The FIFA Club World Cup has become an annual event in which the top club champions from each continent compete for enormous prize money and the allure of being crowned the world’s best team.
Although this reads well, the competition hasn’t exactly set the pulses racing for many Europeans for most of its 25-year existence. Regardless, senior officials recently expanded the format in the latest edition to attract more attention.
To date, four British sides have won the tournament: Manchester United in 2008, Liverpool in 2019, Chelsea in 2021 and 2025, and Manchester City in 2023.
United also won a previous incarnation of the competition in 1999, defeating Palmeiras of Brazil in what was then known as the Intercontinental Cup.
But, for many, the mere mention of the global spectacle conjures memories of the Reds’ participation in the very first edition back in January 2000, and the storm of controversy that preceded it.
So, let’s travel back to 1999-2000 and revisit our involvement in the first Club World Championship, and this writer’s first proper season supporting the club.
Manchester United, a controversial Club World Championship, and Premier League success
By the turn of the Millennium, FIFA was well on its way to expanding the game of football globally and moving away from its traditional epicentres.
The 1990’s had seen the World Cup held for the first time in the USA, while the upcoming edition, a joint affair between South Korea and Japan in 2002, was to be the first ever finals held in Asia.
And it wasn’t just international football that FIFA was pushing this global policy.
The aforementioned Intercontinental Cup had been held since 1960 and pitted the winners of the old European Cup (later the Champions League) against the winners of the Copa Libertadores.
With a storied rebirth dating back to 1980 in Japan, this prestigious match was the closest thing to a global club competition that FIFA had. Still, as ever, the powers that be inevitably wanted more.
FIFA’s new brainchild was to create a proper global club competition. Bringing together the winners of not just Europe and South America’s premier continental competitions, but also the winners of the continental tournaments organised by every governing body under the FIFA umbrella.
The World Club Championship was born.
United’s trip to South America in January 2000 for the inaugural competition was viewed as a total disaster, on and off the pitch.
It goes without saying that the topic changed dramatically five months later, as the Old Trafford outfit streaked clear to win the Premier League by the most significant margin in top-flight history (18).
Still, before a ball was kicked in Brazil, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were already at the centre of a massive storm.
Under pressure from the FA and the government to boost England’s doomed bid to host the 2006 World Cup, the Red Devils pulled out of their defence of the FA Cup to compete in what was FIFA’s new showpiece club extravaganza.
For those who saw the absence of the holders from the world’s oldest knockout tournament as a national scandal, their refusal to do much in the way of PR did not make the decision any easier, and neither did the results.
Regardless, there was a lot of unseen pressure applied that could be considered more than a little unfair on the Mancunian club.
The reigning European and inter-continental champions, who had completed the Treble only a few months before, were hot favourites before the tournament began, but ended up struggling in the punishing 90-degree heat.
In an interview years later, former United defender Mikael Silvestre recalled his memories of the much-discussed tournament.
“It was the middle of the winter when we left England,” Silvestre stated. “We don’t exactly come from the North Pole, but it was a massive gap in terms of temperature. We used to lose around four kilos in sweat every time we trained or played.
“We knew very little about our opponents. We found out about the other teams when we got there. There was no video footage on them, so we were surprised.”
In their opening game, a draw with Mexican side Necaxa, David Beckham was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Jose Milian, with Ferguson also sent to the stands for questioning the decision.
Things got worse as they were beaten by Vasco da Gama in game two, with Romario and Edmundo sensational for the Brazilians.
United inevitably crashed out at the group stage, with their only win coming in their third and final outing at the famous Maracana Stadium against the Australian part-timers South Melbourne.
Silvestre played alongside Jaap Stam in central defence against Vasco and was given the runaround by Edmundo, who spun past him to score a superb third goal in a humbling 3-1 defeat against Gigante da Colina.
“When you are not used to it, you do not expect such skills, and only geniuses can do what Edmundo did to me for his goal,” the Frenchman continued. “It was good to play against those guys, but they gave us a hard time.
“The pitch was slow and dry, so it suited the Brazilian game rather than the English one, which is fast. They had a slight advantage playing at home, and the heat, for us, was difficult to cope with.”
In hindsight, the conditions were ideal for United to recharge their batteries ahead of their Premier League title run-in.
Accompanied by their own private security squad, they went for walks on the beach, chilled by the pool and did some training at altitude.
Their only worry was if their league rivals back home would take advantage of their enforced absence.
However, the effect was noticeable. What was a closely fought three-way title tussle involving leaders Leeds and Arsenal when United departed turned into a victory parade when the Reds returned.
Their rivals all dropped points while they were away, and United, who had enjoyed a 26-day break from domestic action between draws with Sunderland on 28 December and Arsenal on 24 January, ended up winning the title by a massive 18-point margin from the Gunners.
“The trip gave us a break mentally. We came back refreshed in our legs and heads,” said Silvestre, whose side won 11 and lost just one of their last 16 league games after getting back from Brazil.
The Reds benefiting from an unofficial winter break did not go down well with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who said at the end of the campaign: “The league was organised for United this season. Of course, this was a major factor in the Championship.”
A touch of sour grapes there from the legendary Frenchman, perhaps?
The World Club Championship, a tournament shrouded in controversy and still debated today, turned out to be a positive experience for Manchester United and its players.
As ever, the club was a trailblazer for others to follow in the modern era.
Let us know your memories about another Manchester moment in history in the comments or across our social channels.
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