The Intercontinental Cup MVPs with unusual tale

 

A few best players in the Intercontinental Cup, the predecessor of the FIFA Club World Cup, had an unusual tale in their playing careers. 

The year of 2025 marks the year of a new global competition from the world football governing body, FIFA Club World Cup. It is the expanded version from the previous edition with 32 contestants. The tournament will be held in the summer in the USA from June 14th to July 13th. It is believed to be a warm-up tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the United States is one of the joint hosts of.

With the new format, FIFA expects to elevate the prestige of this competition, despite its controversy and the criticism from the players and managers in Europe.

Prior to the FIFA Club World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup, not the FIFA one, which was held in December 2024, was considered as the one to determine the best club in the world within the calendar year. It was a one-off match between the winners of the UEFA Champions League/European Cup and Copa Libertadores, the top two highest-profile confederations in the world. It began in 1960 and ran to 2004 before FIFA took over the tournament and added up the champions from remaining confederations, CONCACAF, AFC, CAF, and OCF, to take part.

Throughout the history of this top-flight global club competition, one player has always been named the MVP, or previously man of the match, which was only officially awarded in 1980, or 20 years after the first edition. 

Those who have won the accolade most likely have great stories to share. Unfortunately, not all of them do so. These two MVPs had an unusual tale that might have stunned us all. 

Jair (MVP in 1982 edition)

He was the former attacking midfielder who was part of Internacional in the mid-1970s when they won the regional championship. Jair was one of the key men in the team alongside Falcao and Mauro Sergio and helped them reach the Copa Libertadores final in 1980 before losing to Nacional Montevideo. 

His form suddenly dipped in 1981, and he was loaned out to Cruzeiro before switching sides to Uruguayan powerhouse Penarol as part of the swap deal for their star, Ruben Paz. 

It was in Uruguay that Jair bounced back. He managed to prove his worth and helped them clinch the Copa Libertadores title in 1982 by beating Chile’s Cobreloa in the summit. The player who was nicknamed Prince Jaja became the protagonist in the Intercontinental Cup in the same year. He bagged the first goal in a 2-0 victory against Aston Villa and was named the MVP and won the big prize, a Toyota car. It was his first prestigious individual accolade in his career.

Unfortunately, his success led to the envy of his teammates, who believed that the Brazilian should have shared his prize equally. Such conflict deteriorated, and he was involved in a quarrel with them. Jair eventually had to spend his time on the bench and was left out of the squad when Penarol reached another final in the CONMEBOL top-flight club competition in 1983. Sadly, they suffered a 3-2 defeat on aggregate against Gremio.

The attacking midfielder with one international cap then moved on to Juventus SP, Ecuador’s Barcelona SC, and some other lower side teams in Brazil before hanging up his boots in 1993.  Jair Gaucho only played once for Selecao in Copa America 1979. He only stayed on the pitch for 58 minutes against Paraguay in the first leg of the semifinal before being substituted.

Matias Donnet (MVP in 2003 edition)

He was not exactly the first choice in Boca Juniors, the club Donnet played for for three years. The former versatile attacking midfielder was only the second in the pecking order behind their rising star at that time, Carlos Tevez. The ex-Venezia man did not even know if he would get a nod in the Intercontinental Cup 2003 against the favourite, AC Milan.

Rossoneri arrived in Japan confidently with the stars lining up in the squad from Dida, Gennaro Gatusso, Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Paulo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi and Andry Shevchenko. Boca, on the other hand, already lost Juan Roman Riquelme, who had plied his trade in Europe, and so did Martin Palermo. Both were the stars while Carlos Bianchi’s men snatched the Intercontinental Cup title in 2000 while thumping Real Madrid. Not to mention Marcelo Delgado, who just left La Bombonera for MX League side Cruz Azul.

Prior to the game, Bianchi had to decide who should lead the frontline. His key man, Carlos Tevez, had just been in recovery for his injury and been unable to play from the start. So in came Donnet, in the lineup. It was a surprising move from him, as he was chosen ahead of Javier Villareal to employ more marking towards AC Milan, plus he did not even feature in the Copa Libertadores final just a few weeks before.

Such a decision finally paid off as Donnet became the key figure in the match. He netted the equaliser after Boca conceded from John Dahl Tomasson, plus two shots on target. As the game went on to penalties, the former Union Santa Fe man also converted the penalty well from the spot. He was eventually named the man of the match and earned the Toyota car as the gift.

Despite his top form, Donnet did not play regularly or was merely used as a substitute. Injuries and disagreement with the management led to his short stint in La Bombonera cut short. Overall, he made only 88 appearances, registering 12 goals and seven assists.

The current Boca Juniors U20 coach then left in 2006 to join MLS side DC United, followed by a spell in Belgrano, Newell’s Old Boys, and Paraguay's Olimpia, and a return to Union Santa Fe twice. Donnet was never capped for international games throughout his career.