Auckland City weren't even coached by their normal coach, Paul Rosa, as personal circumstances kept him from heading to the United States with the team for the initial phase of the tournament, where the Navy Blues were led by a group of Adria Casals, Ivan Vicelich, Daewook Kim, and Jonas Hoffmann.

When Auckland City FC sat down to ponder their Fifa Club World Cup mission a few weeks ago, this is what they would have been dreaming about. The squad of real estate agents, teachers, sales reps, tradesmen and students would have hoped they could make a mark on the world stage – while knowing it was probably impossible.

Christian Gray, a trainee teacher at an Intermediate School in Auckland, scored in a famous draw vs. Boca Juniors.