In Rabat, Morocco,
Real Madrid
left its mark as the most champion club in history.
His 5-3 victory against
Ramón Díaz
's
Al Hilal
allowed him to win the
Club World Cup
again and reach
32 international titles
, a mark that seems unattainable and that reaffirms him as a stainless champion.
Carlo Ancelotti
's team
earned their
fifth star
in this tournament that FIFA has organized annually since 2005 with a superlative game.
It is true that the intended rival was not in front, because in the previous one the favorite was
Flamengo
, but the Arab club won the game they had to win and defended their status as finalists on the pitch.
Although he was always inferior on the scoreboard, he fought on his feet against a giant.
"I have to congratulate my players because it really was a tough and difficult game but we showed that we had a category and deserved to reach the final
," said the coach from La Rioja, who could not get rid of that backpack that he has been dragging along since the lost final with River against Juventus in 1996, when the best in the world was defined in the Intercontinental Cup.
Once again, they suffered the power of a European club, which already won the game after 12 minutes with
a football rich in individuals who know how to play together
.
The wall between Fede Valverde and
Karim Benzema, who arrived in Morocco on Thursday after overcoming an injury and 48 hours later lifted the cup
, ended in the definition of Vinicius.
Five minutes later, it was Valverde who put a difference of two goals that left his rival knocked out.
Benzema, on his way to being the most winner with the merengue shirt.
Reuters Photo/Andrew Boyers
The eight goals in the final can be explained by the fact that
Real Madrid was not infallible, they made mistakes deep down and had a goalkeeper who received little and converted too much
.
That is why Al Hilal managed to get closer on the scoreboard despite giving him the ball.
He did it first at 25, when a surgical pass sent
Moussa Marega
running , the first to destabilize the Ukrainian Andriy Lunin.
The second half was frantic and that adrenaline was capitalized on by the Merengue team, scorer of two goals in four minutes: the one by Benzema enabled by a three-fingered pass from Vinicius and the second by
Pajarito
Valverde, winner of the Club World Cup Silver Ball .
With the 4-1 in an hour of play, Ancelotti began to move the bench and found himself with the unexpected response of Al Hilal and
Luciano Vietto
.
The Argentine recognized for his game with the Bronze Ball -
in a South American podium that was completed by MVP Vinicius
- stung enabled and defined with precision above the goalkeeper to discount at 63.
But Real Madrid had the best on the field:
the 22-year-old Brazilian who responds with great goals to the racist insults he receives
and who completed an unforgettable performance on the Moroccan night.
Although there was time, there was no energy to attempt a comeback when Vietto's second came at 69. By pure touch, Ancelotti's team used the final minutes to confirm that they are the best in the world and erase Al Hilal from the field.
When
Gianni Infantino
, the president of FIFA, gave the trophy to Benzema, a certain air of divine justice was breathed towards the French striker who could not be in Qatar due to injury and who arrived in Rabat to play 60 minutes and lift his
24th trophy with Real, which leaves him just one behind Marcelo, the most winning player
.
"We are very happy, for the eighth time Madrid is world champion, it was what we had to do
," said Ancelotti, referring to the five Club World Cups and the three Intercontinental Cups at the
White House
.
The title also weighs heavily on the Italian individually, because he equaled
Carlos Bianchi
(two with Boca and one with Vélez) and
Pep Guardiola
(two with Barcelona and one with Bayern Munich) as the coach who was the most times world champion at club level.
Carlo Ancelotti, the most winning coach in the world with Guardiola and Bianchi.
Photo EFE/Julio Munoz
look also
Club World Cup: Flamengo suffered but kept the consolation prize
Club World Cup: the story behind the hug between Valverde and Ancelotti after one of Real Madrid's goals
