• Stephen Warnock has been speaking to FIFA

• Former defender reflects on playing in the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup final

• He discusses facing Sao Paulo’s “free-kick guy”

In December 2005, Liverpool travelled to the other side of the world with one aim: complete club football. Possessing a trophy cabinet that could rival any in the world of sport, the FIFA Club World Cup™ was the one jewel that required adding to the Reds' glittering crown.

Following a famous comeback victory over AC Milan in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, the Merseysiders booked their place at a first Club World Cup in Japan. Rafa Benitez's side made the trip not only looking to complete their own trophy set, but become the first European side to win the competition.

"He [Benitez] always wanted to win everything, he wanted to be the first Liverpool team to win it," former Reds defender Stephen Warnock, who played at the tournament, told FIFA.

"We knew there was a chance for a little bit of history to be made. When you're involved in it and you’re going all the way out to Japan, you're there to win it."

A 3-0 victory over Costa Rican side Saprissa eased Liverpool into the final, where Brazilian heavyweights Sao Paulo lay in wait. Despite not playing in the first match at the tournament, Warnock, much to his surprise, was thrust into the starting spotlight.

"That was one of the things about playing for Rafa Benitez, he never gave anything away," Warnock said. "I didn’t have a clue because I didn’t play in the semi-final. I thought, 'He’s going to pick John Arne Riise or someone else to play in that position'. Luckily, I got the call to be involved to start the game."

Liverpool and Warnock entered the relative unknown. While the Tricolour Paulista are a club who transcend the sport, very little video analysis was available for Benitez - who was famously meticulous in his preperation - and the team to work with. Despite Liverpool going into the game as favourites, Warnock believes it somewhat levelled the playing field.

"It’s a little bit different, it shows how football has changed in the space of 20 years. We couldn’t watch videos of Sao Paulo, we couldn’t watch games and do our homework on them and their style of play.

"It does bring the goalposts closer to both teams, it makes it a bit more even - the unknown of who you're coming up against. But that’s part of the fun of it - It’s always good to test yourself against different opposition

"The biggest thing for me was going up against Sao Paulo - one of the great names of world football - and playing against Rogerio Ceni [Sao Paulo's set-piece-taking goalkeeper and captain]. It was almost an unknown quantity. The goalkeeper comes up and takes free-kicks and stuff like that, which was a a bit of a surprise. It was like, ‘What’s going on here?’"

Ceni, as it happened, was kept busy in the Brazilian's net. Liverpool had 21 shots on goal with eight on target, and saw three goals ruled out on the night. But down the other end, just one of Sao Paulo's two shots on target - a 27th-minute strike by Carlos Mineiro - would prove enough to ensure that Liverpool's maiden Club World Cup voyage ended in a gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat.

"I was distraught after the game," Warnock, who played 79 minutes of the final, admitted. "It was arguably the biggest game of football I’ve ever played in - it’s the Club World Cup.

"In the context of the game, we'd played very well. I remember sitting in the changing rooms absolutely devastated that I hadn’t won the competition. It meant a lot to me and I think it meant a lot to the other players as well."

Despite that crushing disappointment, Warnock reflects on his time at the tournament with fondness: "It was an incredible memory. When I look back, it’s an absolute honour to think about the players who’ve played in the Club World Cup final. There’s not many who can put that on a CV and say that they’ve played in one.

"You always know the size of the club but when you go to Japan, you wonder what level it’s at heading out that way. It was just incredible how well-supported Liverpool were out there. The actual experience of the competition was one that I was delighted to be involved in, being a Liverpool fan."

Some 14 years later, though, following Warnock's retirement after more than 450 professional games, he was able write a far happier chapter in his own Club World Cup tale.

"I remember going out to do the commentary for the BBC when Liverpool won it [in 2019 against Flamengo], and even being involved in those games from that point of view was huge.

"I think the way the South American countries treat it - having seen it first-hand - tells you the magnitude of the trophy, what it’s about, what it means. They love getting one over the Europeans, which is understandable! They want to show that their football is better than European football. For me, it’s a great competition."

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