Suarez: Barca can't dip after CWC win
Luis Suarez said Barcelona’s challenge now is to keep the trophies coming after Sunday’s 3-0 win over River Plate in the 2015 Club World Cup final.
Barca talisman Lionel Messi returned from a painful kidney problem to start the game and open the scoring against the Copa Libertadores champions just past the half-hour mark.
Suarez added two more as River faded after the break, with Blaugrana captain Andres Iniesta going on to lift what was the fifth trophy of a glorious 2015 for last season’s Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey champions.
Speaking on Spanish TV after the final whistle, Suarez said he was aware that other teams had suffered dips after winning the Club World Cup — an apparent reference to Real Madrid last year — and Barca were keen for that not to happen to them.
“Always after competition like this, teams can have a dip,” Suarez said. “Our next challenge now is not to drop off, to keep challenging for trophies. We must stay on the same path, we are the best team in the world.”
Suarez — who scored a hat trick in Thursday’s semifinal win over Guangzhou Evergrande — easily claimed the competition’s Golden Ball as top scorer while also being named the best player, with Messi second and Iniesta third.
However, the ¬80 million summer 2014 signing from Liverpool said the important thing was that the team were victorious: “We are very happy to win the trophy, which was why we came here. I am not too worried who scores the goals.”
Suarez said Messi and Neymar, who returned from an adductor strain to start the final, had been keen to feature in Sunday’s showpiece game.
#campion5 ýýýýýýýýýý https://t.co/gQfUs9yUWU
– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 20, 2015
“They wanted to play this no matter what,” he said. “But this is not just about Leo and Ney, but the whole group who played so well.”
River made the game difficult for Barca in the first 30 minutes, playing with great intensity and organisation.
Uruguay forward Suarez admitted it had been easier for his team once Argentina captain Messi had broken the deadlock, adding: “There were a typical South American team, pressured us well.
“But once Leo opened the scoring we were able to manage the game more, and get the second and the third.”
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
