Full-time: Barcelona 3-0 River Plate (Barcelona are Club World Cup champions!)
Well, that was fully expected but Barcelona were still impressive. The movement of their deadly trio was too clever for game but limited opponents. Messi scored, Neymar sprinkled fairy dust here and there and Suárez was outstanding again. That’s five trophies for Barcelona in 2015. They also assume the world club champions crown that Real Madrid wore last year. Not a bad way to end the year for the Catalans. Thanks for your emails. Bye.
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90+2 min: Another River chance. Gonzalez tries to find Alario in the area with a dangerous ball in towards the penalty spot but Bravo is alert to it and gathers just before Alario clatters into him.
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90 min: River keep the ball a bit with some nice short passes. Sanchez finally gets into some space and opens up his body on the edge of the area before attempting to curl the ball around Bravo. He gets his angles wrong, though, and only buries it into the keeper’s midriff.
88 min: Neymar is replaced by Matthieu. The Brazilian has been Barça’s chief creator tonight. He’s whistled off by the Argentinian fans. He ekes out his stroll off just to antagonise them that bit more. You tease.
85 min: Barça are bossing this again. Neymar evades three challenges on the edge of the box with footwork that is so light it’s hard to believe he’s not a ghost. A third challenge finally halts him and River break. A moment later Neymar goes down on the edge of the box. There wasn’t any contact but had Neymar not leapt out of the way there would have been.
82 min: Gonzalez clatters the post after a lovely jinking run from midfield. He hits a dipping shot from 20 yards towards Bravo’s left-hand post but the Chile keeper gets the lightest of fingertips to it to divert it wide. Fantastic save.
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80 min: Mascherano is replaced by Vermaelen who is enjoying a rare spell of fitness. River win a corner.
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78 min: The resulting corner is cleared easily and Barça break at lightning speed, with Neymar, Suárez and Messi haring forwards into the River box. But the Argentines get back diligently and huff and puff intensively enough to put out the fire.
76 min: River work their best chance of the match. Vangioni whips a cross in from the left to Alario, who cranes his neck to get over the ball and head powerfully at goal to force a good, instinctive save from Bravo, who tips over.
74 min: Busquets throws himself into a tackle as if to prove a point against midfielders who have dished out a fair bit themselves. His first tackle is clean but his second, on Mercado, is late, studs up, and dangerous. He escapes a booking. That was a clear yellow.
71 min: Suárez’s movement is so clever. He’ll point one way and move another before returning back to the direction in which he pointed. The physicality he has given Barça in attack has added another dimension to their attacks too. They can be a bit more direct if they like, now and then, and that catches teams off guard as they don’t expect that from Barça.
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Goal! Barcelona 3-0 River Plate (Suárez 68)
This is lovely. Neymar drifts away from his confused marker, Mercado. He takes a touch on the left corner of the penalty box and feathers a delicious curled cross in to Suárez, who times his run between two defenders to perfection to arrive, eight yards out, and head back across Barovero and into the far corner. That’s now 24 goals in 24 Barça appearances. Do you remember when people use to question his goalscoring ability?
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66 min: Rakitic goes off and Sergi Roberto comes on.
65 min: The River fans have made an incessant din. Who says you can’t turn an all-seater stadium into a bouncy castle?
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62 min: And Mercado comes back for a nibble himself. He tries to sweep the ball away from Neymar’s right foot, but the Brazilian shifts it away sharply from the River defender, whose swipe takes a chunk out of Neymar’s left ankle. He’s lucky not to be booked for that.
60 min: And now Neymar adds a yellow card to his highlights reel. He booted Mercado after the River player had been a bit rough with him moments earlier.
57 min: Neymar (of course) creates an opportunity for Messi, whose shot from the penalty area is weak and trickles wide. And then Suarez has a shot on goal that Barovero saves. This is breathless attacking football from Barça.
55 min: Neymar looks to have duplicated himself and scattered his replicants about the pitch. He’s everywhere. He jinks past two River players and looks to have been brought down in the box … but a replay shows there was enough of a touch on the ball for it to be given as a corner.
54 min: Neymar sends Messi through on goal with a delicate touch again. The little forward dinks it over Barovero but it’s cleared off the line by Maidana. Barça smell blood.
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53 min: Barça come to life again. Neymar and Messi combine in the area but Messi’s left-footed strike from 12 yards doesn’t have enough power on it to bother Barovero.
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51 min: Where do River go from here? This could get nasty.
Goal! Barcelona 2-0 River Plate (Suárez 49)
River lose possession in midfield. Iniesta picks out Busquets on the halfway line. He plays a first-time pass with his right foot that lands invitingly in front of Suárez in the inside-right channel. He takes one touch and drives it through the onrushing Barovero from the edge of the box. Lethal from Barça. And a rare counterattack too. That’s 23 goals in 24 Barça appearances this season for Suárez. Not bad.
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46 min: River start brightly with Gonzalez getting an early touch on the left and floating a cross into the box that Barça deal with comfortably. River come back, though, with Viudez bringing a ball down out of the air with a lovely dampening touch before trying to spark some life in the River attack. A reverse pass goes astray but that’s more promising. It may even have pleased Chris McKinley.
45 min: River have made two changes. Gonzalo Martinez and Gonzalez replace Ponzio and Mora. Will that help add a little more creativity? And will we see Saviola tonight? I hope so.
An email from Charles Antaki: “Close-ups of Iniesta show that he has a sinister Erich von Strohiem haircut that goes oddly with his saintly reputation. If he comes out with a monocle at half-time expect some devilry.” For readers who aren’t up on their silent movie directors of the early 1920s, here’s a link.
It’s fair to say not everyone is impressed with River’s rough-house approach.
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In case you didn’t know already, Bayern Munich have just confirmed that Pep Guardiola will leave the club at the end of the season with Carlo Ancelotti coming in to replace him. It’s not been the best kept secret in the history of football now has it?
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Half-time: Barcelona 1-0 River Plate
Peep! Barça are worth their lead. On this evidence River Plate won’t get close enough to goal to score an equaliser. All their energy is being expended in trying to frustrate Barça. That’s not any fault of their own. They have starting XI worth about £4m and are doing a better job at limiting Barça than many La Liga teams have done this season, including Real Madrid. Back shortly.
45 min: Suárez should make it 2-0. Messi sends the Urguayan scampering into the inside-right channel with a perfectly-weighted pass. Barovero closes down the angle and Suárez attempts to lift it over the keeper but only succeeds in fluffing his chip like a bad amateur golfer and watching it spin well wide of the goal.
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42 min: Sanchez’s free-kick is cleared, Viudez beats Rakitic to the clearance and Rakitic sends the River Plate player skittering over his outstretched right leg. Another free-kick, another poor delivery.
41 min: River Plate look obdurate but limited opponents. It was always going to be this way but they need to make the ball stick when it goes forwards. Too often Tabare and Mercado are looking to flick the ball on instead of holding on to it. They win a free-kick 35 yards out in a central position. Sanchez stands over it.
38 min: Barça have it on them now. Neymar brings his dancing shoes to the party and tries to work a shooting opportunity on the left angle of the box, but he drags his shot across goal. Barça are working the ball much faster now. There are one-twos and triangular passes going off like fireworks in attack.
Goal! Barcelona 1-0 River Plate (Messi 36)
Who else? Dani Alves hangs a cross up to the far post, Neymar leaps highest and knocks the ball down to Messi, who lets the ball run a cross him eight yards from goal, angles his body to get in front of Maidana and pokes the ball into the corner with his left foot. Instinctive brilliance.
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33 min: Ponzio is booked for another little nibble in midfield. He’s had a few. Still, this physical style was always going to be the preferred approach.
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30 min: Alario has a busy couple of minutes. First, he has a low, skimming shot at goal from 20 yards that keeps Bravo on his toes, if nothing else. And then he races across the pitch and slams his body into Busquets, whose rangy frame collapses like a slinky. The resulting free-kick is cleared comfortably, mind.
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29 min: Album of the year anyone? Sufjan Steven’s Carrie and Lowell for me.
28 min: Mascherano gives away a free-kick on the right. River swing it in, but there’s not enough pace on the ball and the resulting header just floats up and away behind the goal for a goal-kick.
25 min: Neymar comes looking for Mercado after he’s bundled over by the near touchline. Could there be a less scary aggressor than Neymar, a player who looks as though he’s made of string and lollipop sticks? It’s all very scruffy, which suits River down to the ground.
22 min: Barça win a free-kick on the left-hand side of the box. Neymar stands over it … and then attempts a low cross towards the penalty spot but there’s no one there. Hmmm. Training ground move misunderstanding methinks.
20 min: A Club World Cup final veteran writes: “How are the Japanese fans adorned? When I was lucky enough to be in Tokyo in 1987 for Porto v Penarol of Uruguay, the Japanese supporters were firmly with the Black and yellow South Americans. I think it was because it was easier to spray their hair with yellow bands than blue and white ones. It was treacherously cold and snowy in the unroofed 1964 Olympic Stadium … I was so cold, locals offered me a warm can of sweet coffee. To this day, I do not know if I committed the biggest faux-pas by opening the can and drinking it. Maybe it was just a hand-warmer? The pitch was so snow bound, nobody could play properly and to everyone’s disappointment it went to extra-time. The next day was beautiful sunshine. The other amusing thing was when I was asking at the [RIP] Okura Hotel for directions to the “soccer match”, they directed me to somewhere like Saka-machi a distant suburb of Tokyo.” Thanks to Graham Lees for that missive. I’d say 99% of the Japanese fans seem to be behind Barça. That’s modern-daty marketing for you, I suppose. The River Plate fans are making the biggest din though. Their team are doing OK too, so why not.
18 min: River are trying to turn this into a scrap in midfield. They’re pressing exhaustively but they could pay for this later in the game. Barcelona win back possession and Rakitic picks out Neymar, who darts into the box and attempts a return pass with Messi, but his pass is loose and River clear.
15 min: Alba is booked for a late tackle.
