That triumph came 14 years after Liverpool’s previous Club World Cup campaign, when Rafael Benitez’s Reds lost 1-0 to Brazilian club Sao Paulo despite dominating much of the final in Yokohama, Japan.
Benitez’s team, who had qualified for the 2005 tournament via their incredible Champions League final victory in Istanbul, had coasted past Costa Rican outfit Deportivo Saprissa 3-0 in the semi-finals.
In its previous guise as the Intercontinental Cup, the competition had been a one-off tie that pitted the champions of Europe against their South American counterparts.
Having elected against competing after winning the European Cup in 1977 and 1978, Liverpool first took part in 1981 when they played against Flamengo in Tokyo. On that occasion the Brazilians ran out 3-0 victors.
After again lifting the European Cup three years later, the Reds returned to the Japanese capital for the 1984 Intercontinental Cup but this time were beaten 1-0 by Argentinian side Independiente.
