Speaking to reporters on Monday, Carles Puyol and Dmitri Chygrynskiy agreed that, despite the long trip to Abu Dhabi, neither jet lag nor tiredness would affect the team’s performance. Puyol stressed, “We have time to recover”.
The two players spoke at separate press conferences but coincided in one idea: the players are
tired because of the relentless fixture schedule and because of the long flight to the UAE. But
none of this will affect the team against Atlante on Wednesday. According to Puyol: “The
journey was difficult so we had a gentle training session, but we’ve got two more days to
prepare the match”.
"A perfect temperature"
The players will have to get used to the temperature here in Abu Dhabi – this Monday it
was 25º whereas in Barcelona the thermometer struggled to reach 8º. Puyol told us: “The
change is nice. The heat’s quite pleasant. It’s a perfect temperature”.
Chygrynskiy, who was brought up in the cold temperatures of the Ukraine, told reporters that
he was used to the heat by now: “It’s no more difficult for me. I’ve been in
Barcelona for three months and it always seems like summer there”. The fact is the Ukraine
winter in is nothing like Barcelona…and even less like Abu Dhabi!
Chygrynskiy looking for a trophy
Chygrynskiy is looking forward to winning his first silverware since he joined the
Club at the end of August: “This could be my first title with Barça and so it’s
important that I can play the tournament”. No doubt his motivation is strengthened by the
fact that he is ineligible for this season’s Champions league.
No time for favourites
He also played down Barça’s role as favourite’s in Wednesday’s semi-final:
“I don’t believe it’s important who the favourite is before we play. You have to
win on the pitch”. Finally, he asserted that his integration into the team is “getting
better every day”.
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"The team has already made history"
For his part, Carles Puyol tried to ease the tension surrounding the World Club Cup though without
underestimating the importance of the only major trophy Barça has never won: “The team has
already made history. We’re very motivated and excited. We didn’t take our chance last
time though we had a lot of chances to score”.