14 min: Barça are back in control now, bossing the game in midfield and looking patiently for an opening.
11 min: Barovero makes a wonderful stop from Messi, who has shown no signs of rustiness in his little bursts so far. He’s found just inside the box by a razor-sharp pass from Iniesta. Messi swivels and hits a snap shot at the bottom corner, but Barovero is quick down to his left post to parry and collect before Messi can get to the rebound. He’s congratulated by Messi too. All right, he was only doing his job.
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10 min: Kranevitter is booked for a foul on Messi midway inside the River half. It was late, but not dangerous.
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8 min: Barça have their best moment thanks to a battling run into the box from Suárez who, as he does so often, finds a way past defenders with a combination of skill and brute force. His pull back doesn’t find a team-mate, however, and River clear. But that was better from the European champions.
7 min: Another corner for River, who look like they could be dangerous on the break. Tabare spins into space on the inside right channel and whips a cross in to Mercado, but Pique heads behind. The corner is dealt with comfortably, though.
5 min: The corner is swung out towards the penalty spot where Pique jumps highest and clears.
4 min: A corner! For River! Carlos Sanchez gets into some space on the right, he looks up and tries to curl the ball around Mascherano, but it hits the Barça player on the midriff and bounces out behind the goal.
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3 min: Messi tries to pop a little pass across the edge of the box towards Suárez, but his timing is out, and it’s just behind his team-mate. River Plate clear.
1 min: Peep! We’re off. River Plate give the ball away pretty much straight away. And then Barça keep possession for a good minute, cooly knocking it about in defence and midfield and getting a feel for the ball, a ball they’ll likely hog for a long time tonight.
The teams are out. They’ve shaken hands and look ready to get going. Another point. Saviola is on the bench again for River. He’s often used as an impact sub, albeit an ageing one, by the Argentinian side.
So, Barça’s deadly trio start in Yokohama. Look out River Plate. They’re not taking this lightly. One thing River have got going for them over Barcelona is a seething mass of fans behind one of the goals who will make it feel like a home game for their team. They’re bouncing around giddily, banners and streamers waving around wildly.
Team news (Messi, Neymar, Suárez start for Barça!)
River Plate: Barovero, Mercado, Maidana, Balanta, Kranevitter, Sanchez, Vangioni, Ponzio, Alario, Viudez, Mora. Subs: Batalla, Vega, Gonzalo Martinez, Saviola, Pisculichi, Bertolo, Mayada, Casco, Driussi, Mammana, Gonzalez, Chiarini.
Barcelona: Bravo, Dani Alves, Jordi Alba, Pique, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Mascherano, Suarez, Messi, Neymar. Subs: Ter Stegen, Douglas, Bartra, Munir, Sandro, Sergi Roberto, Adriano, Vermaelen, Mathieu, Samper, Gumbau, Masip.
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Preamble
Good morning. Well, if you’re in the UK or Europe that is. If you’re elsewhere in the world, and it isn’t morning, it’s still very nice to have you on board. Welcome to coverage of the Club World Cup final between the champions of Europe, Barcelona, and the 2015 Copa Libertadores champions, River Plate. Let’s be honest, the Argentines will have to play the game of their lives to beat Barça. The team that will line up in Yokohama today was assembled for around £4m, or around 7% of the cost of Luis Suárez. Historically, this tournament existed as a means of finding out where the world’s best footballing talent was: Europe or South America? Given how reliant Barcelona are on South American talent in their squad, even a European win would be a victory of sorts for South America. There are a couple of links between the two clubs. Javier Mascherano began his career at River Plate before doing what most of the talented South American players do these days, and setting off to Europe (or even Asia) in pursuit of riches, be they trophies or cold, hard cash. Javier Saviola is a player who has returned home after his bountiful European odyssey in which he played for eight clubs, including Real Madrid and Barça. He peaked early, which is no surprise given he made his River Plate debut at 16. Here he is in action for Barcelona, where he scored a none-too-shabby 49 goals in 123 appearances. It’s a lovely finish, but what about that pass from Xavi?
There’s not much to be said about Barcelona that isn’t already known – yes, they’re very good at football – so instead he’s a bit of River Plate chat instead. They have a young manager, Marcelo Daniel Gallardo (nicknamed ‘The Doll’ because he’s fun-sized), who has overseen a rise to the top both domestically and in the intercontinental competitions. He’s very much a modern manager. He plays high-intensity football, putting emphasis on pressing and possession, and respects Marcelo Bielsa, who he played under for Argentina. “Bielsa was one of the coaches who taught me the most, but maybe I missed some of his concepts because I was very young and they didn’t interest me that much at the time.” He’s also made the bold move of employing a pyschologist, which isn’t common at South American clubs. “I would have liked to have had this when I was a player,” he said. “It adds something related to mental and visual training and anticipation. Players who think better, more quickly, are the ones who make the difference.” So, basically, he’s all about finding an advantage, wherever that may be. Something that he has had to do with a limited transfer budget. He’ll need to use every bit of mind-magic and tactical nous to get one over Barça. But in the interests of making this a competitive spectacle, I hope he’s successful.
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