Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez seems to place an inordinate amount of importance on the World Club Cup. Prior to Chelsea's defeat in the final on Sunday, he described it as a 'massive competition' and an 'amazing and fantastic' opportunity. The Spaniard used similar superlatives to describe the tournament during his time at Liverpool and Inter Milan, but Reds legend Kenny Dalglish has a completely different view on the competition's worth.
Benitez missed out on winning the competition with Liverpool in 2005, and speaking to the BBC this week, he enthused:
"It's a massive competition. Some people say it is not the biggest in the world but I know it's an important competition. To be here and to have this opportunity to win again is amazing and fantastic."
Amazing AND fantastic? Clearly, Benitez has been watching too many of Brendan Rodgers' press conferences.
In his column for the The Mirror today, Dalglish - who played for LFC in the World Club Cup's historical antecedent, the Intercontinental Cup, in 1981 and 1985 - took the opposite view, and delivered the following scathing assessment of the tournament:
"The Club World Cup is, and always has been, a waste of time. I don’t think it holds any value or any prestige.
"I played in the World Club Championship with Liverpool, and I remember that for most of our stay in Tokyo we had no idea whether it was New York or New Year.
"We were jet-lagged and we knew that the competition was held in little esteem by fans or players. I’m not even sure which television channel is showing it. Which says it all, really".
The competition is pretty pointless in the grand scheme of things, but surely there has to be some benefit in playing a club team from a completely different continent in a competitive game? Players get to experience different players/approaches/tactics/styles/playing environments etc, and there are definitely positive aspects to that.
Jaimie Kanwar
Benitez missed out on winning the competition with Liverpool in 2005, and speaking to the BBC this week, he enthused:
"It's a massive competition. Some people say it is not the biggest in the world but I know it's an important competition. To be here and to have this opportunity to win again is amazing and fantastic."
Amazing AND fantastic? Clearly, Benitez has been watching too many of Brendan Rodgers' press conferences.
In his column for the The Mirror today, Dalglish - who played for LFC in the World Club Cup's historical antecedent, the Intercontinental Cup, in 1981 and 1985 - took the opposite view, and delivered the following scathing assessment of the tournament:
"The Club World Cup is, and always has been, a waste of time. I don’t think it holds any value or any prestige.
"I played in the World Club Championship with Liverpool, and I remember that for most of our stay in Tokyo we had no idea whether it was New York or New Year.
"We were jet-lagged and we knew that the competition was held in little esteem by fans or players. I’m not even sure which television channel is showing it. Which says it all, really".
The competition is pretty pointless in the grand scheme of things, but surely there has to be some benefit in playing a club team from a completely different continent in a competitive game? Players get to experience different players/approaches/tactics/styles/playing environments etc, and there are definitely positive aspects to that.
Jaimie Kanwar
