On November 30, 1999, Palmeiras was defeated 1-0 by Manchester United (England), in Tokyo (Japan), in the Club World Cup final, which was still played in the old format: the so-called Intercontinental Cup, which involved only the European and South American champions. Just over 22 years later, Verdão is once again in the decision and again against an English rival. This Saturday (12), at 1:30 pm (Brasília time), Alviverde will face Chelsea at the Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium, in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), for the position of “best team in the world”.
?? It’s final day for the @Palmeiras! The three-time CONMEBOL champion #Liberators face the @ChelseaFC in the decision of @FIFAWorldCup 2021.
??? Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
⭐️ #GloriaEterna #ClubWC pic.twitter.com/jGBdxNbXfM
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) February 12, 2022
Palmeiras qualified for the decision by beating Al Ahly (Egypt) last Tuesday (8), 2-0, at the Al Nahyan stadium, also in Abu Dhabi, for one of the semifinals. The midfielder Raphael Veiga and the forward Dudu swung the nets. The following day, Chelsea beat Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) 1-0 on Saturday’s final stage, with a goal from striker Romelu Lukaku in the other clash.
The Blues reach the final as favourites. The squad of the current winner of the Champions League is valued by Transfermarkt, a website specializing in football finance, at 883 million euros (R$ 5.2 billion, at the current price). It is the third most expensive team in the Premier League. Palmeiras, on the other hand, is worth 180.1 million euros (just over R$ 1 billion). The market value of the team alviverde – which is the highest in South America – is only ahead of three clubs in the English first division (Norwich City, Burnley and Watford).
In the current format of the World Cup, in force since 2005, it is the first time that Verdão reaches the decision. Last year, the Paulistas fell in the semifinals, defeated by Tigres (Mexico) by 1-0, in Doha (Qatar). Chelsea was a finalist in 2012, in Japan. In the semifinal, in Yokohama, the Blues beat Monterrey (Mexico), 3-1, but were surpassed by Corinthians in the final. The English team lost 1-0 at the same place, with a goal from forward Paolo Guerrero.
1️⃣9️⃣9️⃣9️⃣??✈️??2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣??✈️??
? This love for @Palmeiras knows no borders. ? Super fan Andre Vasconcellos is visualizing how the superheroes in green lift the #ClubWC trophy.
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 11, 2022
If they are champions this Saturday, Palmeiras will put an end to the discussion, provoked by rivals, that the club would not have the world title, unlike rivals Corinthians, São Paulo and Santos. Verdão maintains that the 1951 Rio Cup, which he won, was the first Club World Cup and that the competition was treated as such at the time – including by the press.
The International Football Federation (Fifa) came to recognize the feat and then went back, approving only the winners of the Intercontinental Cup (held between 1960 and 2004) as world champions. However, in texts published on the official website since last year, the entity itself treats Copa Rio as the “first world championship for clubs”.
90 MINUTES IN SEARCH OF BI! WE WILL PLAY TOGETHER AGAIN! TODAY IS PALM TREES DAY AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! ?⚪#AvantiPalestra #CHExPAL#JuntosPeloBi pic.twitter.com/Ax1NIzxvLr
— SE Palmeiras (@Palmeiras) February 12, 2022
Coach Abel Ferreira will have the 23 players registered for the World Cup at his disposal. The coach must repeat the formation of the debut, with Weverton; Marcos Rocha, Gustavo Gómez, Luan and Joaquín Piquerez; Danilo, Zé Rafael and Gustavo Scarpa; Raphael Veiga, Dudu and Rony.
At Chelsea, the news is that Thomas Tuchel will again be at the head of the team. The coach contracted the new coronavirus (covid-19), did not travel with the delegation and had to wait for the negative result to board to Abu Dhabi. The expectation is that the English will act with Edouard Mendy; Reece James, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso; N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Hakim Ziyech; Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku.
