Flamengo coach, Filipe Luís, expressed hope of achieving a victory over favorite Paris-Saint Germain and lifting the Intercontinental Cup trophy this Wednesday (17). The two teams will face each other at 2pm (Brasília time), at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, in Qatar.
“All opponents are different, but PSG is the best team in the world, they demonstrated this by winning the Champions League and they are in the tournament because they are the best,” Luís told Globo.
“We, with great humility, will try to win to make history”, continued the coach, still on the pitch after the 2-0 victory over Pyramids in the semi-final of the Intercontinental Cup.
If they manage to overcome the French, the Brazilian team will pocket US$5 million (R$27.1 million) at the end of the competition.
The tournament prize pool is paid in phases. The classification of the decision has already guaranteed Flamengo a prize of US$4 million (R$21.6 million).
If he had been eliminated by Pyramids, the Rio de Janeiro natives would have gone home with US$2 million (R$10.9 million).
In addition to the money, the red and black also received medals and lifted another trophy this Saturday, the Challenger Cup.
When analyzing Flamengo’s performance, which won with goals from its defensive duo and set pieces, Luís praised the team’s balance.
“We have powerful players on the offensive side, but I have a complete game on the defensive side. The team knew how to defend themselves. The result was deserved”, said the coach.
This Saturday, Flamengo celebrated 44 years since the club’s only world title, won on December 13, 1981. On that occasion, the team beat Liverpool 3-0, in the old Club World Cup format.
In 2019, Flamengo once again fought for the World Cup against Liverpool, but on that occasion the English came out on top.
The final this Wednesday will be the fourth clash between Flamengo and PSG, and the record is even, with a victory for each side and a draw. The Brazilian team won a friendly in 1975 by 2-0. In 1979, again in a friendly, they gave PSG: 3-1. And the most recent duel took place in 1991, at the Paris Tournament, with a 1-1 draw.
