text: 2005 fifa club world championship final the 2005 fifa club world championship final was a football match played between são paulo of brazil , the conmebol club champions , and liverpool of england , the uefa club champions , on 18 december 2005 at the international stadium , yokohama , japan . it was the final match of the 2005 fifa club world championship , a competition for the winners of the primary cup competitions of fifa 's continental members . the club world championship replaced the intercontinental cup , which both teams had competed in before . são paulo had won the intercontinental cup twice in 1992 and 1993 , while liverpool had lost twice in 1981 and 1984 . the teams qualified for the championship by winning their continent 's primary cup competition . são paulo won the 2005 copa libertadores , defeating brazilian team atlético paranaense 5 – 1 . liverpool won the 2004 – 05 uefa champions league , defeating italian team milan 3 – 2 in a penalty shootout after the match had finished 3 – 3 . both teams played one match in the championship en route to the final . são paulo beat 2005 afc champions league winners al - ittihad 3 – 2 , while liverpool beat 2005 concacaf champions ' cup winners deportivo saprissa 3 – 0 . watched by a crowd of 66 , 821 , são paulo took the lead in the first half when mineiro scored . liverpool missed a number of chances to equalise in the first half . in the second half they had the majority of the possession and also had three goals disallowed . despite all their chances they were unable to score against são paulo who held on to win the match 1 – 0 . match background são paulo qualified for the fifa club world championship as the reigning copa libertadores winners . they had won the 2005 copa libertadores beating atlético paranaense 5 – 1 over two - legs in the final . it would be são paulo 's first appearance in the competition , although they had won the forerunner to the competition , the intercontinental cup twice , in 1992 and 1993 . liverpool had qualified for the club world championship as a result of winning the 2004 – 05 uefa champions league . they beat italian team milan 3 – 2 in a penalty shootout after the match had finished 3 – 3 . like são paulo , liverpool were competing in the competition for the first time , although they had appeared twice in the intercontinental cup , losing in 1981 and 1984 . both teams entered the competition in the semi - finals . são paulo 's opponents were the winners of the 2005 afc champions league , al - ittihad . a 3 – 2 victory with two goals from amoroso and a penalty from goalkeeper rogério ceni ensured são paulo 's progression to the final . liverpool faced 2005 concacaf champions ' cup winners deportivo saprissa . they won the match 3 – 0 , peter crouch scored twice and steven gerrard also scored as liverpool reached the final . both teams were well into their respective domestic competitions . são paulo 's domestic season had finished two weeks before the final . they finished the 2005 campeonato brasileiro série a in 11th position after 42 games , they won and lost 16 games each and drew 10 . liverpool were in the middle of their domestic season , they were competing in the 2005 – 06 premier league . they were second in the table and won their last match before the competition 2 – 0 , against middlesbrough . the victory meant liverpool had gone 10 matches without conceding a goal , which equalled a club record . são paulo manager paulo was adamant that his team would have to improve on their performance in the semi - final if they were to win the match : " we 're going to have to improve certain aspects of our play if we want to win the final . " was not worried about liverpool 's aerial threat , but was expecting them to keep the ball during the match : " english teams are well known for their aerial excellence , but liverpool are a side that can keep the ball very well too as they proved when winning the champions league . " liverpool manager rafael benítez would take control of the team for the final , despite the death of his father earlier in the week . benitez was confident that his liverpool team would be capable of beating são paulo : " we are playing with confidence and strength . i think we can beat anyone . " liverpool striker crouch who scored twice in the semi - final was as adamant as his manager about winning the competition . adding that " we 've not travelled all the way to japan to go sightseeing . " summary before the start of the match , a minute 's silence was held , in memory of rafa benítez 's father francesco who died of heart failure on the wednesday before the final . both teams took the pitch wearing black armbands as a mark of respect . the match was delayed further when a fan invaded the pitch , he headed for one of the goals and got stuck in the goal before being caught . são paulo lined up in a 3 – 5 – 2 formation , while liverpool opted for a 4 – 4 – 1 – 1 formation . liverpool had the first chance of the match inside the opening 79 seconds . liverpool captain steven gerrard 's cross into the penalty area was met by fernando morientes , but the striker headed wide of the goal . liverpool created more chances with luis garcía missing the goal twice from headers . são paulo had only created one chance , a shot from striker amoroso , but they began to grow in confidence . they pressed forward after amoroso 's shot and defender nearly scored with a lob from the halfway line which just went over the crossbar . são paulo 's pressure resulted in them taking the lead in the 27th minute . a chipped pass from to mineiro found the midfielder in space who put the ball beyond liverpool goalkeeper pepe reina to give the brazilians a 1 – 0 lead . it was the first goal liverpool had conceded in over 1 , 041 minutes of play . immediately afterwards , liverpool had a corner , which almost resulted in a goal . xabi alonso took the corner which found garcía , but his shot hit the woodwork . liverpool had another chance 30 minutes into the match , but again he failed to score with a header . gerrard had a chance to equalise five minutes later , but he put his shot wide after harry kewell had passed him the ball . liverpool continued to create chances and in the 39th minute garcía saw his header into the far corner saved by são paulo goalkeeper rogério ceni . from the resulting corner liverpool defender sami hyypiä shot straight at ceni . he had another chance late in the first half , but his header was saved by ceni . liverpool had the first scoring opportunity of the half , six minutes into the second half . liverpool were awarded a free - kick 25 yards from the goal . gerrard 's subsequent shot was saved by ceni . ceni made another save soon afterwards when he tipped a cross from kewell onto the crossbar . liverpool did score on the hour mark , but the goal was disallowed . garcía 's headed goal was ruled out for offside . soon afterwards morientes had another chance to score , but his overhead kick went over the crossbar . liverpool had another goal disallowed soon afterwards . alonso 's corner from which hyypiä was adjudged to have drifted out of play before the defender scored . são paulo made the first substitution of the match in the 75th minute when striker replaced . liverpool made two substitutions four minutes later in an attempt to equalise . john arne riise and florent sinama pongolle replaced stephen warnock and mohamed sissoko . they made their final substitution in the 85th minute when peter crouch replaced morientes . liverpool had a third goal disallowed in the 89th minute ; substitute sinama pongolle 's goal was disallowed after the assistant referee had flagged garcía as being offside in the build - up to the goal . liverpool had a final chance before the end of the match , but garcía put his shot wide . no further goals were scored and the referee blew for full - time with the final score 1 – 0 to são paulo . details statistics post - match much of the talk after the match centred on liverpool 's three disallowed goals . liverpool manager rafael benítez was incensed by the referee 's decisions and remonstrated with the officials after the final whistle . benitez was clear that at least one of the goals should not have been disallowed : " we knew that one of the goals was a goal , clear . " he also questioned the competency of the officials stating : " you wouldn 't get a mexican referee and a canadian linesman in the final of the world cup . " midfielder luis garcía , who had a goal disallowed , summed up the feeling in the liverpool : " we feel cheated . " são paulo goalkeeper rogério ceni was named as man of the match and also won the golden ball as the best player of the competition . ceni was gracious in receiving the awards stating : " the awards are nice to have but the win was not just about me " ceni dedicated the awards to those at the club saying : " when i look in these awards i see the faces of my team - mates , the coach and everyone involved at the club . " são paulo manager was delighted with his team after the victory and agreed with ceni that the victory was a team effort : " it was a collective victory " he also said that it was " a great achievement for the club . " goalscorer mineiro was equally overjoyed with the victory stating : " it is the happiest moment in my career . "