Barcelona to debut in Club World Cup against Guangzhou Evergrande
Barcelona will debut this Thursday in the Club World Cup when they face Guangzhou Evergrande of China in a semifinal match. The match will showcase one of the most powerful teams in the world against an inexperienced rival in this type of competition.
The European champions arrive as clear favorites to the match, which will be played at Yokohama Stadium at 19:30 local time. Barcelona has won this competition twice before, they are leading the Spanish League, and they have world-class players such as Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, and Luis Suárez.
One of the star players, Brazilian Neymar Jr, who is a candidate for the FIFA Best Player award alongside Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, will not be playing in the starting lineup for Barcelona due to an injury.
Guangzhou Evergrande, who surprised everyone by eliminating Club America from Mexico in the quarterfinals, will try to shake things up and achieve the most important victory in their history against Barcelona. They have a successful history in their country, having won the last four national leagues, but they lack international recognition.
The Chinese team, managed by Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Brazilian coach who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, is nicknamed "The Chinese Real Madrid" due to the millions invested in recent years to sign illustrious players such as Robinho and Paulinho.
This is how the Club World Cup is progressing. All the results and upcoming matches #ClubWC pic.twitter.com/Z5lSgvSEq7
"It's a very beautiful competition, one of my favorites. Because of its value, but also because of what it means: having won the Champions League. And it gives you the opportunity to end the year in the best possible way," said Lionel Messi before the match.
"I am happy and, along with my teammates, I am preparing for the tournament. Our goal is to lift that trophy and then enjoy Christmas with our families with the championship in hand," added the Argentine star of Barcelona, who scored a fantastic free kick goal in the last match in the domestic league, when Barcelona drew 2-2 at home against Deportivo La Coruña.
If Barcelona defeats Guangzhou Evergrande and River Plate does the same in the other semifinal against Sanfrecce Hiroshima of Japan, they will face each other in the final of the tournament. This would be the first time Messi faces the Argentine team in his career, a team he could have played for during his youth.
The Catalan club, which won this competition in 2009 and 2011, must demonstrate that the three draws they have obtained in their last three matches do not mean that they are going through a period of relaxation, as some Spanish media outlets have suggested. "Both draws against Valencia and Deportivo were misleading. In both cases, we deserved to win," emphasized coach Luis Enrique.
The arrival of Messi and the rest of the notable players from the Spanish team has triggered a true "Barçamania" in Yokohama, where thousands of children went to the airport to welcome their idols and accompanied the delegation to the hotel.
The referee for the match will be Salvadoran Joel Aguilar Chicas, who will be assisted by fellow Salvadoran Juan Francisco Zumba and Mexican Marvin Torrentera.
Possible Lineups
BARCELONA: Claudio Bravo; Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic; Sandro or Munir, Lionel Messi, and Luis Suárez. Coach: Luis Enrique.
GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE: Zeng Cheng; Zhang Linpeng, Feng Xiaoting, Kim Young-Gwon, Zou Zheng; Paulinho, Zheng Zhi, Huang Bowen, Zheng Long; Goulart and Elkeson. Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari.