Marrakech (Morocco): Bayern Munich resisted the pressure of fanatic home crowds and beat the host side Raja Casablanca 2-0 on Saturday to win the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time.
Dante and Thiago’s quickfire shots just after 22 minutes helped the reigning European, Bundesliga and German Cup, Super Cup champions pass the test of the dark horse, claiming their fifth trophy in a harvest year of 2013.
Raja Casablanca, who owe their play-off place as the host team thanks to their 2012/13 Moroccan league championship win, stunned a series of big teams before finishing in second place, which is the best result for an African club in this event.
Dubbed the Green Eagles, they won the play-off match to reach the quarterfinal by a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Auckland City FC, the Oceania kings. Then they rallied to upset Monterrey and Atletico Mineiro in a row to book the final meet with Bayern.
The Raja fans also impressed the tournament with their passionate supports in the always green-colour-packed stadiums behind their team.
Meanwhile, in the German Bundesliga, Santiago Garcia’s winner inflicted a second straight loss on Bayer Leverkusen, while Berlin came from behin to surprise Borussia Dortmund 2-1 thanks to Sami Allagui.
Because of their defeats on Saturday, second-placed Leverkusen and third-positioned Dortmund lost ground to league leaders Bayern Munich.
Leverkusen closed the year with a setback as Werder Bremen clinched an unexpected 1-0 win owing to the winner by Garcia. (IANS)
