Although the expected result materialised in this game, the manner of it was far from predictable. It was not a walkover for Milan. Urawa moved and passed sharply, defended tenaciously, and threatened repeatedly in a game that was eventually decided by the individual talents of Kaka and Seedorf.

In the 68th minute, the Urawa defence were sleeping as Pirlo took a quick free-kick from the centre circle, releasing Kaka down the left. The Brazilian, who had to work hard all night to be effective, was given an easy ride and acres of space by the defender and he powered towards the touchline before pulling a low cross back across the box.

Seedorf, having been thwarted repeatedly by the Urawa keeper Tsuzuki, finally put one it with a firm sidefoot and that more or less ended the game.

Urawa had threatened repeatedly throughout the game, with incisive, creative passing, and lots of movement off the ball. Unfortunately their 32-year old Brazilian striker Washington looked more like he was 45 years old, and was especially ineffective when up against Nesta & co. It didn't help that due to a combination of nervousness and excitment, several Urawa players opted to shoot from impossible angles and ridiculous distances for large parts of the game, when a little bit of composure and vision would have helped.

Still, Urawa were worth a goal. Yamada worked a sharp shooting chance when he came on, Nene wasted a header, Washington opted to try and curl a fancy shot with a clear sight of goal when power would have sufficed, and Nagai and Suzuki both fluffed good chances.

Once they conceded the goal however, Milan simply took control and killed off the game. Whilst Urawa managed to compete well with the Italian side on a technical level, they were always struggling on the physical side of things. At the back, they were good value. Nene is a tall athlete, Tsuboi is powerful, and led by the exuberant Tulio they were able to deal with the power and pace of the Milan attacks. However, the midfield was another story. Everytime Milan had the ball, Urawa had 2 or 3 players trying to win the ball back, because they couldn't cope with the physiques of the Milan players. At 0-0 there was no urgent need to win the ball in midfield, so they held their own with positioning and movement. However after going a goal down, Milan started to pass the ball around their midfield and defence, and Urawa had no answer. Pirlo , Ambrosini, Seedorf, Oddo and Jankulovski were all too strong and athletic for Urawa to win the ball back, and Ambrosini in particular seemed to outmuscle every Urawa player on the pitch.

Ultimately, it was the same old story, one of the age old failings of Japanese football, and sadly not something that can be easily rectified. The Japanese have been criticised over the years of not being physical and competitive enough. It seems that over the past 6 or 7 years, they have really worked on this aspect of the game, and players like Inamoto, Toda, Suzuki, Tusboi, and Tulio have a fantastic competitive streak. However, in terms of physique, there is not much that one can do when faced by Europeans or South Americans who are a good deal taller and bulkier than the Japanese. Japanese footballers on average are incredibly mobile, but this isn't too helpful in ball-winning situations, and when chasing a game. 

Considering the fact that the stadium in Toyota City was half-empty on Monday night, the noise levels generated by the two pockets of Urawa fans were fantastic. Rehearsed, coordinated, effervescent and loud, it was a non-stop display of support for their team.

That night in Toyota was an unfortunate one for Urawa fans, because the majority come from Tokyo and Yokohama, and it was an impossible commute for many given that the game was on a weeknight, and that Toyota is so far away. They were also playing Sepahan, which hardly made for an attractive trip to the middle of nowhere.

Tonight however is a different prospect. The grander, larger Nissan stadium in Yokohama is easily accessible from Tokyo and Saitama (where Urawa are from). The best part is that Urawa, being a sort of Manchester United of Japan (their fans aren't from where the team are), have their largest fanbase in Yokohama, so all things considered, we should be witnessing an absolutely packed stadium and roaring support for Urawa, right?

Well, no. It's not that simple.

The bone in the kebab in this case, is the Japanese people's love of all things glamorous, famous and superstarry. I witnessed it first-hand last year when Barcelona played here, and the stadium was a sea of blaugrana shirts, with a rumbling whisper of adoration/excitement for Ronaldinho that exploded into "Oohs" and "Aahs" every time he did anything - whether it was a trick, a shot, a tackle or even kicking someone, miscontrolling the ball, or falling flat on his arse. The teams didn't matter, the football didn't matter, only the stardom did.

This year, there's no Ronaldinho, but there's Kaka. There's no Deco, but there's Seedorf. There's Maldini, there's Nesta, there's Pirlo... the names just go on and on. If you're talking about fame, glamour and stardom, AC Milan have all of those in abundance.

And here lies the problem. Urawa being a very populist team, means that a lot of the fans that would be neutrals or occassionals tend to support them. However against Milan all of those neutrals will quite likely have their allegiances tested. Milan have also been staying in Yokohama for the past week, and the locals have regularly been watching them train and play, and they've also played in Yokohama and Tokyo several times before in the previous Intercontinental Cup, so they already have a fairly large following in the local area.

On a technical level, there is only a very slight chance that Urawa will be able to get a result against Milan. There is also the worry with Japanese teams and players, that they will sink into the over-respectful, gracious mode that they tend to go into when faced with superior, more exalted opposition. Holger Osieck has worked hard to give Urawa a really tenacious edge to their game, it would be a pity to see Keita Suzuki not trying to chop down Kaka, or being apologetic about doing so. The players will all be nervous, and they will need the fans to help them retain their edge.

So it is absolutely essential that Urawa go into this game with a 40-50,000 strong bunch of supporters, because otherwise the silence and casual support for Milan is going to create a very, very strange atmosphere for them, one in which they might just lose their way, and which would be very disappointing for the fans watching around the world, who would miss out on a chance to see just how great the REAL Japanese football fans are.

Il Milan si è allenato a Yokohama in attesa dell'incontro con gli Urawa Reds, abbiamo intervistato in esclusiva per OleOle il portiere rossonero Zeljko Kalac.

MT: Benvenuto in Giappone, Spider. Com'è l'umore al campo d'allenamento?

Zeljko Kalac: Siamo fiduciosi. Ci siamo preparati bene e siamo qui ovviamente per vincere il torneo.

MT: Hai potuto vedere la partita dell'Urawa l'altro giorno?

Zeljko Kalac: Sì, l'abbiamo vista.

MT: Cosa pensi dei giapponesi? 

Zeljko Kalac: Sono uno buona squadra, ovviamente. Hanno avuto una stagione lunga e da tempo aspettano questa partita. Penso che l'intero Giappone non veda l'ora che si giochi questa partita, anche per questo penso che sarà senza dubbio difficile.

MT: Hai giocato un paio di incontri di Champions League quest'anno, pensate di ripetervi?

Zeljko Kalac: Il nostro obiettivo è vincere questo torneo, è la nostra priorità dopo avere vinto la Supercoppa Europea. Poi vogliamo andare avanti in Champions League e, nel campionato italiano, arrivare nelle prime quattro e qualificarci per la Champions League del prossimo anno. Ma per ora ci interessa vincere qui.

MT: Una vittoria al Mondiale per club vi farebbe superare il Boca nella classifica di trofei vinti. Questo vi dà un'ulteriore motivazione?

Zeljko Kalac: Pensa, non lo sapevo! So solo che l'ultima volta che il Milan ha incontrato il Boca, hanno vinto loro 1-0. Ecco, potrebbe essere un'occasione per prenderci la rivincita.

MT: Una domanda per gli australiani, c'è qualche possibilità di vederti in A-League in futuro?

Zeljko Kalac: No, non penso. Ho ancora un anno e mezzo al Milan, a fine contratto avrò 36 anni e solo allora deciderò se giocare un altro anno o se smettere, ma dopo quello non credo di andare oltre.

MikeTuckerman speaks to Zeljko Kalac for OleOle

AC Milan trained in Yokohama ahead of their upcoming clash with Urawa Reds, and after the session Milan goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac took time out to speak exclusively to OleOle.

MT: Welcome to Japan, Spider. What's the mood in the camp?

Zeljko Kalac: We're feeling confident. We're well prepared and we've obviously come here to win the tournament.

MT: Did you get a chance to see Urawa's game yesterday?

Zeljko Kalac: Yeah, we watched it last night.

MT: What's the feeling?

Zeljko Kalac: They're a good side, obviously. They've had a long season, and they'll be looking forward to this match. I think the whole of Japan will be looking forward to this match, so it will definitely be difficult.

MT: You've played a couple of Champions League games this year, how do you think this will compare?

Zeljko Kalac: Our goal is definitely to win this tournament - it's very high on the list of priorities, to follow up on the Super Cup win and win this, and then continue on in the Champions League and qualify for the Champions League next year by finishing in the first four. But this is definitely a goal for us.

MT: A win here will take you above Boca in terms of trophies won. Is that a motivation for the team?

Zeljko Kalac: Oh, I didn't know about that! I think the last time they played Boca, Boca won 1-0. So we might get a chance to hopefully repay them.

MT: For all the Aussies out there, any chance of making it to the A-League in future?

Zeljko Kalac: No, I don't think so. I've still got another year and a half left after this. That will take me through to 36 and then we'll see if I have maybe one more year after that, and I think that'll do me.

Today AC Milan trained at 'Marinos Town' - the training centre of J-League side Yokohama F. Marinos.

The Rossoneri looked sharp, with Ronaldo taking part in the session as he attempts to recover from a calf injury that could keep him out of Milan's showdown with Urawa Reds at the Yokohama International Stadium on December 13.

In the pre-training press conference, Milan playmaker Andrea Pirlo singled out striker Washington, defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka and young wingback Takahito Soma as the players Milan must pay most attention to when the Rossoneri take on the Reds.

Croatian defender Dario Simic also trained this afternoon but it was Dutch international Clarence Seedorf who impressed, demonstrating his array of skills in front of the assembled world media.

Newly crowned European Footballer Of The Year Kaká was mobbed at every turn, with plenty of pressure on Milan to bring home the Club World Cup and become the first European side to do so since the competition was launched in its current format in 2000.

First off, congratulations to our two winners - manogil and MikeTuckerman. It was a hard-fought contest, and a very difficult one to decide, but these two came out on top at the end.

I'd also like to offer congratulations to the others on the shortlist - carlaprat, Fedro, genesio, Haroldotuna, lempira, Lizzy, LucasDL and Lucastro. You all did a fantastic job, and we hope you will continue to participate in our future contests.

It's amazing to have this community of such talented people from so many different countries - football, it seems, really does bring the world together!

We at OleOle are extremely proud of what you guys came up with, and I'd once again like to thank all the contestants for their contribution . Please stay tuned to this blog for all the coverage we bring back from the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup.

The match schedule is as follows:

07.12.07 - Sepahan (Iran) v Waitakere United (New Zealand) - Playoff

09.12.07 - Étoile du Sahel (Tunisia) v Pachuca (Mexico) - Quarterfinal 1
10.12.07 - Sepahan/Waitakere v Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) - Quarterfinal 2

12.12.07 - Winner of QF1 v Boca Juniors (Argentina) - Semifinal 1
13.12.07 - Winner of QF2 v AC Milan (Italy) - Semifinal 2

16.12.07 - Loser of SF1 v Loser of SF2 - Third Place Match
16.12.07 - Winner of SF1 v Winner of SF2 - Final