FIFA Club World Cup play begins in Cincinnati Sunday with German powerhouse FC Bayern Munich. TQL Stadium is hosting 4 matches as part of the month-long tournament kicking off Saturday.
Thirty-two professional men's club soccer teams from 20 countries are participating in the tournament. It's being played across 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. cities from June 14 to July 13.
Bayern Munich open group stage play against Auckland City FC of New Zealand at noon at TQL Stadium. Ahead of the match, weekend events are planned around Downtown and Over-the-Rhine for the club, which is popular in this town with a strong German heritage.
The Bundesliga side should feel at home at TQL Stadium, whose designer said he drew inspiration from Bayern Munich's stadium, Allianz Arena.
“We're going into the tournament to play successful football,” Manuel Neuer, team captain, said in an online post from the team. "And accordingly, we obviously want to challenge for the title too. It's always very important to win the first match at these tournaments. We want to get off to a good start."
Borussia Dortmund
Another popular German team, Borussia Dortmund (BVD), is planning to paint the town black and yellow as it plays two matches in Cincinnati — Saturday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 25.
BVD Head Coach Niko Kovač spoke with media ahead of the tournament, saying the Club World Cup being in the United States is a good opportunity for the team to attract new fans here.
"We can show our brand, we can show our colors, we can show our qualities," he said. "We have very talented players. We have experienced players, and hopefully we can show the best play we are able to do. So, for us, this is a big opportunity, and I like this format."
Kovač — who was born and raised in West Germany and had a long career with the Croatia National Team — said he's aware of the large German presence in Cincinnati, but with the tournament's tight schedule, he didn't expect the team will get to do much sightseeing.
"We know that in Cincinnati, there are living a lot of Germans. Hopefully this could be also a big boost for us in these two games we are going to play there," he said.
Big name players
At least two well-known soccer players — or footballers — could see playing time in Cincinnati: Gio Reyna and Harry Kane.
Kane is arguably the biggest name player among the seven teams playing in Cincinnati. He's a striker for Bayern Munich and has captained the England National Team, where he's the country's all-time top goalscorer, a title he also holds at his former English Premier League Club, Tottenhem Hotspur.
Reyna is an American who is in the National Team pool of players and midfielder with Borussia Dortmund.
Kovač was mum on whether Reyna, who hasn't played much for Dortmund recently, would see much playing time in front of his home-country fans.
"Gio is, for sure, the player who didn't play so much, but we know exactly his strengths. We have top players here in the squad, so the conference is very big. Hopefully every player can get minutes, but I can't promise you. This is depending also on the results [and] injuries, but my ambition is to give every player minutes," he said.
Other well-known — and decorated— players include Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer, who were in the Germany squad that won the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014. The team is led by Head Coach Vincent Kompany. He spent 11 seasons with the Premier League's Manchester City, including 8 as captain.
Mamelodi Sundowns FC, which hails from Pretoria, South Africa, is bringing its star, Themba Zwane. Ulsan HD FC will have Korea Republic defender and World Cup player Kim Younggwon.
There are 40 American players across the 32 club teams in the tournament.
Club World Cup schedule at TQL Stadium
Sunday, June 15 – 12 p.m. ET – Bayern Munich (GER) vs. Auckland City FC (NZL) – Group C
Wednesday, June 18 – 6 p.m. ET – CF Pachuca (MEX) vs. FC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) – Group H
Saturday, June 21 – 12 p.m. ET – Mamelodi Sundowns FC (RSA) vs. Borussia Dortmund (GER) – Group F
Wednesday, June 25 – 3 p.m. ET – Borussia Dortmund (GER) vs. Ulsan HD FC (KOR) – Group F
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