2000 Intercontinental Cup

Summary

Boca Juniors caught the Spanish team off guard, taking a 2–0 lead within just six minutes. First, a powerful run down the flank by Marcelo Delgado resulted in a cross to forward Martín Palermo, who finished from the six-yard box with a left-footed touch to make it 1–0 just three minutes into the match. Then, a precise assist from Juan Román Riquelme —delivered from near Boca's own box deep into the attacking third— put Palermo one-on-one with Iker Casillas; the goalkeeper failed to stop the number 9's left-footed shot, and the Cameroonian defender Geremi was unable to prevent the goal either. Thus, Boca went up 2–0 in Tokyo in the sixth minute.

The Brazilian Roberto Carlos added some suspense when he pulled a goal back for the Spaniards in the 12th minute with an outside-of-the-boot strike following a poor headed clearance by Hugo Ibarra. With the score at 2–1, Carlos Bianchi's team managed to withstand the attacks from Del Bosque's side. Moreover, Riquelme seemed to have the ball glued to his feet, making it impossible for Makelele —a 1998 World Cup winner with France— to dispossess him.

A partir de la ventaja, Boca controló el partido con cierta tranquilidad. Riquelme se hizo dueño de la pelota y en el recuerdo quedaron sus gambetas a Makelele y a Geremi. Sobre el final del primer tiempo, Palermo tuvo, de cabeza, la oportunidad de estirar la ventaja, pero la pelota se fue por encima del travesaño.

"Don't worry", Bianchi told Palermo, who was still lamenting his missed chances at halftime. "We won’t get the 3–1, but they won't equalize either". Bianchi's prediction came true, and Boca became world champions for the second time in their history (having previously won the title in 1978). A third intercontinental title would follow three years later, when they defeated Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan on penalties at the same venue.

Details

28 November 2000

19:10 JST

Real Madrid	1–2	Boca Juniors
Roberto Carlos 12'	Report	Palermo 3', 6'

National Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 52,511

Referee: Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)

Real Madrid

Boca Juniors

GK 25 Iker Casillas RWB 15 Geremi  89' CB 4 Fernando Hierro CB 6 Iván Helguera  89' CB 18 Aitor Karanka LWB 3 Roberto Carlos DM 24 Claude Makélélé  77' RW 10 Luís Figo AM 14 Guti LW 8 Steve McManaman  67' CF 7 Raúl (c) Substitutes: GK 13 César Sánchez DF 2 Míchel Salgado DF 12 Iván Campo MF 11 Sávio  67' MF 17 Flávio Conceição MF 19 Santiago Solari CF 9 Fernando Morientes  77' Manager: Vicente del Bosque

GK 1 Óscar Córdoba RB 4 Hugo Ibarra  69' CB 2 Jorge Bermúdez (c) CB 13 Cristian Traverso LB 6 Aníbal Matellán CM 22 Sebastián Battaglia  90+3' CM 5 Mauricio Serna CM 18 José Basualdo AM 10 Juan Román Riquelme CF 16 Marcelo Delgado  88' CF 9 Martín Palermo Substitutes: GK 12 Roberto Abbondanzieri DF 14 Nicolás Burdisso  90+3' MF 8 Julio Marchant MF 17 Gustavo Barros Schelotto MF 24 José Pereda FW 7 Guillermo Barros Schelotto  88' FW 20 Antonio Barijho Manager: Carlos Bianchi

Revival attempt

After the success of the first FIFA Club World Championship held in Brazil in 2000, FIFA thought to organise a second "Club World Cup", hoping to replicate the 2000 Intercontinental Cup final between Boca and Real Madrid. Furthermore, participating in the tournament would generate significant revenue for Boca Juniors, helping to balance the books and settle part of the debt owed to the squad—an amount exceeding six million dollars.

The format was also quite appealing: Boca would be the top seed in Group A, rounded out by Lionel Scaloni's Deportivo La Coruña, Australia's Wollongong Wolves, and Egypt's Zamalek. Group B consisted of Brazil's Palmeiras, Honduras's Olimpia, Turkey's Galatasaray, and Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal. Group C comprised Real Madrid, Japan's Júbilo Iwata, Ghana's Hearts of Oak, and United States' Los Angeles Galaxy. The winners of each group and the tournament's best runner-up would qualify directly for the semifinals.

Nevertheless a strong rumor began circulating in Europe that Real Madrid had no interest in competing in the tournament, as Vicente del Bosque intended to hold a rigorous pre-season training camp ahead of the new season —a claim that no one from the club denied. According to FIFA, the real reasons for the cancellation stemmed from a series of financial setbacks and scheduling issues.

"It's a shame, because Boca missed out on earning a significant sum of money that would have helped us balance the books and pay off the debt owed to the players", stated Roberto Digón, Boca Juniors vice president at the time. The arrears persisted, and the players —led by Mauricio Serna— celebrated qualifying for the 2001 Copa Libertadores final by wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan "Pay up and shut up" (dedicated to Orlando Salvestrini, the club's treasurer).

Frustrated by the cancellation of the Club World Cup —and attempting to smooth over tensions between the players and the board—Bianchi proposed reviving the old Interamerican Cup, pitting the Copa Libertadores champion (Boca) against the 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup winner (LA Galaxy). The initial plan was to hold the matches between July and August 2001 —first in Buenos Aires and then in Los Angeles— but the clubs failed to reach an agreement. A backup plan involved playing the match in December en route to Japan, but that, too, fell through. Boca was left without the Interamerican Cup or the Club World Cup —a trophy they would not contest until 2007.