Club World Cup: Romarinho puts City and Fluminense ahead | International football

The Club World Cup begins on Tuesday, with a match against Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Auckland City of New Zealand in the first stage. One of the main names of the Saudi club is the striker RomarinhoHe is competing in his third edition of the tournament and is seeking his second title.

The Brazilian, a 2012 champion with Corinthians, also played in the 2017 World Cup wearing the Emirati Al Jazira shirt. On that occasion, they were beaten by Real Madrid, owned by Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema. Today, the French striker has become his strike partner and Al-Ittihad is considered “ready” for the competition.

In 2012, Corinthians was the last Brazilian team to win the Club World Cup. Since then, the title has gone every year to a representative of European football. Romarinho believes that Manchester City and Fluminense, the representatives of Europe and South America, are the most likely candidates, but he believes that other teams can increasingly produce surprises in the tournament.

The growth in other countries was significant and made the teams stronger. In 2017, we played with Al Jazira in a great match against Real Madrid and could have qualified for the final. South American and European players are still the favorites for everything they represent in world football, but representatives from other continents are currently enjoying better conditions – the player believes.

Romarinho is 32 years old and is playing his sixth season with Al-Ittihad. The Brazilian is closely following the development of football in Saudi Arabia, which has brought significant reinforcements, especially in the recent transfer window. For an athlete, names like Benzema provide teams with more than technical quality.

– It’s a great moment, with a lot of investment and improvement in the league. For me, it’s a great feeling of satisfaction after so many years, with titles, more than 200 matches, more than 100 goals, and seeing everything that happened. (Benzema) He is an athlete who has won everything in his career and the partnership is very good. He certainly raises the bar for other athletes, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on and off the field, and his opponents rave about him.

Possible duel with Flou de Denise

Al-Ittihad, representing the host country, will face Fluminense, led by Fernando Diniz, if it wins over Auckland City on Tuesday. Romarinho praised the Libertadores champion, but highlighted the importance of focusing on the first match in the competition.

– It is a great team, to the point that it won the Libertadores and Carioca titles and had a good season in other competitions. It’s a very good team, with players from the Brazilian national team, and it’s definitely one of the favourites. But we haven’t thought about that match yet, as we have other matches ahead of us and we have to focus on them, if possible, to reach Fluminense later.

The Club World Cup is held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in addition to Al-Ittihad, Auckland City, Fluminense, and Manchester City, Al-Ahly of Egypt, Leon of Mexico, and Urawa Reds of Japan participate in it.