TOYOTA, Japan — Corinthians defender Alessandro insists the Copa Libertadores winners won't be taking African champion Al-Ahly lightly when the two teams meet in the semifinals of the Club World Cup. The Brazilian giants head into Wednesday's semifinal as the overwhelming favorites but don't have to look far back in tournament to know upsets can happen. In the 2010 tournament, TP Mazembe became the first African team to reach the Club World Cup final when it beat Copa Libertadores winner Internacional 2-0 in the semis. “We don't have any leeway to think about the final yet,” Alessandro said Tuesday. “We have to focus on the game tomorrow and respect the teams that made it to this tournament.” Corinthians won the Club World Cup in 2000 and arrive in Japan having become the first unbeaten Copa Libertadores champions since 1978, recording eight wins and six draws on the way to the title. They are seeking to become the first side other than Barcelona to win the competition for a second time. The winner of Wednesday's match will face the winner of Thursday's other semifinal between European champion Chelsea and CONCACAF champion Monterrey of Mexico. Corinthians coach Tite is now in his second stint at the club, having made his return in the second half of 2010. Only three players have left the side that won the continental crown: defender Leandro Castan, midfielder Alex and striker Liedson. Signed to replace them were central defender Anderson Polga, midfielder Juan Martinez and striker Paolo Guerrero. A team from South American hasn't won this tournament since Brazil's Internacional upset Barcelona 1-0 in the 2006 final. There is a large Japanese-Brazilian community working in the automobile factories near Toyota. Along with the large contingent of Corinthian fans that traveled from Brazil they will make the South American champions the crowd favorite as well. “There are high expectations from our fans,” Tite said. “We have one million of them and need to keep them happy. Some have left their jobs and families to be here so we need to perform well for them.” African champion Al-Ahly advanced to Wednesday's match after beating Japanese side Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 in the quarterfinals. The Egyptian side is appearing in its fourth Club World Cup. “I've not had much time yet to really study Corinthians, but my team put in a really good performance against Sanfrecce and now we've got to turn our focus to the Brazilian side,” Al-Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry said. Bragging rights on the line in Asian showdown Asian bragging rights will be at stake when South Korean side Ulsan Hyundai face Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima in a potentially feisty Club World Cup clash Wednesday. The prize for the winner of the match between AFC Champions League holder Ulsan and the J-League winner in Toyota will be fifth place at the intercontinental tournament after their quarterfinal defeats Sunday. “There's a big rivalry here and we want to show that Japan's football is better than Korea's,” Hiroshima winger Mihael Mikic said. “We play good football and they (Ulsan) play physical, even a little dirty,” the former Croatia youth international added, adding some spice to the build-up to the game. The match comes after tensions surfaced between the national teams of the two countries, giants of Asian football, at the London Olympics. Last week FIFA suspended South Korean's Park Jong-woo for two international matches over a post-match political gesture at the Games. Park, who was also fined, had been excluded from the awards ceremony for his country's bronze medal win in August after he held up a sign reading “Dokdo is our land” while celebrating the Korean team's 2-0 victory over Japan. On Sunday, Ulsan lost 3-1 to CONCACAF winners Monterrey from Mexico in the Club World Cup quarterfinals and Hiroshima crashed out 2-1 to African champions Al-Ahly of Egypt. — Agencies
