Bayern Munich added the Intercontinental Cup to their Champions League title after beating 10-man Boca Juniors 1-0 in Tokyo today.
Ghanaian defender Sammy Kuffour ( in pic with MVP award) was the hero of the hour for Bayern, scoring the vital goal on 109 minutes after normal time ended goalless. Ciriaco Sforza's corner ricocheted off the bar and several players before dropping for Kuffour to bundle it over the line and cement Bayern as world champions.
Bayern's victory marked the first time they have claimed the trophy for 25 years, having won it after their previous European Cup triumph in 1976.
The goal broke Boca Juniors' brave resistance, after the Argentine side had been reduced to ten men following the first-half dismissal of striker Marcelo Delgado.
Wave after wave of Bayern attacks were repulsed and Boca looked likely to hold on for a penalty shoot-out before Kuffour turned the ball home after Fink had connected with Ciriaco Sforza's corner.
Prior to the goal Niko Kovac's spectacular overhead kick on 59 minutes was as close as Bayern Munich had come to breaking the deadlock.
The German champions dominated a one-sided encounter that tipped in their favour decisively when Delgado was sent off for diving moments before the break.
With 42 minutes gone Delgado was picked out in the box by Riquelme's searching pass, but rather than look to fire the ball past the advancing Oliver Kahn, he went to ground and Danish referee Kim Morten Nielsen had little option but to show him a second yellow for diving.
Delgado had enjoyed Boca's best openings of the first half. Playing largely on the counter attack the Argentine side twice came close in the space of two minutes on the half-hour mark.
Barros Schelotto sent Delgado clear of the Bayern defence on 28 minutes with a fine long-range pass, but Kahn raced out of his box to boot the ball to safety.
Moments later, Delgado was presented with a second opportunity after Schelotto had robbed Kuffour of the ball, but the Boca striker fluffed his shot from ten yards with only Kahn to beat.
After Delgado's dismissal, however, Boca struggled to break out of their own half.
Owen Hargreaves released a 25-yard strike on 53 minutes which Boca keeper Oscar Cordoba did well to turn away.
Six minutes later Niko Kovac was unfortunate not to put Bayern ahead when his spectacular overhead kick off a Hargreaves' corner from the left was cleared off the line.
Bayern pushed to the end in an increasingly scrappy second half. On 82 minutes substitute Sforza found Claudio Pizarro with a quickly-taken free-kick but Cordoba once again produced a fine save to keep out the Peruvian's chip.
With three minutes to go, Pizarro tested Cordoba again with a header, but the keeper kept a battling Boca side in the match with another good save, then blocked Sergio's long-range shot.
Moments into extra-time, Claudio Pizarro sent a header narrowly wide as Bayern stepped up the pressure. Carsten Jancker, in particular, was proving a handful for the Boca defence after coming on as a second-half substitute for Hargreaves.
It was Jancker, however, who wasted another fine chance moments later when he shot directly at Cordoba from only ten yards, before Kuffour finally sealed Bayern's second World Club title and their first since 1976 with ten minutes of extra time to go.
Bayern Munich: Kahn, Sagnol, Kuffour, R Kovac, Lizarazu, N Kovac (Jancker 77), Fink, Hargreaves (Sforza 77), Sergio, Elber, Pizarro (Thiam 128)
Boca Juniors: Cordoba, Martinez, Schiavi, Burdisso, Rodriguez, Traverso, Serna, Villareal (Pinto 100), Riquelme, Barros Schelotto, Delgado
Booked: Kuffour, Hargreaves, Elber (Bayern Munich); Serna, Delgado, Rodriguez, Schelotto (Boca Juniors)
Sent off: Delgado (Boca Juniors)
Referee: Nielsen, Kim Milton
Bayern Munich added the Intercontinental Cup to their Champions League title after beating 10-man Boca Juniors 1-0 in Tokyo today.
Ghanaian defender Sammy Kuffour ( in pic with MVP award) was the hero of the hour for Bayern, scoring the vital goal on 109 minutes after normal time ended goalless. Ciriaco Sforza's corner ricocheted off the bar and several players before dropping for Kuffour to bundle it over the line and cement Bayern as world champions.
Bayern's victory marked the first time they have claimed the trophy for 25 years, having won it after their previous European Cup triumph in 1976.
The goal broke Boca Juniors' brave resistance, after the Argentine side had been reduced to ten men following the first-half dismissal of striker Marcelo Delgado.
Wave after wave of Bayern attacks were repulsed and Boca looked likely to hold on for a penalty shoot-out before Kuffour turned the ball home after Fink had connected with Ciriaco Sforza's corner.
Prior to the goal Niko Kovac's spectacular overhead kick on 59 minutes was as close as Bayern Munich had come to breaking the deadlock.
The German champions dominated a one-sided encounter that tipped in their favour decisively when Delgado was sent off for diving moments before the break.
With 42 minutes gone Delgado was picked out in the box by Riquelme's searching pass, but rather than look to fire the ball past the advancing Oliver Kahn, he went to ground and Danish referee Kim Morten Nielsen had little option but to show him a second yellow for diving.
Delgado had enjoyed Boca's best openings of the first half. Playing largely on the counter attack the Argentine side twice came close in the space of two minutes on the half-hour mark.
Barros Schelotto sent Delgado clear of the Bayern defence on 28 minutes with a fine long-range pass, but Kahn raced out of his box to boot the ball to safety.
Moments later, Delgado was presented with a second opportunity after Schelotto had robbed Kuffour of the ball, but the Boca striker fluffed his shot from ten yards with only Kahn to beat.
After Delgado's dismissal, however, Boca struggled to break out of their own half.
Owen Hargreaves released a 25-yard strike on 53 minutes which Boca keeper Oscar Cordoba did well to turn away.
Six minutes later Niko Kovac was unfortunate not to put Bayern ahead when his spectacular overhead kick off a Hargreaves' corner from the left was cleared off the line.
Bayern pushed to the end in an increasingly scrappy second half. On 82 minutes substitute Sforza found Claudio Pizarro with a quickly-taken free-kick but Cordoba once again produced a fine save to keep out the Peruvian's chip.
With three minutes to go, Pizarro tested Cordoba again with a header, but the keeper kept a battling Boca side in the match with another good save, then blocked Sergio's long-range shot.
Moments into extra-time, Claudio Pizarro sent a header narrowly wide as Bayern stepped up the pressure. Carsten Jancker, in particular, was proving a handful for the Boca defence after coming on as a second-half substitute for Hargreaves.
It was Jancker, however, who wasted another fine chance moments later when he shot directly at Cordoba from only ten yards, before Kuffour finally sealed Bayern's second World Club title and their first since 1976 with ten minutes of extra time to go.
Bayern Munich: Kahn, Sagnol, Kuffour, R Kovac, Lizarazu, N Kovac (Jancker 77), Fink, Hargreaves (Sforza 77), Sergio, Elber, Pizarro (Thiam 128)
Boca Juniors: Cordoba, Martinez, Schiavi, Burdisso, Rodriguez, Traverso, Serna, Villareal (Pinto 100), Riquelme, Barros Schelotto, Delgado
Booked: Kuffour, Hargreaves, Elber (Bayern Munich); Serna, Delgado, Rodriguez, Schelotto (Boca Juniors)
Sent off: Delgado (Boca Juniors)
Referee: Nielsen, Kim Milton
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