BBC News Online's guide to the first football event of the new millennium with reports from all the matches, as well as background features on each of the eight participating sides.

The World Club Championships in Brazil feature European giants, famous names from Latin America and little-known clubs from Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Whether the clubs are known to everyone or just in their own backyards, read on for unparallelled analysis from a team of international football writers.

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Championship results

Group A match reports

• Real Madrid 3-1 Al-Nassr
• Corinthians 2-0 Raja Casablanca
• Real Madrid 2-2 Corinthians
• Raja Casablanca 3-4 Al-Nassr
• Real Madrid 3-2 Raja Casablanca
• Al-Nassr 0-2 Corinthians

Group B match reports

• Manchester United 1-1 Necaxa
• Vasco da Gama 2-0 South Melbourne
• Manchester United 1-3 Vasco da Gama
• South Melbourne 1-3 Necaxa
• Manchester United 2-0 South Melbourne
• Necaxa 1-2 Vasco da Gama

Final match reports

Third-place play-off
Real Madrid 1-1 Necaxa (4-5 on pens)

Final
Corinthians 0-0 Vasco da Gama
(4-3 on pens)

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Championship schedule

The full tournament format and match dates.

Championship group tables

First round details.

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The road to Brazil

How the eight participants from six continents across the globe came to be at the World Club Championships. For some that journey started as long ago as 1997.

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A global power struggle

The World Club Championship is the result of a major battle for influence within football's corridors of power

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Bidding for unification

Manchester United have won one world title in Tokyo - they head for Brazil seeking the undisputed crown. How is anybody going to stop them?

Also:
Ferguson: Football's King Midas
Sir Alex Ferguson, football's dominant force in 1999, is aiming to continue his remarkable winning streak with the first trophy of 2000.

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A Real sense of history

Named as Fifa's team of the 20th century, Real Madrid start the new millennium bidding to lift domestic gloom in the Spanish capital.

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Rewarding the faithful

Brazilian champions Corinthians boast some of the most fanatical fans in the world, but they have yet to achieve on the international stage.

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Football's democrats

A mould-breaking club that championed the cause of poor and black players in Brazil, Vasco da Gama have a strike force that could take the title.

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Kings of a small hill

North and central American champions Rayos del Necaxa have beaten off the US challenge and are out to prove that a Mexican team can become a global force.

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Raising the stakes

South Melbourne's participation in the World Club championship should help to raise the profile of the the game in Australia.

Also:
Melbourne keep feet on the ground
Coach Ange Postecoglou tells BBC News Online about his expectations and his excitement at being grouped with Manchester United.

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Men who did it again

A second African Champions League victory on penalties in three years has handed stubborn Raja Casablanca their shot at the big time.

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Arabian adventurers

Asian champions Al-Nassr, bank-rolled by Saudi oil sheikhs, have made a habit of drafting in overseas superstars for one-off appearances.