So, another trophy for Real Madrid, and it wasn’t really close. They were clearly the better side from the first minute, and only really looked trouble when the Argentineans were being particularly aggressive. Still, they seem to have survived, and thanks to the goals from Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale, they will lift the trophy.
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Full-time: Real Madrid 2-0 San Lorenzo
And Real win the Club World Cup!
90 mins + 1: Real just knocking it around. The game’s been over for a while, but it’s just seconds now.
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90 mins: Ronaldo still can’t get his goal. Coentrâo chips a cross over from the left, it looks right in Ronaldo’s wheelhouse but he just seems to mistime his jump and thus the header has no power. Two minutes of added time.
88 mins: Buffarini advances forwards and takes a shot, but skews it well wide. Meanwhile, Raphael Varane comes on for Sergio Ramos.
87 mins: Kroos carelessly gives the ball away in midfield, allowing Mercier to run towards goal and shoot, but Casillas makes a save diving to his left, that was probably a little closer to him than it looked/he thought.
85 mins: Kanneman, who mystifyingly hasn’t already had his name taken by the referee, gets a yellow card for a comically cynical pull-back on Ronaldo.
84 mins: Another chance for San Lorenzo, as Kalinski lines up a shot from the edge of the D, but Casillas dives to his right and makes a reasonably comfortable save.
82 mins: A whiff of a chance for San Lorenzo, as Barrientos controls a knock-down, but alas he did that controlling with his arm.
80 mins: James does well to win the ball on the halfway line and sets Benzema away in the left channel, but Ronaldo sort of runs across his path, meaning he can’t really cut inside, and then a pass looking for Ronaldo is a bit behind him.
77 mins: Ronaldo looks like he wants a goal, spinning and playing a one-two with Benzema, but can’t control the return pass and his subsequent flick on to Coentrâo finds his countryman offside. Meanwhile, someone’s kicked Benzema, who shirt is still half hanging off.
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75 mins: Weeeeeeey - Ramos indulges in a spot of show-boating, with some keepy-uppies not far outside the Real area. If there’s one way to stop an angry oppo kicking you, it’s to take the piss. On cue, Kanneman takes out Ronaldo on the right flank.
74 mins: Change for Real - Carvajal comes off, and Alvaro Arbeloa enters.
73 mins: Having said that, Real should be three up. Bale crosses delightfully with the outside of his left foot from the right flank, and Benzema misses from six yards out. The reason for that is fairly clearly seen in the Frenchman’s shirt, which is damn near ripped off by some defender or other.
72 mins: This game is more or less done now. San Lorenzo aren’t good enough to break Real down, and Real don’t seem keen on over-stretching themselves. The extent of their ambitions from this point may well be to get out of Marrakesh without any significant injuries, which against this lot is easier said than done.
70 mins: There’s some more fouling, as Barrientos goes in late on Ramos’s foot. Ramos is, to say the least, far from amused.
68 mins: Cauteruccio’s evening is over, and he hands the Wind Up Pepe And Ramos baton to Mauro Matos. And he picks it up and runs with it, his first action of the game to shove Pepe. Splendid.
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67 mins: Coentrâo clips over a cross that is half-cleared, out to Isco, who in turn clips over his own cross, but that’s too high for Bale.
66 mins: That rarest of things, a San Lorenzo shot. Actually that was a nice move, working some space for Barrientos on the left of the box, and he lines up a shot, takes said shot but it’s straight at Casillas, who gathers with ease.
64 mins: Oooooooo, close. Bale jinks his way down the flank and, in an unusual move, plays a cross in with his right foot, that loops over Torrico but kisses the top of the bar and goes over, before Ronaldo, lurking at the far post, can pounce.
63 mins: Shot from Benzema, as he hits it on the half-volley from just outside the area, but his left-footed attempt was always tailing away.
