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Guardiola excited by Man City facing classic Brazilian style of Fluminense in Club World Cup final

Thu, Dec 21, 2023
Soccer News (AP)

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expects an entirely new challenge for his dominant team to bring home a fifth title of 2023 in the Club World Cup final on Friday.

"The way they play, we've never faced, never," Guardiola said Thursday of South American champion Fluminense.

Fluminense's style designed by coach Fernando Diniz is to crowd small areas of the field with several players linking together in series of passes.

The Brazilian team's overloading of one side of the field is a stark contrast to the finely calibrated movement of a Guardiola team.

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"We will have to impose our rhythm and our positional game as best as possible," Guardiola said. "They will demand a lot of effort, and (we must) try to be aware and precise with the ball."

A 13th Europe vs South America final is the 19th and last edition of this format of the Club World Cup. It is relaunching in June 2025 as a 32-team, month-long tournament with 12 European teams and six from South America.

This final offers a clear contrast between one team almost purely Brazilian and the other a multinational mix that is typical of a modern and wealthy English club.

Fluminense had nine Brazilians in its starting lineup for its 2-0 win over Al Ahly of Egypt in the semifinals. Man City had seven different nationalities, and just four English players, starting its 3-0 win over Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan on Tuesday.

The difference is partly explained by the clubs' respective finances and potential purchasing power.

Man City's revenue was $890 million, with a salary bill of $530 million, in its treble-winning 2022-23 season. Fluminense expects to earn $74 million this year.

The typically Brazilian feel of Fluminense's play is pleasing to Guardiola.

"They play a typical Brazil style from the 70s, 80s, early 90s - until 1994, when they won the World Cup in the United States," he said. "I love it. I love the buildup. I love how they associate between each other, the respect (they have) all of the time for the ball.

"When I was a little boy, not even a teenager," Guardiola added, "I listened to my dad or my people (talk about) the way that Brazil had success with all previous generations."

Man City goes into the game without injured stars Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, and winger Jeremy Doku, though De Bruyne and Doku have trained with the squad in the warm Saudi Arabia weather as part of their return to fitness.

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