Image source, Getty Images
Thomas Muller, who is acceptable to permission Bayern Munich successful the summer, scored his 250th extremity for the nine successful Sunday's thrashing of Auckland City
Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport journalist
It was 1 of the biggest mismatches you are ever apt to spot successful nonrecreational football.
For New Zealand part-timers Auckland City, upsetting 34-time German champions and six-time Uefa Champions League winners Bayern Munich was ever going to beryllium a gangly bid – to enactment it precise mildly.
Once Kingsley Coman opened the scoring aft 5 minutes astatine the TQL Stadium successful Cincinnati, those dreams of an almighty daze were each but extinguished.
By full-time, Bayern had deed treble figures for the archetypal clip since August 2021 to acceptable a caller Club World Cup record.
It was 10-0 - and it could person been more.
Bayern person won by a 10-goal borderline successful the Bundesliga earlier – achieving an 11-1 triumph implicit Dortmund successful 1971 - and the 2021 double-figure crippled was a 12-0 cupful trouncing of determination league squad Bremer.
For a portion against Auckland, it looked arsenic if the German giants' club-record 16-1 triumph implicit DJK Waldberg successful the 1997-98 DFB Cup mightiness travel nether threat.
Goals from Sacha Boey, Michael Olise and Coman made it 4-0 midway done the archetypal half, with Thomas Muller and Olise past scoring Bayern's 5th and sixth earlier the interval – matching the six goals scored by Al-Hilal against Al Jazira successful the erstwhile grounds triumph astatine the Club World Cup.
Germany planetary Jamal Musiala lone replaced England skipper Harry Kane successful the 61st infinitesimal but determination was inactive ample clip for the 22-year-old to nett a second-half hat-trick, earlier Muller wrapped up a crushing triumph precocious connected with his 250th Bayern goal.
A mismatch connected and disconnected the pitch
Auckland were possibly fortunate not to suffer by a heavier borderline arsenic Bayern peppered their extremity with 31 attempts – including 17 connected people – portion enjoying 72% of possession.
The New Zealanders managed lone changeable astatine Manuel Neuer's extremity – Angus Kilkolly's debased thrust which was easy saved by the seasoned goalkeeper.
The gaping chasm betwixt the 2 sides connected the transportation is mirrored disconnected it…
Auckland reported conscionable implicit £491,700 successful gross for the past fiscal year, compared to the Bundesliga giants' £737m.
Auckland's amateur players reportedly person a wage headdress of 150 New Zealand dollars (around £66) per week, portion Harry Kane is reported to beryllium earning £400,000 per week astatine Bayern. On that basis, it would instrumentality Auckland's best-paid subordinate astir 117 years to gain Kane's play salary.
Auckland's squad is valued astatine 4.58m euros (around £3.9m) by Transfermarkt, portion Bayern's is valued astatine 903.5m euros (around £769m).
Oceania's sole representatives astatine the tournament, Auckland are getting £2.6m successful prize wealth for taking part, portion European clubs – including Bayern – basal to gain betwixt £9.9m and £29.6m.
Bayern are presently ranked sixth successful Opta's Power Rankings – a planetary squad ranking strategy – but Auckland are down successful 5,074th, implicit 2,500 places beneath English National League broadside York City.
The adjacent lowest-ranked squad successful the Club World Cup are UAE outfit Al Ain, who beryllium 625th.
While Bayern boast immoderate of the biggest names successful satellite football, Auckland's squad includes a superior schoolhouse teacher, an security broker, a barber, a income typical astatine Coca-Cola, a car retailer, and respective students.
Remarkably, Auckland left-back Nathan Lobo, 22, volition person to beryllium a assemblage exam from his edifice country during the competition.
Dream oregon embarrassing? New format faces scrutiny
Fifa's determination to grow the Club World Cup from 7 to 32 teams this summertime has already sparked ineligible complaints from players' national Fifpro and the World Leagues Association.
But the gulf successful people betwixt Bayern and Auckland connected Sunday is apt to rise further questions astir the caller format of the competition.
Winners of the Oceania Champions League successful each of the past 4 years, Auckland person made it to the tourney connected that merit. Indeed, the New Zealanders are appearing successful the contention for the 12th clip – much than immoderate different side.
However, whether they should beryllium successful the aforesaid radical arsenic a nine of Bayern's stature is different matter.
In past year's Fifa Intercontinental Cup, which comprised six teams and efficaciously replaced the Club World Cup successful 2024, Auckland were thumped 6-2 by Al Ain successful a preliminary play-off.
And successful the last seven-team Club World Cup successful 2023, they mislaid 3-0 to Saudi nine Al-Ittihad successful the opening game.
"These games are truthful peculiar for Auckland City," said erstwhile England midfielder Anita Asante, who was co-commentating connected the crippled for Channel 5. "These guys are heroes to tons of budding shot stars successful New Zealand."
Fans pursuing BBC Sport's unrecorded substance sum of the crippled were little enamoured by Sunday's mismatch:
Sean: Watching Bayern teardrop isolated a clump of part-timers is conscionable not it and the sooner FIFA realise it, the better. This isn't amusement astatine all, let's not kid ourselves otherwise.
Sam: I cognize Bayern didn't take who they play, but I bash consciousness possibly putting retired this 11 was possibly not the astir sporting happening to do. This lucifer makes uncomfortable viewing.
Neil: But for anyone connected with Auckland City, this is 1 the champion days of their footballing lives.
Richard: Isn't that what a pre-season affable is for, not a contention with a prize of £100m for the winners?
Was determination immoderate sympathy for the New Zealanders from their opponents?
Asked aft the last whistle whether helium felt for Auckland, Michael Olise simply replied: "No."
So however did Auckland qualify?
The lone OFC squad competing successful the Club World Cup, Auckland qualified for the Club World Cup arsenic the champion OFC Champions League winners implicit the ranking play betwixt 2021 and 2024.
They person dominated their continental contention successful caller years, winning it 13 times since 2006.
They won 4 and drew 1 of their 5 games successful the astir caller variation of the tournament, scoring 13 goals and conceding conscionable twice.
Reflecting connected Sunday's defeat, Auckland's interim manager Ivan Vicelich said: "This [result] is the world of shot against 1 of the world's apical teams.
"It's a imagination for players coming from an amateur level to play successful this environment. We knew it was going to beryllium a precise hard game, playing against 1 of the apical teams successful the satellite – perchance 1 of the favourites – truthful we're conscionable truly arrogant of the players' efforts."
Bayern brag Vincent Kompany added: "We person to stay modest, but it was important to beryllium capable to accidental that we took the crippled seriously.
"It was a bully archetypal lucifer astatine the tournament, but of people challengers are going to turn and it's going to go much difficult."
The Bundesliga champions instrumentality connected Argentine giants Boca Juniors successful their adjacent Group C brushwood connected Friday section successful Miami (Saturday 02:00 BST).
"A accepted crippled from Europe against a accepted squad from South America – adjacent if I weren't Bayern coach, I'd person attended this game," said Kompany. "It volition beryllium special."
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