Abu Dhabi: While some may question the relevance of Club World Cup silverware to Spanish giants Real Madrid, there is plenty at stake of the Zinedine Zidane and his boys in Abu Dhabi.
Real want to defend the title and add another Club World Cup trophy to their cabinet for a reason and this showpiece event will be very much like winning La Liga or the Uefa Champions League crowns.
If Los Blancos claim this title they will be securing their third title of the season, having already claimed the Uefa Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup.
But it doesn’t end there as coach Zinedine Zidane is also in line for a slice of history if his side goes on to lift the Club World Cup title in Abu Dhabi. He will be proclaimed as the first coach from the Bernabeu to lift five trophies in a ‘calendar year’ after having won La Liga, Spanish Super Cup, Champions League and Uefa Super Cup in 2016.
“It will not be easy and last year we had a lot of problems before we managed to win it,” said Zidane.
“There will not be easy games and for just being Real Madrid we are not going to win. We have time to prepare for the game and there are no excuses.” If Real end up beating Emirati outfit Al Jazira in the semi-final on Wednesday, they will be making their 12th consecutive international final appearance. And a win in the summit clash would ensure Real’s 17-year unbeaten run in finals is intact — their last loss in a final had come in the Intercontinental Cup way back in 2000 against Boca Juniors.
“This is the calendar and whoever we face we need to look at doing what we have to do well,” said Zidane. “It is normal that during the season you have ups and downs, but what we have done so far is very positive. We have won two titles and we are trying to win a third.”
Real’s star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, coming on the back of winning the Ballon d’Or, also has lot of motivation to do well. He has a hat-trick of titles to aim for and can take a shot at being the top scorer in the history of the tournament. Ronaldo has won his first Club World Cup title with Manchester United in 2008 and again with Real last year.
In the goal scoring charts, Ronaldo is tied on five goals with Barcelona’s Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo scored his first goal of the tournament with Manchester United and rest came last year when the tournament was held in Yokohama, Japan.
Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos can also take a shot at joining Messi in the best players award list.
Messi had won the Golden Ball twice — once in 2009 when the tournament was held in UAE and in 2011 in Japan. Ronaldo won the Golden Ball in 2016 while Ramos picked it up in 2014.
If Real go on to win the title they will also catch their arch-rivals Barcelona, who have three Club World Cup titles (2009, 2011, 2015). Real and Corinthians of Brazil have won the title twice.
Real midfielder Toni Kroos has been a part of the Club World Cup title-winning team on three occasions and is currently tied with Barca’s Messi, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta.
Kroos has won the tournament once with Bayern Munich and twice with Real. A win here and Kroos will have his fourth title in five years, a stunning achievement for the German.
Then again Real’s biggest lure to go all out and win the title is the pay-cheque up for grabs — a whopping Dh95.2 million.
