Bayern leave Morocco with not only the FIFA Club World Cup trophy, but also with the honour of finishing as the fairest team of the tournament. FCB stars also took two of the three individual awards: Franck Ribéry won the adidas Golden Ball as best player and Philipp Lahm claimed the Silver Ball. Ribéry was also voted best player of the final. Last but not least, the victory earns Bayern the privilege of adding a new badge to their shirts, officially naming them FIFA World Champions for the next year. All in all it is a true highlight to end a record-breaking year.
From Marrakech to Christmas break
When the Lufthansa charter jet heads to Munich on Sunday, part of the squad will not be on the plane. Many of the FCB players are heading straight into their well-deserved Christmas break. These include coach Pep Guardiola, Europe’s footballer of the year Franck Ribéry, Spanish pair Javi Martínez and Thiago, South Americans Dante, Rafinha and Claudio Pizarro, together with David Alaba and Mario Mandzukic. The squad will next meet up again after the holidays on 5 January 2014 in Doha, Qatar.
Bundesliga rivals crumble
On Saturday Bayern were sent an early Christmas present from the Bundesliga. While Munich crowned a perfect year in Morocco, the leaders’ chief rivals lost ground in the domestic league: Bayer Leverkusen lost 1-0 away to Bremen and Borussia Dortmund fell 2-1 at home to Hertha BSC Berlin. Heading into the winter break, that leaves Bayern seven points ahead in top spot.
Topics of this article