62 mins: Not much is happening by way of football at the moment, so here’s a bit more on the Crown Prince, the man putting Sepp in his place as most definitely not the biggest VIP in this town:
Prince Moulay Hassan (born 8 May 2003) is the current heir apparent to the Moroccan throne.[1] He is the oldest child of King Mohammed VI of Morocco and his wife Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco. He has a younger sister, Princess Lalla Khadija. He is named after his grandfather Hassan II; if he ascends to the throne as expected, he will reign as Hassan III.
60 mins: That’s it for Yepes, 134, quite probably going for a glass of warm milk. You know, for his bones. Mauro Cetto replaces him.
58 mins: Mercier wipes out Kroos in the centre circle. The world turns, the sun rises.
56 mins: Kanneman is lucky to stay on there, after rather snidily treading on Bale’s fingers after a tackle. Yepes, 103, has some ailment or other. And finally, San Lorenzo make a chance, with Romagnoli on for Veron.
55 mins: Bale drives through the middle and is basically clothes-lined by Buffarini. Adorably, he claims it was a shoulder-charge, but that doesn’t wash with Mr Ref, who flashes a yellow in his direction.
53 mins: San Lorenzo have a chance! A proper chance! Well, sort of. It was more of a pot-shot really, the ball sitting up quite nicely for Kalinski on the edge of the area, but his dipping volley isn’t quite dippy enough and it goes over the bar.
51 mins: Some lovely build-up play from Real results in Isco lining one up for Bale, in an inexplicable amount of space on the right of the area, his left-footed shot is weak and just to Torrico’s left, but the keeper sort of dives over it and it squirts into the net.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 San Lorenzo (Bale 51)
Well, that was soft.
49 mins: Chance, muffed for Real. James dispossesses Buffarini on the Real left, plays it to Ronaldo who flicks it to Benzema, but the return pass is a little behind the massive-necked Portuguese, and his attempts to dummy it for Bale are unsuccessful.
48 mins: San Lorenzo have a pair of early corners, which both go wide via headers. The first after a deflection, the second from an errant effort by the 96-year-old Yepes.
46 mins: We’re away. San Lorenzo haven’t kicked anyone yet.
Right, the players are out for the second period. Turns out that child in a suit I mentioned earlier is the Crown Prince of Morocco. No wonder Sepp was being nice to him.
I don’t want to alarm you, but I think there’s a brass band playing ‘Gangnam Style’ at the ground, possibly as some form of half-time entertainment. Sweet fancy Moses.
Half-time: Real Madrid 1-0 San Lorenzo
Well, it’s been a punishing half of football, with the Argentineans supposedly on the side of the Lord using violence as their primary tactic. Their tactics of not allowing Real any room, by whatever means necessary, have been largely successful, but they’ve had more room to do it in as the half came to a close.
45 mins + 1: Ronaldo makes room for a shot on the left side of the area and it belts into Kanneman’s arm, but it was from about two yards away, so quite what he could’ve done about that is unclear. Still, Ronaldo complains at some length.
45 mins: Two minutes of added time, which is...rather low. Meanwhile: blimey...
@SergioRamos has scored 52 goals in 425 official matches with Madrid, the same as Iniesta in 522 matches with Barcelona
— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) December 20, 2014
44 mins: What would the Pope make of these rough tactics? He’s supposed to be a man of peace. Plenty of Hail Marys required in the San Lorenzo ranks.
43 mins: We’ve got an injury, and surprisingly it isn’t someone’s head being taken off by a roundhouse kick or something. Marcelo’s hamstring has gone, and he’ll be replaced by Fabio Coentrâo.
41 mins: Looking at the replays of the goal, it probably should’ve been disallowed - Ramos used Yepes as a mobile pommel horse, lifting himself into the air and for the header.
39 mins: Hmmm, what’s going on here? Isco tries to shield the ball in the corner, but gives away a free-kick, only for Carvajal to go in on Barrientos, then claim he was elbowed in the face. More scrapping for the ref to sort out here.
37 mins: And just like that, the deadlock is gone. Simple stuff, too: Kroos swings over a corner from the left and Ramos rises - with just a hint of climbing on the defender - to nod home, as he did in the Champions League final.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 San Lorenzo (Ramos 37)
A goal! Not a fight! What gifts!
