England's Manchester United youth squad clinched the title at the inaugural Champions Youth Cup beating Italy's Juventus 1-0 in the final at Malaysia's National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. Febian Brandy scored the solitary goal when he outplayed two Juventus defenders and fired a left foot grounder that beat Juventus' keeper Giorgio Merlano in the 50th minute. Manchester United, the runner-up in Group C, collected six points from two wins and lost one. And, at the knock-out stages, they demolished Spain's Barcelona 1-0 (quarter-finals) and Brazil's Flamengo 2-1 (semi-finals). The tournament's runner-up, Juventus who were also the runner-up in Group B collected five points from one win and two draws, while at an all-Italian affair knock-out stage matches, Juventus beat Inter Milan 2-0 in the quarter-final and AC Milan 2-1 in the semi-final matches. Brazilian side Flamengo beat AC Milan of Italy 3-1 for third placing.
The CYC was initiated by the G-14, a lobby group of Europe's 18 most powerful football clubs, as an U-19 competition for members. However, after objections by the world football body, FIFA, CYC 2007 was expanded to include five non G-14 clubs and national teams, Boca Juniors, Flamengo, Chelsea, Qatar and hosts Malaysia. The tournament was organised by the secretive UK firm Gifted Group Ltd and the Malaysian Sports and Tourism ministries were the main sponsors, having paid RM17 million (approximately US$5 million) to stage the event as part of the country’s 50th Independence Day celebrations.
The CYC was initiated by the G-14, a lobby group of Europe's 18 most powerful football clubs, as an U-19 competition for members. However, after objections by the world football body, FIFA, CYC 2007 was expanded to include five non G-14 clubs and national teams, Boca Juniors, Flamengo, Chelsea, Qatar and hosts Malaysia. The tournament was organised by the secretive UK firm Gifted Group Ltd and the Malaysian Sports and Tourism ministries were the main sponsors, having paid RM17 million (approximately US$5 million) to stage the event as part of the country’s 50th Independence Day celebrations.