The 2005 version was shorter than the previous World Championship, reducing the problem of scheduling the tournament around the different club seasons across each continent. It contained just the six reigning continental champions, with the CONMEBOL and UEFA representatives receiving byes to the semi-finals. A new trophy was introduced replacing the Intercontinental trophy, the Toyota trophy and the trophy of 2000. The draw for the 2005 edition of the competition took place in Tokyo on 30 July 2005 at The Westin Tokyo.[80] The 2005 edition saw São Paulo pushed to the limit by Saudi side Al-Ittihad to reach the final.[81] In the final, one goal from Mineiro was enough to dispatch English club Liverpool;[82] Mineiro became the first player to score in a Club World Cup final.[83]
Internacional defeated defending World and South American champions São Paulo in the 2006 Copa Libertadores finals in order to qualify for the 2006 tournament.[84] At the semi-finals, Internacional beat Egyptian side Al Ahly in order to meet Barcelona in the final.[85] A late goal from Adriano Gabiru kept the trophy in Brazil.[86][87] It was in 2007 when Brazilian hegemony was finally broken: AC Milan won a close match against Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds, who were pushed by over 67,000 fans at Yokohama's International Stadium, and won 1–0 to reach the final.[88] In the final, Milan crushed Boca Juniors 4–2, in a match that saw the first player sent off in a Club World Cup final: Milan's Kakha Kaladze from Georgia in the 77th minute.[89] Eleven minutes later, Boca Junior's Pablo Ledesma would join Kaladze as he too was sent off.[90] The following year, Manchester United would emulate Milan by beating their semi-final opponents, Japan's Gamba Osaka, 5–3.[91] They saw off Ecuadorian club LDU Quito 1–0 to become world champions in 2008.[92][93]
United Arab Emirates successfully applied for the right to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2010.[94] Barcelona dethroned World and European champions Manchester United in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final to qualify for the 2009 Club World Cup.[95] Barcelona beat Mexican club Atlante in the semi-finals 3–1 and met Estudiantes in the final.[96] After a very close encounter which saw the need for extra-time, Lionel Messi scored from a header to snatch victory for Barcelona and complete an unprecedented sextuple.[97][98][99][100][101] The 2010 edition saw the first non-European and non-South American side to reach the final: TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Brazil's Internacional 2–0 in the semi-final to face Internazionale, who beat South Korean club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3–0 to reach the final.[102][103] Internazionale went on to beat Mazembe with the same scoreline to complete their quintuple.[104][105]
The FIFA Club World Cup returned to Japan for the 2011 and 2012 editions.[106] In 2011, Barcelona comfortably won their semi-final match 4–0 against Qatari club Al Sadd.[107] In the final, Barcelona won against Santos by the same scoreline for their second title.[108] Messi also became the first player to score in two Club World Cup finals.[109] The 2012 edition saw Europe's dominance come to an end as Corinthians, boasting over 30,000 travelling fans which was dubbed the "Invasão da Fiel", travelled to Japan to join Barcelona in being two-time winners of the competition.[110][111] In the semi-finals, Al-Ahly managed to keep the scoreline close as Corinthians' Paolo Guerrero scored to send the Timão into their second final.[112] Guerrero would once again come through for Corinthians as the Timão saw off English side Chelsea 1–0 in order to bring the trophy back to Brazil.[64][113]
2013 and 2014 had the Club World Cup moving to Morocco. The first edition saw a Cinderella run of host team Raja CA, who had to start in the play-off round and became the second African team to reach the final, after defeating Brazil's Atlético Mineiro in the semi-final.[114] Like Mazembe, Raja also lost to the European champion, this time a 2–0 defeat to Bayern Munich.[115] 2014 again had a decision between South America and Europe, and Real Madrid beat San Lorenzo 2–0.[116]
The 2015 and 2016 editions once again saw Japan as hosts for the 7th and 8th time respectively in the 12th and 13th editions of the FIFA Club World Cup. The 2015 edition saw a final between River Plate and FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona lifted their third FIFA Club World Cup, with Suarez scoring two goals and Lionel Messi scoring one goal in the final. One notable thing that occurred in the 2015 tournament was that Sanfrecce Hiroshima finished in third place, the best result achieved by a Japanese club at the time. This record would not last though, as the 2016 edition saw J1 League winners Kashima Antlers making it to the final against Real Madrid. A Gaku Shibasaki inspired Kashima attempted to win their first FIFA Club World Cup (a feat never done by any club outside of Europe and South America), but were denied by Real Madrid, who won 4–2 in extra time, thanks to a hat-trick by Cristiano Ronaldo.[117]
The UAE returned to host the event in 2017 and 2018.[118][119] 2017 involved the likes of Real Madrid becoming the first team in Club World Cup history to return to the tournament to defend their title. Real Madrid became the first team to successfully defend their title after defeating Grêmio in the Final, all while eliminating Al Jazira in the semi-finals. Al-Ain was the first Emirati team to reach the Club World Cup final,[120] as well as the second Asian team to reach the final in the 2018 edition. Real Madrid defeated Al-Ain 4–1 in the final, to win their fourth title in the competition and to become the first team ever to win it three years in a row and four times in total in the tournament's history. Thus, Real Madrid extended their international titles to seven after winning the 2018 edition (counting their three Intercontinental Cup titles and four Club World Cup titles).[n 1]
On 3 June 2019, FIFA selected Qatar as the host of both the 2019 and 2020 events.[122][123] Gonzalo Belloso, the Deputy Secretary General and development director of CONMEBOL, previously said that the 2019 and 2020 editions will be held in Japan.[124] The 2019 edition saw Liverpool defeat Flamengo to win the competition for the first time.[125] In the 2020 edition, Bayern Munich beat UANL 1–0, completing their sextuple.[126]
In 2021, the way the tournament was hosted was changed, and the host was no longer chosen for two consecutive years. The 2021 edition, held in 2022 in the United Arab Emirates due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football, saw Chelsea defeat Brazil's Palmeiras 2–1 after extra time in the final to claim their first title.[127] The 2022 edition could not be held in December as usual due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in the winter, and there were rumors of the tournament being cancelled that year. However, in December 2022, FIFA announced that the tournament would start in February in Morocco. Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, by defeating Flamengo in the semi-finals, became the third Asian team to reach the final. However, they lost in the final, falling 5–3 to Real Madrid, which remains the highest-scoring final in the tournament's history. Manchester City was the last champion under this format, defeating Fluminense in the 2023 edition.
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