25/06/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | JUNE 25, 2025

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‘Not at the level’ Atletico left to ruminate after Club World Cup KO

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Al Ahly, Porto exit CWC AL AHLY and Porto shared a 4-4 thriller in their final game at the Club World Cup yesterday but both will head home after Inter Miami and Palmeiras drew to progress to the round of 16 from Group A. Palestine striker Wessam Abou Ali scored a hattrick and Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane also found the net for the Egyptian champions but Porto pegged them back every time they went ahead. Teenagers Rodrigo Mora and William Gomes, substitute Samu Aghehowa and Pepe all scored for the Portuguese club as both teams all but abandoned defending in search of goals that might keep them alive in the tournament. In the end, though, a draw was not enough for either side and the 2-2 stalemate between Inter and Palmeiras in Miami was enough to render all of the many other permutations null and void. “I’m very sad, very, very sad,” said Abou Ali. “I feel like we should have scored maybe five, six goals in the end, the opportunity was there to at least win the game and score some goals.” Both teams came into the match played in suffocating heat at Metlife Stadium without a goal from open play in the tournament but they made up for it in a sometimes frenetic contest. “I think the game in the second half was not a normal football game anymore,” said Al Ahly coach Jose Riveiro. “A good show for the fans, I guess, a lot of goals. Not the result, obviously, that we were looking for, BOTAFOGO have defied their critics by making it to the Club World Cup last 16, captain Marlon Freitas said, even after his side lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid and finished second in Group B yesterday. Freitas emphasised the achievement of advancing to the knockout stage from what many had dubbed the “group of death”. “Sure, we wanted to win, and I think we had our chances. We knew how to defend, and I believe we deserved at least a draw. Conceding that late goal was heartbreaking because we wanted to finish top of the group,” Freitas told TV Globo . “However, we should celebrate because, before the tournament started, everyone thought we had no chance against two top opponents from major European leagues. We’ve shown the value of Brazilian football. We are champions of South America, and we deserve respect.” Veteran defender Alex Telles echoed Freitas’ comments. “It’s difficult to talk about it right now. PSG and Atletico showed us more respect than most fans and pundits did. The team did what it had to do to advance to the next stage. “Here we are, those who some said came to see Mickey in Disneyland, through to the round of 16 in the group of death. Qualifying shows the work done by this incredible group of men,”Telles said. No pressure from club CHELSEA coach Enzo Maresca has insisted that the club’s owners are not putting extra pressure on him to win the Club World Cup as a result of the enormous financial incentives on offer at Fifa’s new tournament. World football’s governing body has dangled the carrot of a total US$1 billion (RM4.2b) in prize money to the 32 competing teams in the United States. If Chelsea, as one of the 12 European representatives, go on to win the trophy on July 14, they can take home around US$125 million (RM106m) as a cash reward. That could give the Stamford Bridge side a considerable advantage over many of their English and European rivals going forward into next season. However, Maresca claims money has not come up in discussions with the club’s hierarchy around the ongoing competition. “The owners just want the best for us and for the players game by game and they are not talking about the final prize or the final reward in terms of money,” the Italian told reporters in Philadelphia. “They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money.” because we wanted to go through.” ‘Botafogo deserve respect’

F OR all the excuses – and there have been many – one line from Antoine Griezmann cut straight to the heart of the matter after Atletico Madrid’s Club World Cup elimination. “We have to look at ourselves and see that there are times when we are not at the level and we have to resolve that,” said the veteran French forward. Griezmann’s goal earned Atletico a 1-0 win over Botafogo yesterday but the Brazilian side progressed ahead of the Spaniards on goal difference to reach the Club World Cup last 16. Atletico were left licking their wounds, were after failing to win a major trophy this season. Their controversial Champions League last 16 elimination by Real Madrid after Julian Alvarez’s “double touch” penalty left Atletico raging at referees, Uefa and their arch-rivals. They spiralled and blamed that for their capitulation in La Liga, which they led at Christmas, while Simeone insisted a Copa del Rey semifinal defeat by Barcelona was something the club had to accept. “We are trying to keep just like they

penalties,” complained winger Giuliano Simeone, the coach’s son. “I think the decisions are not favouring us at all – in all the debatable ones, we have to play against that.” The last trophy they won was La Liga four years ago. “I’m sad to be eliminated, we got six points from three games. We won two,” said Simeone. As has so often proven the case in recent years, it was not enough. In some quarters of the Spanish media, former Rojiblanco defender Filipe Luis, coach of Brazilian side Flamengo – who have made it through to the last 16 – has been linked as a future Atletico coach. “They’ve had a long season… let’s hope the next one is better for them,” said retired Atletico great Sergio

they are right now. Some players at the club understand that, like Griezmann and goalkeeper Jan Oblak, while others do not seem to. “We’ll keep rattling the cages of those at the top,” pledged Marcos Llorente after the group stage elimination in the United States. Atletico were upset that some penalty appeals were ignored during the win over Botafogo in Pasadena. “I’ve never seen anything like it, to be honest, I think we should have been a warded two

Aguero, but with the team not progressing, some fans are losing their hope. Griezmann, who signed a new contract with Atletico at the start of the summer and ended a 18-game goal drought against Botafogo, believes it will take elbow grease. “It takes work, and it’s a

problem deeper and more to do within the team than the referees,” he added, as Atletico packed their bags for home. “We have to focus on what we have to improve, on what we have to do to win these games.” – AFP

improving to get closer and closer to the teams above us and to accept the place we are,” said the Argentine coach. However Atletico, who won La Liga in 2014 and 2021, and finished runners up in the 2014 and 2016 Champions League final, have been far closer to the elite than

Marlon Freitas (left) attempts to pass while under pressure from Pablo Barrios – AFPPIC

Kompany ‘throwing the book’ for next season

BAYERN MUNICH coach Vincent Kompany said his team will go into the new Bundesliga season with “almost no preparation” because of their participation at the Club World Cup, but also highlighted some positives of being at the tournament. “I think there’s two sides to the argument,” Kompany told a news conference yesterday. “I think there’s the argument of us building team cohesion and spending time (together). It’s perhaps faster for the integration of players like Jonathan Tah and Tom Bischof, and players who are just joining … “But I think there’s a counter argument as well that for the next season we will have almost no preparation.” Kompany pointed out that the team will not be able to operate with their usual pre season conditioning schedule.

that you have to win every game as well,” he said. Kompany compared the tournament to national team events like the World Cup and European Championships, with the players grouped together. However, he said unlike in international football, higher-level concepts can be worked on, because the players are not just getting to know one another.

“I mean, if

you look at all the scientific r e s e a r c h around what is the right type of preparation to prepare a new season, we are just throwing the book away and we’re just going to start the new season, with all the pressures

“It’s got its advantages as well because we’re working on details, whereas in national teams you’re working on basics,”

he added. “It’s an interesting experience.” – AFP

Vincent Kompany. – REUTERSPIC