The FIFA Club World Cup will only take place in July 2025, but it is already surrounded by controversy. The lack of interest from European clubs, critical of the tight schedule, coupled with the entity’s difficulty in finding sponsors for the tournament’s new format, put the event in the United States in doubt. For now, this scenario is unlikely, especially after the draw of groups and massive publicity, but in 2001 it was different. At the time, a similar competition with the presence of Palmeiras and Real Madrid ‘went through the roof’ even after announcing the venues and date.
After the first edition of the World Cup was held in Brazil in 2000, ending with Corinthians winning over Vasco, FIFA wanted to take the tournament to Spain the following year. The competition would be held between July 28th and August 12th, in the cities of Madrid and La Coruña. Palmeiras was in Group B, along with Olimpia (Honduras), Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) and Galatasaray (Türkiye).
Palmeiras had qualified for being the 1999 Libertadores champion. The club did not compete in the 2000 edition because the Brazilians chosen by Ricardo Teixeira, then president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), were Corinthians, winner of the Brasileirão in 1998 and 1999. , and Vasco, champion of America in 1998. The idea was to have a team from Rio and another from São Paulo, headquarters of the tournament, but the decision was made before the Palmeiras final against Deportivo Cali, a game that guaranteed the continental title for the Alviverde team. Thus, Palmeiras was promised a place in the following edition.
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At the time, the Estadão reported that President Mustafá Contursi had a plan to take three thousand people from Palmeiras to Spain. The director went to the country to check out Atlético de Madrid’s facilities, which would be used by Palmeiras. Luis Pereira and Leivinha, former Palmeiras players who played for the team in the Spanish capital, would be the club’s ambassadors for the World Cup.
The Alviverde board also intended to go to the market to reinforce itself and had its eye on Juninho Pernambucano, ex-Vasco. At the time, the directors were also negotiating sponsorship with Pirelli, an Italian automobile giant. “An event of this level is special for us”, said Mustafá, in 2001. At the time, the Palmeiras team was coached by Celso Roth and had names like Arce, Galeano, Alex, Felipe and Fabio Jr.
Cesar Sampaio, Palmeiras’ idol, even participated in the group draw, but the World Cup never took place. In May, FIFA decided to cancel after ISL, the marketing multinational that coordinated the entity’s main events, declared bankruptcy. Estadão reported, at the time, that the club’s loss was R$10 million. The board hoped to internationalize the brand and even hired a marketing agency. The champion of that edition would pocket around R$16 million.
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“When I was negotiating with Palmeiras, the possibility of playing in the World Cup weighed heavily”, revealed Felipe on that occasion. “Let’s think about winning the Libertadores to compete in the World Cup in Tokyo”, he concluded. The team from Palmeiras ended up eliminated in the semifinals of the continental tournament against Boca Juniors, champions of that year. The Argentines ended up losing the Intercontinental Cup in Japan to Bayern Munich.
FIFA compensated Palmeiras with US$750,000 after many complaints from managers. The highest football entity would only hold the competition again in 2005, when São Paulo defeated Liverpool, 1-0, and secured their third world title.
Palmeiras returned to compete in the Club World Cup in 2020, in Qatar, but ended up being eliminated in the semi-finals by the Mexican Tigres, who then lost the title to Bayern. The Brazilian club returned to the Middle East to compete in the tournament the following year, reaching the final, but losing the trophy to Chelsea after a 2-1 defeat.
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Check out the groups for the 2001 Club World Cup canceled by FIFA
Group A: Deportivo La Coruña (Spain), Boca Juniors (Argentina), Wollongong Wolves (Australia) and Zamalek (Egypt).
Group B: Palmeiras (Brazil), Galatasaray (Türkiye), Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) and Olimpia (Honduras)
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Group C: Real Madrid (Spain), Jubilo Iwata (Japan), Hearts of Oak (Ghana) and Los Angeles Galaxy (United States).
