Real Madrid will begin their assault on the final piece of silverware of 2016 with Mexican outfit Club America set to be a major obstacle when the two sides meet on Thursday.
Since taking over as coach in January following the sacking of Rafa Benitez, Zinedine Zidane has only suffered two defeats, including a 2-0 loss to Wolfsburg in April.
Since then, Los Blancos have embarked on a 35-match unbeaten streak and have added an 11th UEFA Champions League title and a UEFA Super Cup to their trophy cabinet.
Victory at Yokohama Stadium at the semi-final stage as well as the final on Sunday would see the Merengues cap off an almost perfect 12 months and cement themselves as the best club in the world in 2016.
Real Madrid, despite some evident weaknesses such as their inability to be more decisive in crunch matches, have shown in the past month against Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Sporting CP, and Borussia Dortmund that they have the ability to snuff out results even when far from their best.
As for Cristiano Ronaldo, the attacker who has now claimed his fourth Ballon d'Or title, will undoubtedly be spurred by the opportunity to win his fourth piece of silverware of the year after winning the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the European Championship.
Standing in their way first up, though, are the Mexican giants Club America, who have made a name for themselves for their exciting brand of attacking football under coach Ricardo La Volpe.
Nevertheless, with the side heading into the competition with such high confidence, Real Madrid could prove to be a class above the rest as they seek to put the cherry on top of a great year.