The Toyota World Cup
At November 28th, Ajax will face Gremio from Brasil to decide who's the best club in the world. Well, not really ofcourse because we already know that Ajax is ;-) but this game is for the Toyota World cup so that must mean something. The game will be played in Tokyo, Japan.
Ajax' opponent will be Gremio Porto Alegre from Brazil. For Gremio it's the second time that they reach the 'World Cup' Final. The first time was in 1983 when they faced and defeated HSV (Germany). For Ajax it will also be the 2nd time, although it's the fourth time Ajax is eligible to play. On two other occasions, in 1971 and 1973, Ajax refused to play out of fear for the style of play of their South-American opponents. Back in the 1970's south-american teams (especially from Argentina) were known for their 'butchers' in defense.
Gremio is from the south of Brasil far away from the states Rio and Sao Paolo where most top teams come from. They have won the Copa Libertadores twice: in 1983 when they beat Penarol (Urugay) in the final and this year after defeating Nacional from Colombia.
Their complete list of honors looks like this:
Brasilian Champions in 1981
Brasilian cup winners in 1989 and 1994
Winners of the Copa Libertadores in 1983 and 1995
Winners of the 'World Cup' in 1983
Losing finalists in the Copa Libertadores in 1989
Gremio has a homepage that's run by Antonio Marinho Pilla Barcellos.
Another one, run by someone called Alessandro.
Make your prediction at MichielB's page
There's even a WorldCup Cd-single, so read this plug.
Click here for David Endts 'World Cup' column, published in Het Parool.
World Cup History
| 1960 | Real Madrid |  |
| 1961 | Peñarol |
| 1962 | Santos |
| 1963 | Santos |
| 1964 | Inter |
| 1965 | Inter |
| 1966 | Peñarol |
| 1967 | Racing Club |
| 1968 | Estudiantes de la Plata |
| 1969 | AC Milan |
| 1970 | Feyenoord |
| 1971 | Nacional |
| 1972 | Ajax |
| 1973 | Independiente |
| 1974 | Atletico Madrid |
| 1975 | not held |
| 1976 | Bayern München |
| 1977 | Boca Juniors |
| 1978 | not held |
| 1979 | Olimpia Asuncion |
| 1980 | Nacional |
| 1981 | Flamengo |
| 1982 | Peñarol |
| 1983 | Gremio Porto Alegre |
| 1984 | Independiente |
| 1985 | Juventus |
| 1986 | River Plate |
| 1987 | Porto |
| 1988 | Nacional |
| 1989 | AC Milan |
| 1990 | AC Milan |
| 1991 | Red Star Belgrade |
| 1992 | São Paulo |
| 1993 | São Paulo |
| 1994 | Velez Sarfield |
| 1995 | Gremio |
or |
Ajax? |