Wily coach Henk ten Cate - a former assistant to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona - has played up to the role of underdog. Brazil's Gremio - the winners of the Copa Libertadores - will await in the final on Saturday.Īl Jazira ground their way to the semifinal stage with consecutive 1-0 victories against Auckland City and Urawa Reds. Madrid will get their tournament underway against local side Al Jazira on Wednesday evening. Yet anything but victory constitutes an upset. The tournament arrives at an inopportune point of the season, when bodies are tired and minds are elsewhere. ![]() The Club World Cup can be a thankless task for the European representatives, precisely because they are expected to win. That may be the reality, but it is not necessarily the perception. "It's not going to be easy," he warned, "we're not going to have easy matches and we're not going to win just because we're Real Madrid." Zinedine Zidane calmed expectations upon arrival in Abu Dhabi. ![]() With prudent squad rotation, the Club World Cup will provide an opportunity to keep those players ticking over ahead of El Clasico. Sergio Ramos, Casemiro, Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, and Gareth Bale watched from the stands due to a combination of suspension and injury. Madrid travelled east on the back of a scintillating 5-0 victory over Sevilla at the Bernabeu. Madrid can come out of it reinforced," he suggested.įor all of the tournament's flaws, his point holds weight. "Winning trophies can bring this extra boost, the extra vitamins that the team needs sometimes during a season. Yet Salgado offered some insight beyond the bluster. The Champions League is the crowning glory and the Club World Cup is the obligation that follows.įormer Real Madrid right-back Michel Salgado has stated "the tournament merits attention," which comes as little surprise given the 42-year-old's twin ambassadorial roles for both the Club World Cup itself, and La Liga in the United Arab Emirates. The globalisation of football has, paradoxically, hauled talented players to Europe from across the world, like iron filings attracted to a lucrative magnet. That prestige has faded in to the mists of time, in Europe at least. The Club World Cup of yesteryear may not have been a fluffy advertisement for fair play. There was spitting, cynical fouls, and in the second leg at El Cilindro, Celtic 'keeper Ronnie Simpson was substituted after receiving a blow to the head - reportedly a stone fired from a catapult in the heaving tide of supporters behind the goal. Pele later cited his performance in that match as one of the best of his career.Ĭeltic travelled to Buenos Aires five years later to joust with Racing Club in a match marred by the dark arts. Two evocative teams spearheaded by two of the best players of all time. The 1962 final pitted Santos against Benfica, and Pele against Eusebio. ![]() It was known as the Intercontinental Cup in that era, contested by the champions of Europe and South America. The competition flourished in its nascent years in the 1960s. Because victory in the Club World Cup could turn an energy-sapping mid-season obligation into a foundation for momentum after the winter break. The trick for Madrid is not minding the distraction. The Club World Cup is a distraction, an irritation. Upon their return to Spain, they will face their Catalan rivals in a high-pressure Clasico on Dec. Real Madrid have jetted to Abu Dhabi to defend the FIFA Club World Cup, leaving behind a La Liga table in which they sit eight points behind leaders Barcelona. "The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts." "Certainly it hurts," responds Lawrence, sagely. "Ooh, it damn well hurts!," he winces, frantically shaking his hand. When he thinks Lawrence is looking away, Potter surreptitiously tries to repeat the trick himself. Corporal William Potter looks on with a puzzled expression. Lawrence - lights a cigarette and proceeds to nonchalantly extinguish the match between his thumb and his forefinger. There is a scene in the iconic 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia in which the protagonist - T.E. ![]() Real Madrid must view Club World Cup as a springboard not a distraction You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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