Blatant outsider to top club
© TM/Imago
On Sunday evening, FC Bayern is one of two German representatives to start the club world championship in the USA for the first time in the new format. In Group C, the German record champion meets Auckland City FC from New Zealand, Boca Juniors from Argentina and Benfica Lisbon from Portugal. Transfer market introduces the three opponents.
Auckland City: blatant outsider before premiere against European teams
Immediately at the start of the tournament, FC Bayern will deal with the largest outsider. The squad value of the Auckland City FC is just 4.58 million euros, which would mean last place in the 3rd league. For the ten -time New Zealand champion, who was only founded in 2004 and celebrated his first title in 2005, the trip to the United States is above all a great adventure.
Participation was achieved by cutting off in the OFC fourth anniversary-and even with a big lead. In the OFC champions League, Auckland City is the team that has been dominating for years. 13 titles have been booked since 2006, and the team from New Zealand won eleven. But as impressive as the successes in Oceania are, the performance difference to other continental associations is also large.
In 2005, the Australian Football Association decided to join the Asian Association AFC in order to be able to compete against better opponents on the one hand and, on the other hand, increase the chances of participating in the World Cup. Since then, the New Zealand teams in the OFC Champions League have only played on representatives from Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu & Co.-and mostly have an easy game.
From a sporting point of view, Auckland will hardly play a major role in the club World Cup. In New Zealand, the prerequisites that prevail in Germany and Europe are far away. Jonas Hoffmann, former junior goalkeeper of Hansa Rostock and today goalkeeper coach at Auckland City, emphasized the “special winning mentality” of his team in May in the transfer market interview, but added: “This attitude may be normal in professional football, but this is not possible here, since many players still work very regularly.”
“Career highlights”: Hoffmann fever club World Cup duel with FC Bayern
“In general, the three games will all be career highlights and moments for us that we will not forget,” emphasizes Hoffmann. As such, the club World Cup is anything but new territory for Auckland City. The club takes part this year for the 12th time, but mostly failed in the past in the first round and thus before a game against a team from Europe was possible. The best placement was reached in 2014/15 when Moghreb Atlético Tétouan from Morocco, it achieved Sétif from Algeria and CD Cruz Azul from Mexico and reached third place.
Boca Juniors: Cavani & Co. come in the form low and with new trainers
A completely different caliber awaits the Munich in the second group game. The Boca Juniors from Argentina are one of the most famous non-European clubs worldwide and known for the big fan base. The derbies known as “Superclasico” against the archrival River Plate are among the most spectacular games in world football. In terms of sport, it is currently not exactly rosy for the traditional club.
In the Copa Libertadores, the South American Champions League, in February surprisingly failed in the 2nd round after penalty shootout at Peruvian representative Club Alianza Lima. In addition, three weeks in the quarter -finals against Ca independents in the Torneo Apertura playoffs. The last title dates from 2022.
“Boca has just fired his coach Fernando Gago and replaced by Miguel Ángel Russo, whom they had already released three years ago. Although one is one of the two biggest clubs in Argentina, you are currently experiencing one of his worst phases in this century. A lot depends on how quickly Russo can be accessed and the team can stabilize again in terms of sport, explains Scott Christen, ARAMANAGER Argentina at the transfer market.
The squad, at least as far as the names are concerned, is prominently occupied. Striker Edinson Cavani came from Valencia in the summer of 2023 and is now captain of the team. Midfield strategist other Herrera and central defender Marcos Rojo also played in Europe for Manchester United and the full -back Marcelo Saracchi and Luis Advíncula have experience in the Bundesliga.
However, Christiansen gives two other names as the most important player: “The Kevin Zenón, which can be used on the left wing and in the offensive midfield, was not in top form in the run-up to the tournament, but due to its speed and quality in one-on-one, and in the end, the 19-year-old talent is always dangerous. Ball conquest. “
With a squad value of 86.4 million euros, Boca is in midfield compared to all participants. In Group C, the fight for second place with Benfica is on paper. According to Christians, the Argentine representative mainly relies on a trump card: “Argentine fans are known for their mood worldwide. Boca was the first participant to sell all tickets for the club world championship, so that a passionate atmosphere can also be expected far from home, which the team will also wear against European heavyweights such as Bavaria or Benfica.”
Benfica Lisbon: Anger in the stomach after season without a big title
The last opponent of the group phase is the best known for Bayern at the same time. It was only in November in the Champions League on Benfica Lisbon and won 1-0 (0-0) with a goal from Jamal Musiala at home. The team of coach Bruno Lage has had one season without a big title (success only in the league cup) and had to surrender both in the league and in the Cup City Rival Sporting Lisbon.
Nevertheless, Benfica, which qualified for the tournament, is probably the strongest opponent via the UEFA ranking for the tournament. Only two points were missing in the Portugal league for the 39th championship, in the premier class we went to the round of 16, where the Barcelona FC was over. There were sometimes spectacular games like the 4-0 win against Atlético or the 4: 5 defeat against Barça when a 4-2 lead was played in the last 15 minutes. “Benfica was very inconsistent during the season. Strong performances often followed appearances against weaker teams, at the end of which one gave points in an inexplicable way,” explains Gonçalo Tristão Santos, Content Manager Portugal at the transfer market.
With a squad value of 363.5 million euros, Benfica is one of the ten most valuable teams at the club World Cup and reaching the KO round is the minimum goal. The prerequisite for this is stability on the defensive, which was not always given this year. “When players like captain Nicolás Otamendi and António Silva are in good shape, which was not very often the case in the latter 2024/25, Benfica can be very solid,” says Santos. “In my opinion, the wing players are the weak point of the team, since it lacks quality in this position. Ángel di María theoretically falls into this category, but expectations are low due to its 37 years.”
At the front, a lot of center forward Vangelis Pavlidis depends, who is the most valuable player in the squad together with left -back Álvaro Carreras and scored 29 goals in 53 games this season. “Together with Tomás Araújo, which follows directly behind with a market value of 32 million euros, they were probably the best players of the past season in Portugal. However, Araújo will not take part in the tournament due to an injury.”
For Benfica, the club World Cup is also the possibility to recapture the supremacy in Portugal. Master Sporting is not there and FC Porto starts in group A against SE Palmeiras São Paulo, Inter Miami CF and Al Ahly FC. If both Portuguese club make it into the quarter -finals, there could be a direct duel there.