NIC IS 'EL BLANKO' NO MORE

NICOLAS ANELKA was among the stars of the show in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup in 2000.

- BY RYAN TAYLOR

The eight-team tournament, which took place in January, was staged in Brazil and all matches were played at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo's Estadio do Morumbi.

Remarkably, Champions League holders Manchester United were eliminated in the group stages, while Real Madrid finished fourth after losing to Mexican outfit Necaxa on penalties in the third-place play-off.

Back then, there were two groups of four and the top sides - in this case Vasco da Gama and Corinthians - progressed to the final.