Time again for the FIFA Club World Cup

It's hard to get excited for the FIFA Club World Cup. I guess that's because it's so awkward. All 6 regions of FIFA (all continental zones except Antarctica) are represented by a single champion from the region. Since Europe and South America are the powerhouses of soccer, they get first round exemptions in this 7 team (Japan gets a team for hosting) knock out tournament. Also, all the matches are played in Tokyo so all teams not from Japan have some jetlag and time change issues.

The timing of this tournament is what makes it so weird. The European champions, AC Milan won their title back in May. They haven't won Italy since 2004, but they're good enough to win Europe. South American champs, Boca Juniors won their title in June. Pachuca from Mexico & Waitakere from New Zealand won their title back in April. Teams can change so much in a few months that these clubs that won championships to qualify for the event may not be the same as the team that actually plays in the FCWC. The Asian and African clubs actually won their titles in November.

With all that said, it's an interesting tournament to watch. You can clearly see distinct styles of play and you get a chance to see some big fish from small ponds take on the whales of the world. You can follow the progress of the tournament here and Fox Soccer Channel is showing all the matches live....at 2:00 in the morning.