FIFA’s inaugural expanded Club World Cup experiment hasn’t exactly been the rousing success they might have envisioned, but amidst all the hot takes and the hot weather, we have at times witnessed some hot action. And of course Chelsea have now gone all the way, which certainly has helped to make it compelling for us.
For the first time all season, and for the first time under the new ownership, we’ve exceeded expectations. Our path through the knockout rounds may not have been the hardest, but winning is winning, and is the only way to (re-)create the culture of winning that we had lost in recent years.
Reaching this final is certainly a proud moment for the coaches and players, who rightly celebrated accordingly at the end of an exhausting couple hours in the searing heat and humidity of summer afternoon in New Jersey.
“We are very happy. We are very proud to play the final on Sunday. The reason why is this is the Club World Cup, first edition. Best clubs in the world they are here. So for us to be there on Sunday is something that we have to be proud. So very happy about that.
“[…] Over the last few years, what I would say [Chelsea] have not really been where the club deserves to be. Luckily, I think that we have been doing quite well, Premier League and also the Conference League, as were able to win it, and now we are here with this amazing level. We are just so proud to be back where the club deserves to be.”
Only history will be able to judge how significant this achievement actually may or may not be. When Uruguay won the first World Cup in 1930, or when Real Madrid won the first proto-Champions League in 1955, they probably also weren’t sure how (or even if) their efforts will be remembered in the future.
But of course, history only remembers the winners.
