While most of the teams at the revamped Club World Cup would have a claim to be among the best sides in their countries, Auckland City are not even the biggest club in New Zealand’s most populous city.
That status belongs to Auckland FC, who played in front of crowds of almost 30,000 as they topped the regular standings in their debut campaign in Australia’s A-League this year.
Australia has been in the Asian Football Confederation since 2006, however, so it falls to Auckland City to represent the Oceania confederation in the United States over the next couple of weeks.
“We’re representing 99 per cent of club teams in world football who are amateurs,” Adam Mitchell, centre back and real estate agent, told Fox Sports.
“We all have day jobs. We work usually nine to five. It’s extremely difficult and it’s tiring, but to have these rewards at the end of the tunnel is obviously a privilege for every single person involved in this in this club.”
Auckland City, whose home crowds range from a few hundred to a couple of thousand, qualified by beating Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United 2-0 to win the Oceania Champions League for the 13th time in 18 years in April.
Rated the 4,957th best team in the world in the Opta Power Rankings, Auckland City will play former European champions Bayern Munich (6th) and Benfica (24th) as well as Argentina’s Boca Juniors (131st) at their 12th Club World Cup.
They finished fourth at the 2014 edition after beating Morocco’s MA Tetouan on penalties and Algeria’s ES Setif 1-0, but otherwise it has been mostly exits at the first hurdle before the big clubs get involved.
This year’s Club World Cup is an altogether different beast with 32 teams, including the biggest in the game, and $1 billion in prize money.
Mitchell, who failed to make the grade at Red Star Belgrade and Bolton Wanderers in his teens and early 20s, is therefore contemplating the task of shackling England and Bayern striker Harry Kane in Cincinnati on Sunday.
“He’s one of the most prolific goalscorers in world football for the last five to six years,” the 29-year-old said.
“I can’t say I won’t let him score, but I’m going to do my best not to let him score.”
The club lost 1-0 to Al-Ain in their final warm-up match in Alexandria, Virginia on Tuesday, an encouraging result given they were hammered 6-2 by the Emiratis in the Intercontinental Cup last year.
“Obviously back home in New Zealand, we’re used to having a lot of the ball, a lot of possession, being on the front foot,” said skipper Mario Ilich.
“Coming up against these better teams, we have to adapt, we’re learning every day, but I think today was a good step in the right direction for what’s to come.”
Mediation continues between the club and New Zealand Football over how the prize money will be divided but Mitchell said he and his teammates, many of whom have had to take unpaid leave, have other immediate priorities.
“We’ve been in hard competitions before and somehow this team keeps doing it,” he said. “We come from behind, we win games, we want to show the world that that’s who we are.”
