After starting off the season in a horrible manner, Real Madrid’s ship seems to have been steadied. The Whites will soon go all out for their first trophy of the season.
In less than one month from now, Real Madrid will look to win a third straight FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Having won the trophy on six occasions from the time it was known as the Intercontinental Cup, the Whites are the highest timed winners of the prestigious accolade.
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On December 19, the defending champions of Europe will face one of Kashima Antlers or Guadalajara in an attempt to make it to the final three days later. The Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi will play host to the Whites who will be headed to the middle-east for a second year on the trot.
There are no less than seven fixtures that await Real Madrid before they head off to the deserts to end 2018 on a successful note, yet Santiago Solari is already thinking about getting his team ready to lift the first piece of silverware of the 2018/19 campaign. With how the things are looking in the dugout, there are absolutely no plans of getting rid of the ‘world champions’ crest on the Real Madrid jersey which has been donned since December 2016.
The 42-year-old manager has been fantastic in his first four matches in charge of the Whites and has been handed the permanent role as a result. With Solari, in came a more aggressive and direct style of football and inevitably that meant that the players’ fitness would have to be better than it was under the previous coach.
Antonio Pintus, the Real Madrid fitness coach is back in the fray and getting himself busier after Santiago Solari’s appointment as he is preparing the team for an outing that will see them play twice under rigorous weather conditions in Abu Dhabi. So now, the main idea is to have the entire squad fit and ready to travel in December to play in the warmest weather possible.
Real Madrid is a title-winning machine, but their start to this season under a certain manager was not one to be proud of. But Solari has turned a corner and he will look to win his first trophy at the helm with less than 15 matches having passed since his appointment. Real Madrid’s players are a bunch of hungry lads, but this time out they will be playing with a lot more courage after their UEFA Super Cup debacle against Atletico Madrid.
Which one of Kashima Antlers and Guadalajara will play Real Madrid in the semi-finals?