Al-Rayyan
Exactly thirteen years ago, since Corinthians defeated Chelsea 1-0 in Yokohama, Japan, no South American club has been able to overcome a European rival in the FIFA World Cup or Interclub Cup finals. On the eve of the confrontation between the Paris Saint-Germain and Flamengo, respectively, the champion of UEFA Champions Leagueand the winner of this year’s Copa Libertadores da América, Filipe Luísthe red-and-black coach, will try to finalize a tailored game plan so that his team can overcome a stronger opponent in this Wednesday’s duel, at the Ahmed-bin-Ali Stadium, in Al-Rayyan, Qatar. The game will be at 2pm Brasília time.
An inspiration for this scheme could come from the victory of Chelsea, from England, against the same PSG, in the final of FIFA Club World Cuplast July, in the United States. “In that match, Chelsea played a perfect game against PSG: they knew how to nullify their attack well and knew how to hurt Paris when they had the ball and gave the way to other teams from then on”, said the coach responding to a question from The Football.
What Filipe Luís said
“In a final anything can happen: In recent years, luck has always fallen on the side of the Europeans and I hope we can change that this time.”
A self-confessed admirer of the work of Luis Enrique, the PSG coach, (which he usually calls “a perfect work”), Filipe Luís is obviously prepared to see his team suffer during various phases of the game. “We have to be focused to know what to do when we have or don’t have the ball or when we are under pressure”he said. “I have no doubt that players as young and as fast as those at PSG will put us in difficulty at certain moments of the game.”
We have to act in this final without giving up our principles, what is Flamengo’s DNA. And paying attention to make as few mistakes as possible. We know how difficult this game is. A final like this won’t be easy. To win, we will have to be at our best. Filipe Luís
And how can you overcome an opponent as strong as the current European champions? In the opinion of the Flamengo coach, playing the football that the Brazilian and South American champion knows how to play, with strong marking, attention to detail and precise and lethal attacks.
