This Saturday 23 December, the final of the Club World Cup will pit Erling Haaland’s Manchester City against Ganso’s Fluminense. The match has a special significance for the son of the Brazilian midfielder.
The Citizens, who have just completed a resounding quadruple (Champions League, Cup, Premier League, UEFA Super Cup), are aiming to add to their record of achievements, which has grown considerably since they were acquired by Emirati investors in 2008.
After a smooth start to the competition with a 3-0 win over Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday, the European champions face a daunting challenge against Fluminense (19:00). Their task is made all the more difficult by the fact that they are still without two major attacking assets, striker Erling Haaland and playmaker Kevin de Bruyne.
Ganso’s wife scandalised by Erling Haaland
The pragmatic style of Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz (also Brazil coach) stands in stark contrast to the bulimic possession favoured by his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola.
The recent winner of the Copa Libertadores (a 2-1 victory over Boca Juniors on 4 November) has set his sights on ending the hegemony of the European clubs that have dominated the trophy since 2012. In fact, no team from the Old Continent has been defeated in the Club World Cup in the last 21 matches.
The teams are actively preparing for this match, and the players’ families are in Saudi Arabia to attend the event. However, the family of Ganso, former Amiens midfielder and current Fluminense No10, appear to have been disappointed by the attitude of Manchester City’s fearsome striker Erling Haaland. The former Amiens player’s wife has expressed her displeasure at the Norwegian’s interaction with one of her children.
“It was HORRIBLE. Henrico is horrified! He was a fan! He doesn’t even want to mention his name now… There were only 6 children, they couldn’t get close, Erling didn’t even say goodbye to them from a distance. The children were very sad! What are the chances of meeting an idol (before it happens, right?) like that? In the street. There was nobody there, it was empty. It wouldn’t have taken more than five seconds! In any case, even in pain, we learn, don’t we? I’m sure these children will take something good from this day”, Giovanna Costi shared on her social networks.
Erling Haaland won’t be playing…
Faced with this situation, the Norwegian could perhaps redeem himself… if he runs into them in the stands. Guardiola has decided not to play him in this final. Whatever happens to their respective injuries, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku will not be able to take part in the Club World Cup final against Brazilian side Fluminense on Friday 22 December at 7pm. Despite this, Manchester City confirmed their qualification by easily beating Asian Champions League winners Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan (3-0) on Tuesday 19 December.
Marcel points out that the competition’s rules stipulate that only the 23 players entered by Pep Guardiola for the semi-final are allowed to play in the final. This excludes the Norwegian and the two Belgians present in the stands at the King Abdullah stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In any case, it is not certain that the Spanish coach would have taken the risk of fielding these three injured players in a match of relatively low importance, the Club World Cup being considered a second-tier competition on the international scene. The Skyblues will need their full strength for the two Boxing Day games against Everton (27/12) and Sheffield United (30 December).
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