 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2012 FIFA Club World Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 16 December 2012 (2012-12-16) | ||||||
| Venue | International Stadium Yokohama,Yokohama[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)[1] | ||||||
| Attendance | 68,275 | ||||||
| Weather | Clear night 13 °C (55 °F) 42%humidity | ||||||
←2011 2013 → | |||||||
The2012 FIFA Club World Cup final was the final match of the2012 FIFA Club World Cup, anassociation football tournament hosted by Japan. It was the ninth final of theFIFA Club World Cup, aFIFA-organised tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations as well as the host nation's league champions.
The final was contested betweenCONMEBOL winnersCorinthians andUEFA winnersChelsea, and took place at theInternational Stadium Yokohama inYokohama on 16 December 2012. Corinthians defeated Chelsea 1–0 after a header fromPaolo Guerrero, which meant Corinthians won their secondFIFA Club World Cup, then known as FIFA Club World Championship, twelve years after winning their first in2000. The match kicked-off at 19:30JST and was officiated by Turkish refereeCüneyt Çakır.
Both clubs entered the competition after winning their respective club football competitions. Corinthians won the2012 Copa Libertadores, following a 2–0 win againstBoca Juniors in the final, while Chelsea won the2011–12 UEFA Champions League, having defeatedBayern Munich 4–3 in apenalty shoot-out, after being held 1–1 in normal time. This was Corinthians's second time competing and win the tournament (also becoming the last South American and non-European team doing it), after having won the competition in2000, with a 4–3 penalty shoot-out win overVasco da Gama.
TheInternational Stadium Yokohama had hosted the FIFA Club World Cup finals five times, with the 2009 and 2010 finals being held at theZayed Sports City Stadium inAbu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates.Brazilian sides have been the most dominant side of any other South American teams, with the first dating back in2000, whereCorinthians won the competition for the first time, then known asFIFA Club World Championship, where they beatVasco da Gama 4–3 in apenalty shoot-out.[2]This was followed by wins fromSão Paulo, who beatLiverpool 1–0 andInternacional with the same scoreline againstBarcelona. At the time,Manchester United were the only English team to have won the competition, in2008, when they defeated Ecuadorian sideLDU Quito 1–0.
Both clubs received byes from the play-off rounds and the quarter-finals.
 Corinthians | Team |  Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| CONMEBOL | Confederation | UEFA |
| Winner of the2012 Copa Libertadores | Qualification | Winner of the2011–12 UEFA Champions League |
| Bye | Play-off round | Bye |
| Bye | Quarter-finals | Bye |
1–0 Al-Ahly(Guerrero 30') | Semi-finals | 3–1 Monterrey(Mata 17',Torres 46',Chávez 48' o.g.) |
Corinthians advanced to the final after a 1–0 win againstAl-Ahly on 12 December.Paolo Guerrero scored the winning goal with a header after thirty minutes.[3][4]
Chelsea took onMonterrey on 13 December, winning 3–1 after goals fromJuan Mata,Fernando Torres, and aDárvin Chávez own goal.Aldo de Nigris scored a consolation goal for Monterrey in stoppage time.[5][6]
TheInternational Stadium Yokohama has been the venue for the FIFA Club World Cup since 2005. It was built and opened in 1998, and is the home ground ofYokohama F. Marinos, who plays in theJ. League, the highest division of theJapanese league system. The venue has been used five times in the previous FIFA Club World Championship and Club World Cup finals, in2005,2006,2007 and2008, as well as2011.
The official match ball for the final was the Adidas Cafusa, provided by German sports equipment companyAdidas. It was used throughout the tournament and also at the2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.[7]
Cüneyt Çakır, representingTurkey and UEFA, was selected as the referee of the final. He was first listed as an international referee in 2006,[8] and had earlier taken charge of his first FIFA Club World Cup match, the first quarter-final match betweenUlsan Hyundai andMonterrey on 9 December 2012. Çakır was assisted by Bahattin Duran and Tarık Ongun, while the fourth and fifth officials wereAlireza Faghani and Hassan Kamranifar, representing theIslamic Republic of Iran and one of the twoAFC representatives in the competition, alongsideNawaf Shukralla ofBahrain.
          Corinthians |      Chelsea |
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Assistant referees: | Match rules[9]
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| Tournaments | |
| Finals | |
| Squads | |
| Qualification | |
| Statistics | |
