Following Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Al Hilal in the Club World Cup semifinals, the Blues now prepare to face Palmeiras in Saturday’s final.
After the game, defender Thiago Silva spoke to the Brazilian media, talking about his excitement about facing his compatriots for the title.
“Palmeiras are huge. I was happy to face them and I know the strength of this team and especially the fans. We know that with the presence of fans here, their team is much stronger. There is no favourite for this game,” Thiago Silva told Band (via Placar).
With many people in Brazil claiming Chelsea, just like other European clubs, do not care about the Club World Cup, Thiago Silva had a strong opinion on that.
The defender demanded more respect for the London side, claiming there’s a big wish from the club to win the tournament this time, especially after their defeat to Corinthians ten years ago.
“That [don’t care about the Club World Cup] doesn’t exist. Especially Chelsea, who lost this competition in 2012 to Corinthians. We know the responsibility of playing this competition. We have plenty of motivation to win this tournament. It’s a title and it’s very important, because Chelsea still don’t have it.
“People have to have more respect for Chelsea. We didn’t get here by chance, and neither did Palmeiras. We came to win. We know it won’t be easy, and Palmeiras know it too. I hope we can emerge victorious, as I lost a few times to Palmeiras. Our motivation is up there, there’s no such thing as ‘Europeans don’t care about the Club World Cup’.”
Despite that belief that Europeans don’t take the tournament seriously, this is something which is proving contrary in the past few years.
Since Chelsea’s loss in 2012, all Champions League winners ended up conquering the Club World Cup in the following editions. This may have to do with a stronger will to get the trophy, although it can also be explained by the bigger gap which exists with clubs from other continents.