36 mins: Chance for Real there, as Mercier gives the ball away and Benzema breaks through the middle, drifting slightly to the left. He slips it to Bale, but the Welshman loses his balance a bit and his shot is scuffed.
34 mins: Actually, when they aren’t booting their opponents up in the air, San Lorenzo are playing pretty well here. They’re closing the Real players down so quickly they barely have time to control the thing, never mind create something decent.
32 mins: Kalinski tries to create something on the left, just outside the Real box, but spins and tricks around, then slices the thing well wide.
30 mins: Right, back to standard fare. Carvajal goes into the book for a cartoon swipe at Mas’s shins, which he amusingly claims was a perfectly fair, got-the-ball challenge. Pull the other one, Dani. Four bookings so far, if you’re keeping track. Which you probably shouldn’t.
29 mins: Football! Someone did a football thing! Ronaldo, who has perhaps rather sensibly been trying to stay out of everyone’s way so far, cuts in from the right and feeds Benzema, who shoots low but without a massive amount of power, and it goes straight at Torrico. The keeper briefly extends the excitement with a slight fumble, but he gathers in the end.
28 mins: Seriously, I’m not exaggerating about this. There’s barely been any football so far, but there has been a load of kicking. From both sides, but the lion’s share by the Argentineans.
27 mins: This must be what those old games where two villages would kick a ball around their respective homesteads and people would die, looked like.
26 mins: Ooooof. Cauteruccio barrels Ramos over as they both go for a header. Well, I say ‘both’ - Ramos went for the header, Cauteruccio abandoned interest in the ball quite early on and just barged Ramos to the ground.
24 mins: Notable event: a San Lorenzo player does something within the laws of the game. On this occasion, it’s Mercier tackling Benzema on the Real left.
22 mins: Real’s delivery has been poor, as Kroos displays with a lacklustre free-kick. Ramos then gets himself a booking for clipping Buffarini after the ball had gone. No. Way. This. Ends. 11. Vs. 11.
21 mins: Bale nips in ahead of Barrientos and makes to move into the area from the right corner, so the San Lorenzo man pulls him back. Because what else would you do?
20 mins:
If you want to know what it looks like when you have a team of eleven Pepes, then the answer is San Lorenzo.
— Alexander Netherton (@lxndrnthrtn) December 20, 2014
19 mins: It’s a Real player’s turn to crack out the dark arts, as Isco blocks off Barrientos as he tries to break down the right. Cauteruccio then redresses things by pushing Pepe in the back for absolutely no reason. That was pretty funny, actually.
18 mins: Eventually, after what seems like a year or so of whining from the San Lorenzo players about something or other, Ronaldo takes the free-kick, but again it hits the wall and goes wide. Corner.
16 mins: More rough-housing - Yepes blocks off Bale as he tries to break through the defence, is booked then has the temerity to complain about it. At length, too. Looks like Barrientos was shown a yellow in all of that too. To repeat: no way this ends 11 v 11.
14 mins: Hmmm, Real should’ve had a penalty there. Mas and Bale wrestled in the San Lorenzo area - and when I say wrestled, I mean Mas threw him to the ground - but the referee seems to be taking a rather laissez faire attitude to the rules and stuff. That said, no way this ends 11 v 11.
12 mins: San Lorenzo certainly aren’t backwards in coming forwards: Ortigoza gets a ticking off for leaving one on Ramos. Late challenge, that. Naughty boy.
11 mins: Disappointingly not much of a lunatic these days, Pepe. Remember when he used to do stuff like this all the time? Salad days.
9 mins: Brief moment of threat for San Lorenzo, as Veron is set away down the right, but Pepe stomps across and bullies him off the ball before he can do much useful with it.
7 mins: Huge, massive booming pass from deep on the left to high on the right by Ramos almost finds Benzema at the far post, just inside the box, but the French forward can’t control it.
6 mins: Kroos and Cauteruccio are still going at it, by the way. Could be a proper scrap in the making there. Hope so.
5 mins: Real are given a free-kick around 30 yards out, to the left of goal that Ronaldo lines up. His shot is fierce but clips the end of the wall, taking much of the pace out of it, and it’s gathered by Torrico in nets.
3 mins: Spice early doors here - Kroos takes reasonably disproportionate exception to a late tackle from Cauteruccio, and the referee has to step in to calm things down. It was a foul, and it was late, but not worth all that kvetching, Toni.
2 mins: Ach, and Real almost take the lead straight away. San Lorenzo skipper Mercier is robbed by Toni Kroos, who feeds Ronaldo on the left side of the area, but Benzema can’t reach the low ball across the face of goal, despite a stretch your dad after Christmas dinner would be proud of.
1 mins: And we’re away, San Lorenzo getting things started.
Christ, now Sepp’s calling all the players over for a nice team photo. One for the frame on the desk.
Here are the teams, currently being presented to Sepp Blatter and a child in a suit. I hope he isn’t being coerced into this.
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There are some impressive flags on display in Marrakesh. No players just yet, though.
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How Real have been limbering up
A song for the surroundings...
Team news
Real Madrid
Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Isco, Kroos; Bale, James, Ronaldo; Benzema. Subs: Keylor Navas, Pacheco, Varane, Coentrâo, Khedira, Hernandez, Arbeloa, Nacho, Jesé, Illaramendi, Medrán.
San Lorenzo
Torrico; Buffarini, Yepes, Kannemann, Mas; Mercier, Ortigoza, Kalinski; Barrientos, Verón, Cauteruccio. Subs: Franco, Devechi, Cetto, Romagnoli, Arias, Villalba, Bladi, Cavallaro, Matos, Catalan, Fontanini, Quignon.
Referee: Walter Lopez (Guatemala)
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A brief history lesson: you know that tournament that you thought was the Club World Cup, that English teams occasionally disappeared to in Japan to play in years ago? Different thing, that. You’re thinking of the Intercontinental Cup, a tournament arranged between UEFA and CONMEBOL way back when, between the champions of South America and Europe. That ran from 1960 to 2004, and was won by Real on three occasions.
Then FIFA - because of course they won’t let anyone else have nice things - decided to have their own jamboree, started in 2000, which is the one that Manchester United were persuaded to play in so the FA could (pointlessly, as it turns out) kiss some international bottoms with the 2006 World Cup bid in mind. Corinthians won it that year, but then largely due to the collapse of a sponsorship deal, the next few editions were cancelled, and the Intercontinental Cup was allowed to take the spotlight for a few years.
However, when that ended in 2004, the Club World Cup rose again, just in time for Liverpool to contest it in Tokyo after winning the 2005 Champions League. They lost in the final, as did Chelsea in 2012, but between that Manchester United prevailed, in 2008. This is one trophy that Real have never won before (Corinthians are the only side to win it twice), so no wonder Ramos is looking for something like divine intervention.
So, the Club World Cup final, then. You might think this is a mere football match, one that is slightly more prestigious in South America than it is with those in Europe, and one that Real Madrid might regard as a vaguely inconvenient mid-season excursion, but not anymore. Oh no. Not since Sergio Ramos opened his mouth.
Now it’s about God. And specifically, whose side the Big Man is on this evening. See, San Lorenzo are the Pope’s team. Big Franny with the nice white hat. Yer man in the Vatican. Thus, the Argentineans might think they have this particularly deity in their corner, but not according to Ramos, who said the other day:
The Pope is a San Lorenzo fan, but... Madrid is God’s team...I hope we (can make history). If we make history or not depends on the titles and records we win.
Real Madrid is God’s team and the world’s. We are living a splendid and unique moment.
Scandal! Religious war! Excommunicate him! Well, sort of. Ramos was joking. But we shouldn’t let tone and intent get in the way of a colossal story like holy war between two football clubs.
Still, hopefully the teams will play football against each other rather than go at them with the fire of righteous holiness. Whatever ‘it’ turns out to be, ‘it’ is very much on.
Kick-off: 7.30pm GMT
Nick will be here shortly.
