2013 - Bayern beat Casablanca for third title
By the time Bayern sealed the 2013 title, the tournament had morphed into the Club World Cup and it was more than just one tie. The UEFA Champions League winners beat Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0 in the semifinal. The Germans defeated Raja Casablanca 2-0 in the final in Morocco with Dante (r) and Thiago Alcantara netting the goals.
Image: Yahya Arhab/dpa/picture alliance
Toni Kroos - the most successful German in the competition
Toni Kroos has won the club world title five times, a German record. The midfielder has picked up the trophy four times with Real Madrid (2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018). His first triumph was with Bayern in 2013.
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Jürgen Klopp - first German coach to win with foreign team
Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp became the first German coach to win the world club title with a team outside of Germany. The Reds lifted the trophy in 2019, beating Brazil's Flamengo 1-0 in extra-time in the final.
