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Chelsea name strong Club World Cup squad as Hazard, Mata and Torres all travel to Japan
Rafa Benitez has included all of the club's biggest names for the tournament in Japan, which kicks off next month against the winner of Ulsan Hyundai and Mexican outfit Monterrey
Nov 29, 2012 4:20:00 PM
Chelsea's interim boss Rafa Benitez has named the strongest possible squad for next month's Club World Championship in Japan, as the Blues look to become just the second English club to win the global title.
All of the biggest names have been included in the travelling party, including injured pair Frank Lampard and John Terry.
The Spanish manager has experience of the tournament, which he won at the second attempt with Inter Milan in 2010 after finishing as runner-up with Liverpool five years earlier.
The Blues are set to face the winner of the play-off between Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai and North American champions Monterrey, with the match kicking off on Thursday December 13.
On the other side of the draw, Brazilian side Corinthians will face the winners of Al Ahly and either Sanfrecce Hiroshima or Auckland City, who play each other in a preliminary qualifying round.
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Ross Turnbull, Hilario
Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Paulo Ferreira, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ryan Bertrand
Midfielders: Oriol Romeu, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Oscar, John Obi Mikel, Eden Hazard, Marko Marin, Lucas Piazon
Forwards: Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Victor Moses, Daniel Sturridge
The Spaniard insists the Blues will go all out to win the tournament in Japan and remains confident he will remain the west London club's first-choice striker this season
Dec 4, 2012 12:50:00 PM
By Alex Hess
Chelsea striker Fernando Torres believes his side are favourites for the upcoming Club World Cup, and has described winning the tournament as one of the Blues’ "main targets" this season.
The west London club enter the competition later this month by virtue of their Champions League success in May, and the striker insists that the team’s preparation for the tournament will be thorough.
“[Chelsea] should be [favourites for the trophy] but, for me, favourite means nothing,” Torres told Fifa.com.
“The only thing it can add is more pressure for you. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you're favourite or not, you have to prove it on the pitch.
“We have never been there and it's always a completely different atmosphere in Asia, not just in the crowds, especially the weather conditions and the way the South American teams approach the competition.
“We will mentally prepare and hopefully we arrive there with enough time to adapt and be focused to win this tournament and take it seriously, as we should.
"I think it's one of the main targets we should have this season - we are not going to play this tournament again if we don't win the Champions League."
The 27-year-old also expressed optimism that his current position as the club’s primary striker will not be challenged in January and has set his sights on more trophies.
“I'm very happy [as the main striker] because it's what I have been doing in the past and the role I like to get,” he added. “Hopefully it can be like this until the end of the season.
“In my first full season [at Chelsea] we won the FA Cup and Champions League, what more can you ask? We have a chance now to win the Club World Cup.
“I have four more years on my contract, hopefully in these four years I can win many more things than the Champions League and FA Cup, starting with the Club World Cup.
“To be a Champions League winner is amazing, something that you are going to be proud of and show everyone. When you are retired you can look back and see the Champions League final as one of the highlights of your career.”
The former Liverpool striker went on to discuss his national team’s chances of a second-consecutive World Cup victory in Brazil, as well as at the Confederations Cup this summer.
“Why not! We have won three in a row,” he said. “Hopefully we can win the Confederations Cup this summer before the World Cup because Spain has never won the Confederations Cup, so it would be the first time in Spanish history as well.
“Afterwards obviously the target is Brazil 2014 – we will go there and try to win the World Cup against Brazil in their own country. That should be the most important day for Spain.”
