Clash of the conquerors - Two giants with five titles each, who will claim the sixth in desert?

If fans of any club could imagine a perfect year in terms of on-field success and trophy wins, it would be hard to top 2025 and what Paris Saint-Germain achieved. Years like this are truly rare, perhaps once every half-century—or even a century. But Flamengo fans could say the same—they too are enjoying an extraordinary year.

From 20.00 at the stadium in Doha, PSG has the chance to win their sixth trophy in the past 12 months, with Brazilian giant Flamengo as their opponent in the Intercontinental Cup final. Only two clubs in history have managed six trophies in a single year: Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in 2009 and the brilliant Bayern Munich team of 2020.

PSG could already have six if they had won the inaugural Club World Cup last summer, but they fell short in the final against Chelsea, leaving them with five trophies—the Ligue 1 title, Champions League, French Cup, French Super Cup, and UEFA Super Cup. This denied them the chance to set an absolute record, but few at Parc des Princes are likely upset about it.

As Champions League winners, PSG automatically qualified for the Intercontinental Cup final, while Flamengo had to start from the quarterfinals, defeating Cruz Azul 2–1 and then Egypt’s Pyramids 2–0 in the semifinals.

Everything is set for the big December spectacle in Qatar. Given their accomplishments and the sheer quality of their squad, PSG are clear favorites against an excellent Flamengo team, who last month won the Copa Libertadores and then claimed the Brazilian title. It promises to be a truly fascinating clash.

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“I think it will be an exciting final, a big final, because the two teams play very similar styles. The chance to become the third club with six trophies in a year, like Barça and Bayern? I wasn’t aware of that fact. Anyway, the chance to play in this final is already small, so we know the importance of the moment,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. The French and European champions’ manager holds Flamengo in very high regard.

“They’ve won several trophies and are in great form. I like how they play, both with and without the ball. I remember how they played last summer at the Club World Cup. Those were interesting matches, and we knew it would be tough. I played in the Intercontinental Cup ten years ago,” Enrique added, praising both the Brazilian club and South American football.

For Flamengo, under Filipe Luis, the team has become much like PSG under Enrique. In just 14 months, he has guided Flamengo to five trophies, ignited passion across the Amazon, and elevated the Rio club to the top of Brazilian and South American football. Now the goal is to add a global, planetary dimension to that success.

“Every opponent is different, but PSG is the best team in the world, as they showed by winning the Champions League. They are in the final because they are the best. With great humility, I say we will try to beat them and make history,” Luis said.

When Filipe Luis prophetically announced two years ago, upon retiring as a player, that he would one day coach Flamengo, few could have predicted what was to come. He became the first person to win the Copa Libertadores, the Brazilian league, and the cup both as a player and as a coach. As a young coach, Filipe Luis has enormous ambition.

“This team is capable of making history. I believe in them, and they all hope that it’s possible. We’ve played against strong opponents. This year has not been easy—several teams gave us real problems. The most important thing is that the team knows how to play in every phase of the game so that we can deliver a perfect performance and be capable of winning,” concluded the Flamengo coach.