WORLD SCENE/Intercontinental Cup: At around midday today, European champions Real Madrid and South American champions Olimpia Asuncion of Paraguay will do battle for the Toyota Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, writes Paddy Agnew.

In theory, the title of World Club Champions is up for grabs. In reality, the game is little more than a Far East photo-op for some of the game's biggest names, with a dash of multi-national merchandising thrown-in.

In today's ever more globalised football world, the Intercontinental Cup is something of an anachronism. When Real Madrid (yes, them again) set the ball rolling to win the first Intercontinental Cup in 1960 (beating Uruguayan champions Penarol, 0-0 and 5-1), no one thought there was anything remotely untoward about labelling the clash between the European and South American champions the "World Club Cup".

In those days, Africa, Asia and the rest of the world simply did not get a look in. Just imagine if FIFA were to propose the next World Cup finals in Germany should feature only the best of Europe and South America.

Yet, back in the old grainy black and white days, the Intercontinetal Cup did serve a sort of "window on the world" purpose.

Unlike today, when club sides all across Europe from Moscow to Middlesbrough feature Brazilian, Argentinian and other South American stars, the original Intercontinental Cups were played at a time when Europe-based South American stars such as Real's legendary Argentinian Alfredo Di Stefano were in a tiny minority.

Were the great Pele a young player today, it is simply inconceivable that he would play out almost his entire club career with Brazilian club Santos, as indeed Pele did with the exception of a brief Indian summer with the New York Cosmos in the short-lived North American Soccer League of the mid-1970s.

The novelty of the competition, allied to the strength of Brazilian and Argentinian soccer meant the game tended to be taken seriously, indeed much too seriously.

The opening decade of the World Club Cup was marked by some infamously rough, not to say dirty, encounters.

Glasgow Celtic fans of a certain age will easily recall the 1967 final against Argentinian side Racing Club.

Having won the first leg in Glasgow 1-0, Celtic were involved in a turbulent return leg which saw their goalkeeper, Ronnie Simpson, ruled out of the match when he was hit by a bottle during the warm-up. Celtic lost that leg 2-1, but the quaint rules of the competition did not allow for the away goal rule that applies in UEFA competitions today.

No, in those days, you picked up points for winning, drawing or losing and if both sides won a match, then they had to play a deciding "rubber". Celtic duly headed off to Montevideo in Uruguay for the decider which turned out be a real bruiser in which Celtic had four men sent off, while Racing Club saw two men head for the early shower.

If Racing Club were bad, the next South American finalists, Estudiantes de la Plata, were arguably much worse.

In three successive finals against Manchester United, AC Milan and Feyenoord, they became involved in celebrated kicking matches that prompted several clubs in the 1970s to opt out of the tournament.

In both 1975 and 1978, the final was simply not played because the European Champions of the day (Bayern Munich and Liverpool) graciously declined and no other club would step in instead.

In the end, the competition was saved by the intervention of Japan which in 1980 offered to stage a once-off, early December final in Tokyo.

Normality, indeed relative anonymity, has thankfully replaced vicious skulduggery and career threatening violence.

Yet, given today's crowded international calendar, one has to wonder if the competition has not outlived its usefulness.

How many people really care whether Real Madrid or Olimpia Asuncion win today?