Early Finals
Xabi Alonso doesn't want to calculate too much after defeating Borussia Dortmund to book a ticket to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals to face PSG.
“I haven't thought about the semi-finals yet. I took an hour or two to relax and de-stress, and when I got on the plane, I started thinking about it,” he said at MetLife Stadium.
He didn't have to wait until he was settled on the flight back to Palm Beach to understand the importance of the upcoming match, where the two most recent Champions League champions meet (2am on July 10) .
“A big game. We face the reigning Champions League champions, who are on a very positive run of form .” But that's not all.
It's a nuanced encounter and unresolved feuds, from the boardroom to the courts, to memorable matches on the pitch in recent years.
The magnitude of the match not only ignited the two clubs, but also fanned the flames of FIFA's tournament, with the biggest tie far behind the other semi-final in terms of audience interest.
FIFA's flexible ticket pricing system offers tickets for the Fluminense - Chelsea match from $13.40 (2am on July 9) . Meanwhile, the cheapest ticket for the PSG - Real Madrid match is 17 times more expensive, at $232.28.
The FIFA Club World Cup now pits Real Madrid and PSG against each other on the pitch, but has unintentionally brought together two arch-enemies at the footballing institutional negotiation table.
Years of stress
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was in 2021 one of UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin's biggest allies in his bid to stop the Super League.
Since that match, his status - as President of the European Club Association (ECA) and member of the UEFA Executive Committee - has grown in world football.
Both share an interest in the FIFA Club World Cup, although they approach the tournament through different paths.
The Super League is not the only match between Al-Khelaifi and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. Nor is it the longest.
Before that, they fought for Kylian Mbappe for more than seven years. Al-Khelaifi won in the first round in 2017 when the French striker left Monaco for Paris instead of Madrid.
He won again in 2021 when Perez offered around 200 million euros but was flatly rejected. And in 2022, when he convinced Mbappe to extend his contract.
But in 2024, he left for free to the Bernabeu, leaving behind a series of lawsuits.
Mbappe has been the driving force behind both teams' development so far. His arrival has changed the balance at Real Madrid and freed up Luis Enrique at PSG .
The turn from Mbappe
A few months ago, in a Movistar documentary, Luis Enrique declared: "I believe I will improve the team. Having a player who moves around at will make me lose control of situations. Next year, I will control everything. Everything. No exceptions."
That's right: he successfully built the hurricane machine that crushed Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Munich just over a month ago (5-0).
It comes just a week after Carlo Ancelotti left the Bernabeu on an emotional afternoon, with Luka Modric also saying goodbye.
PSG's peak at the Allianz Arena coincided with the void and dizzying transition in Real Madrid's coaching staff.
Xabi Alonso began working with the team on June 9, just five days before flying to the United States to make his FIFA Club World Cup debut on June 18 against Al Hilal.
He didn't even have enough players until he arrived in Palm Beach - where Vinicius, Arda Guler and Lunin joined up.
Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who started every game, have joined the club as emergency signings to patch up a defense that has been ravaged by injuries all season.
Alonso threw himself into the important competition with Real Madrid, while getting to know the players and trying to convey a new philosophy.
Under the enormous pressure of circumstances and expectations, he promised only one thing: “On the last day of the tournament, we will be a better team than when we started,” he said in his first press conference.
“We will see how it goes .” After drawing with Al Hilal, they beat Pachuca, Salzburg, Juventus and Dortmund.
Exactly one month after his arrival, Alonso will measure his progress against the perfect machine built by Luis Enrique.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/psg-dau-real-madrid-hai-ke-thu-va-tranh-cai-mbappe-2419116.html
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