Manchester United in Japan

Every year there is a little known football tournament called the FIFA Club World Cup. Football enthusiasts may recall Manchester United disappearing for a week or two to Brazil in the year 2000 and wondering what it was all about. This mysterious opportunity for silverware is the replacement for the Toyota Cup and is regarded by some as more prestigious than the Champions League Trophy. Er . . . I don’t think so. In theory it should be because it is a tournament between the champion clubs of all six continental confederations of FIFA. In reality, it is dominated by the two sides from Europe and South America and is seen by the players as a bit of a distraction from their home campaigns.

Manchester United are always criticised for their participation but there is probably significant pressure from FIFA to play the game. Undoubtedly, with matches usually taking place on the other side of the planet, the disruption caused to players through jet-lag alone must be serious and, with the tournament coming just before the heavy demands of the seasonal fixture list, none of this can help.

So, FIFA notwithstanding, what’s the attraction? Well, the winners get a nice cup for the mantelpiece and, oh yeah, I nearly forgot, five million dollars in prize money. On top of this there is the further advancement of the Man U brand name. The club is already massive in Japan and this trip won’t hurt them. Their US owners, big on merchandising, will expect to shift a few zillion shirts on the trip.

Paul Scholes was heard muttering at the airport . . . something about being better off concentrating on home affairs, but Alex Ferguson is a canny chap and has great faith in his players and even more in himself. Online betting fans can see that none of the major contenders for the Premiership title are firing on all cylinders right now and all have drawn to lesser opponents in recent weeks – at home in the cases of Liverpool and Chelsea. And with Roman Abromovich down to his last £5 billion, there can be little doubt that, in a situation where there is no clear dominance by any one team, Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United is the safe bet for your money.