Abu Dhabi: Nicknamed La Pantera - ‘The Panther’ – Gremio’s Argentina-born Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios is very much on the prowl ahead of their campaign in the Club World Cup and has Real Madrid in his sight.
The South American Champions, however, will have to get the winner of the Pachuca versus Wydad Casablanca clash out of their way if they have to fancy their chances of meeting Real in the final.
Barrios, Gremio’s leading goalscorer in 2017 with 18 goals in 43 appearances, revealed that their aim was to meet the Spanish giants at all cost and was also upbeat about upsetting them.
“Of course, we do want to meet Real. Even with the players they’ve got and with everything they’ve won, we’ll compete with them, if we get the chance. We haven’t come to the Club World Cup to make up the numbers. Our dream is to return home with the trophy,” said Barrios while speaking to Fifa.com after arriving in the UAE with his team on Friday.
The team headed straight to the garden city of Al Ain, where they have set base for their opening fixture on December 12.
The Brazilian club is coming into the tournament with lot of momentum behind them. They have been recently crowned Copa Libertadores champions and will be pumped up with the newly acquired Continental Champions status.
“Playing for a big club like Gremio always brings obligations with it. It’s a huge responsibility to be representing the club and South American football, but you have to live with that pressure. It’s a great responsibility to have too,” said Barrios, who asserted that his team will not be taking their opponents of the first contest lightly and will look to fulfill the expectations of their home fans.
“We know that some people are expecting us to make the final, but if we’re going to make it, we have to think about the semi-final first. That’s how we approached every tie in the Libertadores and it worked well for us,” revealed Barrios, who brushed as side that the success in the Copa Libertadores would serve as a huge advantage for his team going into the tournament.
“It’s not an advantage. The important thing in a semi-final is to be at your very best on the day,” said Barrios, who accepted that the players are a bit tired following the long season but asserted they are motivated to go on and finish off on a high.
“There is that (tired legs), but we’re so delighted at having won the Copa and reached the Club World Cup. We want to play a big part,” said the 33-year-old, who as a naturalised Paraguayan also played for his adopted country at the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.
Speaking about the strength of his side, Barrios said: “First, there’s the team, which is strong and tightly knit with no individual egos. And then there’s the fact we play better away than we do at home. That shows how mature we are as a team.”
