How do Champions League winners perform at the World Cup?

It’s the Champions League Final on Saturday with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid doing battle in Lisbon – then after that all eyes will be on the World Cup.

Those looking at their World Cup betting options will be trying to find any trends or statistics that may influence their choices.

So we thought we’d delve into the past and look at how Champions League winners have fared at World Cups that have followed in the same year.

So whether you’re interested in international football spread betting or fixed odds betting, let’s see if there are any hints at what we may expect in Brazil.

World Cup 2002, Winners - Brazil
The 2002 tournament was won by Brazil who defeated Germany 2-0 in a rather uneventful final. The Brazilians featured just one reigning Champions League winner; left-back Roberto Carlos. He had triumphed six weeks earlier with Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen. Lucio, who turned out for the German runners up, found consolation at the World Cup and appeared in every match including the final. However, Real’s Spanish contingent were shocked by South Korea in the quarter-finals.

World Cup 2006, Winners - Italy
Italy managed to sneak past France in the World Cup final, thanks to a penalty-shootout. However, the Italian players had endured misery in that season’s Champions League. Juventus, who were brimming with stars like Gianluigi Buffon and Gianluca Zambrotta, were knocked out during the quarter-finals, while AC Milan, with Alessandro Nesta and Ivan Gattuso, fell at the semi-final stage.
The Champions League final saw Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1. For Thierry Henry it was double heartache losing out in both finals for club and country.

World Cup 2010, Winners - Spain
When Spain triumphed in 2010 beating the Netherlands 1-0, the team was devoid of any reigning Champions League Winners. Iniesta with teammates Xavi and Pique went out at that year’s semi-finals with Barcelona. The likes of Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas, floundered at the group stages with Real Madrid.
Interestingly, Italian players from Champions League winners, Inter experienced a hangover – Italy finished bottom of their group. Beaten finalists Bayern Munich featured Mark van Bommel and Arjen Robben, who both also went on to experience defeat in the final for Holland.

World Cup 2014, Winners?
The Champions League trophy will end up in Madrid, that much we know. But will Atletico be able to follow up their La Liga title triumph with a stunning double or will Real’s decision to rest players in the league finale pay dividends in Lisbon?
As you would expect, the two sides are full of Spanish internationals including the likes of Diego Costa, David Villa, Juanfran, Koke, Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso – so will this help or hinder Spain’s efforts in defending their world crown?
World Cup hosts and favourites Brazil will be represented in the Champions League final by Marcelo, Miranda and Filipe Luis while Portugal also have three players who are likely to be playing in both the Champions League final and World Cup in Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao. Real will also feature Argentinian (Angel Di Maria), Croatian (Luke Modric), French (Karim Benzema) and German (Sami Khedira) World Cup players. Overall it seems that European glory has had little influence on the eventual World Cup winning teams, but could that all change this year?

Whatever happens in Lisbon and Brazil, it’s sure to coincide with a surge of interest in football spread betting and fixed odds betting as punters look to get their footy fix after the end of the season.