ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 12: (L - R) Thiago Silva, Jorginho and Kenedy of Chelsea celebrate with the FIFA Club World Cup trophy following victory in the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 Final match between Chelsea and Palmeiras at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium on February 12, 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Jorginho shared how he and the two Chelsea Brazilians helped motivate the rest of the squad during their Club World Cup-winning campaign.
The tournament was a big deal for Chelsea and most of the fans would agree with that.
However, the club’s failure to win it back in 2012 might arguably have been a bigger factor than the competition itself’s being considered a major trophy.
Fortunately for Chelsea, at least some of their players see the competition differently and help make sure everyone in the team stayed focused on the objective to win.
“You can’t compare [the value of the Club World Cup in Europe] to the value the South American teams give it,” Jorginho told Ale Oliviera on YouTube (via Brazilian outlet Bola VIP)
“It’s different. Me, Thiago Silva, Kenedy, and the coach – who had a notion of how it was – we were on top of the guys: ‘We have to win, there’s no way we can lose, it’s very important’.
“Then, the coach, before we travelled, showed us the Palmeiras bus leaving in the middle of that madness: ‘If you have no idea what awaits you in Abu Dhabi, this is it – for you to start to get an idea’.
“He put the image of the bus, the masses.
“The coach said that we would find an unexpected environment in the stadium and that we had to prepare, that it wouldn’t be easy.”
It is certainly interesting how Kenedy, who had just been at the club for a few weeks since his return from Flamengo, played a leading role in the dressing room.
In the end, it paid off, and Chelsea can now call themselves world champions.
