Inter lift Club World Cup crown
The Italians had the match in their pockets once Goran Pandev and Samuel Eto’o bagged goals in quick succession inside the opening 20 minutes at the Zayed Sports City.
Frenchman Jonathan Biabiany slid home a third to add further gloss in the closing stages as Inter succeeded last year’s winners Barcelona and added to Intercontinental Cup triumphs in 1964 and 1965 – a previous incarnation of the now expanded event.
Mazembe, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had already made history by becoming the first African team to reach the final after a 2-0 upset win over Copa Libertadores champions Internacional of Brazil in the semi-finals – the biggest surprise in the 10-year history of the event.
But wily Inter proved a bridge too far as the experienced Italians struck early as Pandev fired home a neat left-footed poke after Eto’o had helped tee him up in the 13th minute.
Cameroon star Eto’o then claimed his own piece of the limelight as he drove in an instinctive right foot drive on the turn after Champions League final hero Diego Milito had combined with Esteban Cambiasso.
Biabiany, on for Milito, bundled home the third with five minutes to go after a Stankovic chip through the middle, to ensure that a European team would take the title for the fourth consecutive time.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2010.
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