TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Dressed in swish club blazers, European champions AC Milan touched down in Japan for the Club World Cup tournament on Thursday.
Led by Brazilian Ballon d'Or winner Kaka, Milan's players
swept through Narita airport near Tokyo, smiling and waving to
waiting Japanese fans decked out in the team's red and black.
Milan and Argentina's Boca Juniors join the seven-team
tournament at the semi-final stage next week. Iran's Sepahan
face New Zealand part-timers Waitakere United in Friday's
opener.
The winners take on Japan's Urawa Reds for the right to play
seven-times European champions Milan on Dec. 13. The final is in
Yokohama on Dec. 16.
Milan won the forerunner to the Club World Cup - a one-off
match between the champions of Europe and South America - three
times, in 1969, 1989 and 1990.
Boca Juniors also won it three times, in 1977, 2000 and in
2003, when they overcame Milan in a penalty shootout.
Milan captain Paolo Maldini, in his last season before
retiring at 39, could make an emotional farewell to Milan if
they win the Club World Cup.
Brazilian clubs triumphed in the first two editions of the
revamped tournament, Sao Paulo beating Liverpool 1-0 in 2005 and
Internacional stunning Barcelona by the same score last year.
