By the end of that month, they knew the identity of their opponents, when Tetouan were confirmed as Moroccan champions.
From that time, Auckland coach Ramon Tribulietx analysed Tetouan endlessly, watching their games on video "at least" two or three times per week.
"I need to know everything about them," Tribulietx told the Herald on Sunday before the tournament. "I need to understand to perfection what they are going to do. For a club like us, going to play at that level, there can't be any surprises."
Meanwhile, other planning continued behind the scenes. In 2013, the team travelled to Morocco via Spain, with a warm-up match against Espanyol and training camp in Barcelona.
The travel, involving numerous legs, was judged too arduous and this year they based themselves in Dubai - and also secured a friendly against Uzbekistan.
Pre-season training began in September. Captain Ivan Vicelich has estimated they trained "180 days out of 200" since preparations began. The ASB Premiership club don't have a dedicated training facility and spread their training sessions across the city.
They trained at Onehunga High School, Auckland Grammar School, the Croatian Cultural Club fields in Te Atatu, Panmure's Bill McKinley Park and Seddon Fields in Western Springs, with players battling Auckland traffic to make the evening sessions.
"It's a huge sacrifice," says chairman Ivan Vuksich. "They have trained five times a week, every week. It's a big ask and can be a strain. That's often why we end up having quite a few unattached or single guys."
Tribulietx demands the ultimate commitment and even senior players are rarely excused from training sessions.
"Ramon is pretty relentless," says Vuksich. "He's driven towards a completely professional approach. He can be very demanding sometimes but knows what it takes to get results. There can't be half measures. If you want to give everything to football and commit totally, he'll love you. If you want to muck around, you won't last long."
But Tribulietx is as much about science as sweat. He has a degree in exercise physiology and his sessions are famous for being done totally with the ball, with none of the repetitive sprints and long-distance runs common at many clubs. The team do endless grid work on close-quarter skills, which was reflected in their comfort on the ball at the Club World Cup.
They have been playing footballing millionaires in Morocco; most Auckland City players are paupers by comparison. Five of the squad live in a large house close to Kiwitea St, sharing two bathrooms with 10 people. Some have professional backgrounds at lower-level leagues but are drawn to Auckland City for the chance to play at the Club World Cup.
"A lot of these guys are football fanatics, footballing nomads," Vuksich says. "Here, they have a chance to do something that would be impossible in many other countries."
Although only three of the usual starting XI are New Zealand-born (Vicelich, Tamati Williams and Tim Payne), that is a bit deceiving.
Darren White arrived from England when a few months old, Fabrizio Tavano moved to New Zealand when aged 12, Ryan De Vries is a New Zealand citizen after arriving as a teen, Mario Bilen has emigrated and Emiliano Tade will be eligible for a Kiwi passport next year.
