This week, when covering the Club World Cup, The Telegraph called Manchester City’s next opponents Fluminense a team ‘more suited to Soccer Aid’.
Needless to say, that didn’t go well with the Brazilian media, who know how hard the Rio de Janeiro club fought to win the Copa Libertadores and now dispute this title in Saudi Arabia.
As Fluminense manager Fernando Diniz today held a press conference, he was asked about the English media’s treatment, and made it clear he wasn’t happy about it. The quotes are relayed by Andrey Raychtock.
“It’s not the game result that will define whether this is right or not. We can motivate ourselves, but I don’t believe we can respond on the pitch. This is an ethical and moral mistake, it has nothing to do with football,” said Diniz in a press conference.
Quoted by Globo Esporte, the manager also talked about how much this match against Manchester City means to him.
“It’s the most important game of my life. The next game is always the most important. It also happens to be the most unique game historically. A world title decider. Against one of the best teams in the history of world football and one of the greatest managers.”
Manchester City and Fluminense play the Club World Cup final on Friday evening, and that’s a title that none of the clubs have.
In an interview with the Brazilian media this week, Pep Guardiola showed big respect for Fluminense, claiming the Brazilian club have ‘much more history’ than Manchester City and saying that will be a great challenge for the treble champions.
