FIFA Club World Cup: City’s successful 2023 tournament | OneFootball

City are in the US for the inaugural expanded edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.

This new 32-team tournament will be held one summer every four years and take the shape of recent international World Cups.

It’s a far cry from the previous format, which saw the six continental champions and an elected side from the host nation play straight knockout games in the midst of the European season.

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While this tournament is technically a total refresh and therefore no side is arriving as defending champions, City were the last team to win that competition that has now been renamed the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

We collected the award for the first time in our history in December 2023 to complete a haul of the ‘Big Five’ trophies across one calendar year.

Our appearance at that competition, as well as the UEFA Super Cup earlier that year and this summer’s Club World Cup, all came from the UEFA Champions League success in Istanbul.

An historic achievement in its own right, that famous night against Inter topped off a Treble across the 2022/23 season that has gone down as the greatest season in the Club’s long, storied history.

WATCH: Manchester City’s latest docuseries ‘Together: Treble Winners’ to be released on Netflix

Six months later, we’d be lifting another major trophy for the first time and our first major honour outside of Europe.

Before that though, there were games against Asia and South America’s best to navigate.

Pep’s side set off for the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on 16 December 2023 with plenty to ponder about where our 2023/24 season was heading.

Earlier that day, we’d let a two-goal lead over Crystal Palace slip consigning us to a fourth draw in our last six Premier League games.

With the Eagles scoring a 95th minute penalty to claim the point, it was a deeply frustrating afternoon at the Etihad and one that left dreams of a record-breaking fourth title in a row hanging in the balance.

Perhaps a break from domestic duties would be just the tonic to propel us into the second half of the season.

Stepping from the harsh winter conditions of northern England into the Saudi sunshine, City took the first couple of days to acclimatise to our new surroundings.

After training, the increased time spent together in the hotel complex appeared to have a galvanising effect at just the right point in the season.

Japanese side and AFC Champions League winners Urawa Red Diamonds would be our first opponents at the semi-final stage having over CONCACAF representatives Club Leon.

We went into that last four tie knowing that Brazilian club Fluminense would await us in the final having defeated Egyptian behemoths Al Ahly the previous night.

The state-of-the-art King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, only opened in 2014, was the host for both semi-finals and the final and a spectacular pre-match light show meant the players lined up in style.

More than 40,000 turned up for the semi-final, including a small pocket of Manchester-based City fans who has grasped the opportunity for some winter sun.

The typically humid conditions didn’t appear to faze us against the Red Diamonds, with Pep’s side camped in the final third throughout the first half.

The opener didn’t come until stoppage time in the first half though, with centre-back Marius Hoibraten turning Matheus Nunes’ low, drilled cross into his own net.

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From that point on, the result was never in doubt. Mateo Kovacic doubled our advantage seven minutes into the second half after ghosting through the heart of the defence and firing into the roof of the net.

A third followed soon after with Bernardo Silva’s strike deflected out of the reach of goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa.

All in all, a successful night’s work.

WATCH: Short highlights: Urawa Red Diamonds 0-3 City

The final followed three days later and standing in our way would be a Fluminense side that boasted several recognisable names to European audiences and a style of play that had been widely lauded.

Coach Fernando Diniz’s reputation for free-flowing play had even coined a nickname ‘Dinizismo’ that was considered a modern take on the Brazilian style that had first caught the world’s attention.

With Marcelo, Felipe Melo and Ganso all beyond their peak years spent in Europe, a lot of the hard yards would be covered by youthful midfield pair Andre and Matheus Martinelli.

Any hopes the Brazilians might have had on making early headway were evaporated when Julian Alvarez put us ahead just 30 seconds in.

The Argentinian reacted quickest to Nathan Ake’s post-bound shot to chest the ball home.

Fluminense thought they had a penalty soon after but nippy striker German Cano was offside.

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Instead, City soon doubled our lead when Phil Foden’s cross was deflected into his own net by the Fluminense skipper Nino.

Ederson had to be at his best to claw away a towering header just before half-time but it was all about us from that point on, with Bernardo and Foden going very close before the latter latched on to Alvarez’s drilled cross to make it three.

And the game was completed with some quick feet and a neat finish from Alvarez.

WATCH: Highlights: City 4-0 Fluminense

The final whistle brought an immense sense of pride in Saudi Arabia and the release of an iconic tribute back in Manchester, with the words ‘Best team in the land and all the world’ unfurled on the side of the Etihad.

Before we could lift yet another trophy, there was time for Rodri to receive the Golden Ball for the tournament’s best player.

It also marked another moment of history for Pep Guardiola, who became the first boss ever to win four FIFA Club World Cup finals.

The Catalan felt it was the marker of eight years worth of hard work and studious decision making.

“When I close the chapter, it’s for the fact of eight years of incredible work behind the scenes. It’s unbelievable what we’ve done.

“It’s a beautiful day. I could never have thought when I arrived in Manchester that we’d do what we have together, the titles we’ve won and winning the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.”

And then it was all about getting our hands on the silverware and setting off the fireworks high into Jeddah’s night sky.

So, City set off back to the English winter renewed, refreshed and ready for an ultimately successful tilt at yet another Premier League title.

While we won’t face either of Fluminense or Urawa Red Diamonds until the quarter-finals at the earliest this time around, there will be plenty from that experience of global football cultures City will take into this month-long extravaganza.