Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira said after qualifying for the FIFA Club World Cup final that his team arrives with a very clear purpose, to win. The Portuguese saw his team defeat Al Ahly (Egypt), this Tuesday (8) at Al Nahyan Stadium, in Abu Dhabi (UAE), in the semifinals of the competition.
Now, Verdão awaits the winner of Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) and Chelsea (England), who play this Wednesday (9), to find out who will be their opponent in the big decision, scheduled for Saturday (12).
What was the score of the game, Atuesta? ?#AvantiPalestra #PALxAHL#JuntosPeloBi pic.twitter.com/BfA2nernPE
— SE Palmeiras (@Palmeiras) February 9, 2022
“How do you prepare for the next opponent. First […] it’s doing our job, doing what it took to be in the final. And that’s what our purpose is. We have a very clear purpose, is to win. This is more difficult. I don’t know if we’re going to win, but this is our purpose, it’s to win,” said Abel Ferreira at a press conference.
However, to reach the world title, the coach says he has to deal with an invisible opponent, nervousness: “Every final we go, the butterflies we have in our belly [nervosismo] are exactly the same. And don’t think it will be different now, be less nervous, it will be exactly the same”.
The Portuguese, however, says that one of the keys to reaching the highest position on the podium is to have faith that, regardless of the opponent, the title can be achieved: “It was with this intention [de ganhar] that we came here once again to compete in the world championship with the best teams. To win. The opponent is whatever he has to be. We know that in football there are no absolutes […]. Football is not an exact science […]and therefore, before we left for this World Cup, I said that, in football and in life, everything is possible when you believe and have faith”.