For some, the FIFA Confederations Cup is nothing more than a glorified friendly tournament played between the six champions of the various confederations, the World Cup champions and the host nation. It’s basically the UEFA Champions League of international football but the tournament fails to live up to the same lofty standards.
For others, it is a welcome relief during a summer where there is nothing more to do but wait for transfer stories. Any kind of football will do and, when some teams send their big stars, it does give the tournament some sort of allure.
Started in 1992, this will be the 10th edition of the Confederations Cup as Russia welcomes Germany, Portugal, Chile, Mexico, Australia, Cameroon and New Zealand. And along the way, a number of records have been set.
1) Most titles won
Teams participating in the 2017 edition can forget about trying to break this record. Brazil have won this tournament four times – more times than any other international team. The Selecao won the tournament in 1997, 2005, 2009 and the most recent one in 2013 (on home soil).
They have also reached the most number of finals (5 finals). The only time they failed to win the final was in 1999 when a second-string side lost 4-3 to Mexico in a game that swung like a pendulum thanks to six goals in 35 minutes.
Mexico is the only other participating team to have won the trophy. And even if they do win the competition, they will only tie France with two trophy wins. Les Bleus had won the title back in 2001 and 2003.
Verdict: Unbreakable
2) Most goals by a player in a single tournament
The first two editions of the tournament in 1992 and 1995 saw only four and eight matches in total respectively – hardly any game time to score a few goals. Which is why Argentina’s Gabriel Batistuta (2 goals) and Mexico’s Luis Garcia (3 goals) walked away with the Golden Boot without really troubling defences.
However, since the 1997 edition, there have been 16 games in total as eight teams were included. That’s three group stage matches, a semi-final and either a third-place playoff or final – six games to bang in a few goals and deservedly win the Golden Boot.
The current record is held by Brazilian striker Romario who scored 7 goals in the 1997 edition that was held in Saudi Arabia (sadly, he was unfit for the World Cup in 1998). In second place is Ronaldinho with 6 goals in 1999. The lowest number of goals scored to win the prize in the 16-game edition was 2 goals scored by Rober Pires for France in 2001.
Can Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo or Chile’s Alexis Sanchez win it this time?
Verdict: Breakable
| YEAR | PLAYER | COUNTRY | GOALS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Romario | Brazil | 7 |
| 1999 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | 6 |
| 2005 | Adriano | Brazil | 5 |
| 2009 | Luis Fabiano | Brazil | 5 |
| 2013 | Fernando Torres | Spain | 5 |
3) Most goals by a single player overall
Since some teams almost perennially win their continental tournaments, they happen to make more than one or two appearances in the Confederations Cup. It’s one of the reasons why Brazilians have walked away with the Golden Boot in four of the last nine Confederations Cups having qualified either by winning the World Cup of the Copa America.
It’s the same case with Mexico who have won the CONCACAF Championship seven times since 1993. And more recently, Spain’s domination in Europe saw them make qualify on more than one occasion.
It comes as no surprise then that the top goalscorers are from these three countries. The record for the highest goalscorer in Confederations Cup history is held by two players – Mexico’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Brazil’s Ronaldinho – both of whom scored 9 goals overall.
Spanish striker Fernando Torres came close but is stuck on 8 goals. Brazil’s Adriano and Romario finished on 7 goals each.
Verdict: Breakable but improbable
| # | PLAYER | COUNTRY | GOALS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuauhtemoc Blanco | Mexico | 9 |
| Ronaldinho | Brazil | 9 | |
| 3 | Fernando Torres | Spain | 8 |
| 4 | Adriano | Brazil | 7 |
| Romario | Brazil | 7 |
4) Most hat-tricks in the tournament (and most goals in a game)
There has been a total of 12 hat-tricks in Confederations Cup history. The first two editions did not see a single hat-trick and it wasn’t until 1997 that we saw the first one.
Czech Republic midfielder Vladimir Smicer scored three past a hapless United Arab Emirates in a 6-1 rout back in the group stage of the 1997 edition and it wasn’t even the most memorable one in that tournament. The final saw Brazil beat Australia 6-0 with both Ronaldo and Romario scoring three goals each (although Ronaldo’s third goal was a penalty).
The other players to score hat-tricks in the tournament are Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Mexico), Marzouk Al-Otaibi (Saudi Arabia), Ronaldinho (Brazil), Luciano Figueroa (Argentina), Fernando Torres and David Villa (both Spain), Nnamdi Oduamadi (Nigeria) and Abel Hernandez (Uruguay).
However, only one player has scored two hat-tricks in the tournament’s history – Fernando Torres. The Spaniard scored three past New Zealand in just 11 minutes in a 5-0 win in 2009 before scoring four past poor Tahiti in a 10-0 win in 2013. Villa was the other Spaniard who grabbed a hat-trick in the same game as they tore the Tahiti defence apart.
Torres and Hernandez (also against Tahiti) are also the only players to score four goals in a game.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored five hat-tricks this season with Real Madrid and Portugal, including trebles against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid (twice). Can he score at least three in Russia?
Verdict: Breakable
5) Average attendance at the stadiums
Now, this is a record for the fans. However, it will be impossible to break the record in this edition in Russia. Only one of the four stadiums actually has a capacity that is greater than the highest average attendance for a Confederations Cup tournament.
Back in 1999, the Confederations Cup was held in Mexico. Only two stadiums hosted the 16 games with teams in both groups playing all their group stage matches at a single stadium. The two stadiums that hosted the matches were Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara (capacity of 66,700) and the legendary Estadio Azteca (capacity of 115,000) – the stadium where Diego Maradona scored both the ‘Hand of God’ goal and the ‘Goal of the Century’ in the 1986 World Cup.
Thus, the average attendance in the 1999 edition was a massive 60,625! In contrast, the 2013 edition in Brazil was only 50,291 even though the South American nation is home to the Estadio Maracana (76,804) and the Estadio Mineirao (62,547).
Russia’s biggest stadiums is the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg (68,134) while the rest in Moscow, Kazan and Sochi are between 45K to 47K. The most they can achieve is third place on the list – if they manage to fill their stadiums.
Verdict: Unbreakable
Also read: 5 big names who will miss the 2017 Confederations Cup
