FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2007

There was a historic, sensational ‘World Derby’ due to take place in Yokohama on 16 December 2007: both AC Milan and Boca Juniors had won seventeen international trophies each. Winning the FIFA Club World Cup would grant one of those two teams the status as the most decorated club in the world. Unlike four years before, the Rossoneri took a different approach to that final scheduled on the other side of the world, in Japan: ten days before the final, on 6 December, AC Milan were already in Yokohama preparing.

Nothing was left to chance and each minute detail was duly taken care of. AC Milan wanted to reach the World Final, a rematch with Boca after the loss four years before, having already perfectly acclimatised to every single aspect. The results of this preparation are there for all to see: just like in 2003, they were up against a strong Boca Juniors side, but the Rossoneri dominated and won 4-2 in what was a great evening for Inzaghi, Kaká, Nesta and Seedorf in particular. They were among the star performers, but it must be said that the whole team were up to the task. AC Milan were at the top of the world just as they had been eighteen years earlier in Tokyo.