Michael Burgess: Auckland City go from curiosity to contender

Auckland City FC. Photo / Photosport.

Argentines know their football, and one sentence from some River Plate supporters at Narita Airport summed up perfectly how far Auckland City football club has come.

The Club World Cup is a big deal in South America and no other continent places so much prestige on Fifa's annual club tournament. It's always been that way, from back in the 1960s and 1970s when the competition was a simple playoff with the European Cup holders, usually held in Tokyo.

Despite the riches and profile of the UEFA Champions League, clubs and fans from Latin America still see this event as a world championship, to decide who is the best club team on the planet.

More than 20,000 River Plate fans are expected to descend on Japan in the coming days, and this first installment, proudly wearing the famed red and white colour, were proud to be here.

Out of interest, I asked them who they would be playing in the tournament.

"Esperamos Barcelona," said one. "Pero primero hay un equipo de Africa, los Japoneses o Auckland City".

"We hope Barcelona," he said, referring to the expected final match up. "But first there is a team from Africa, the Japanese or Auckland City."

Imagine. Fans from one of the famed clubs in the world, from a nation where football is almost everything, name dropping an ASB Premiership team that plays out of Sandringham. In the space of a few years Auckland City has gone from an unknown, to a curiosity, to a contender.

Their fame in Argentina is mainly thanks to last year's performances in Morocco, especially taking San Lorenzo to the wire in the semi final.

"A lot of people noticed that match," explained another supporter. "We enjoyed it - watching San Lorenzo in a difficult moment - but people were wondering who is this team from New Zealand? Where have they come from? How can they do this?"

A few weeks after the tournament Auckland City striker Emiliano Tade discovered the interest first hand. He returned to Argentina to play for his hometown team Club Atlético Mitre and there were more than 300 people at Buenos Aires airport to meet him, including dozens of journalists and reporters. They all wanted to talk about Auckland City and Morocco.

It's River Plate's first appearance at a Club World Cup. They have appeared in its forerunner, the Intercontinental Cup, on two occasions. In 1986, when they beat Steaua Bucharest 1-0, and 10 years later when they lost to Pavel Nedved's Juventus by the same scoreline.

Meanwhile, Auckland City continued their preparations for Thursday's match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima today. On a chilly but clear day in Yokohama, the team completed a 90 minute training session on the outskirts of the city, after an earlier team meeting and video analysis session.

This afternoon they have media appointments and some sponsor meetings, before a team dinner and quiz night.