Records at stake for Internacional

Abu Dhabi: Brazilian giants Sports Club Internacional had their first training session at the Sultan Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi yesterday and later arrived at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium to watch the encounter between TP Mazembe and Pachuca.

Internacional, winners of the Fifa Club World Cup in 2006 under coach Abel Braga who is currently coaching Al Jazira in the UAE, will have to defend a rare record in the name of Brazilian clubs.

No Brazilian club has lost a match in the Fifa Club World Cup with Corinthians, Sao Paulo and Internacional winning the Cup in 2000, 2006 and 2007.

The squad arrived on Thursday from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil on a chartered flight along with over 200 of their supporters.

Fabio Mahseredjian, a member of the technical staff accompanying the team, said that despite a long journey the players' sleep had been cut short at 10am in order to help them adjust to the six-hour time difference.

"We had a light workout at the gym before we came here to the Sultan Bin Zayed Stadium," he said.

Coached by Celso Roth, Internacional will not only want to win the Club World Cup and become the first team to win it twice but will also be looking to put an end to the three-year domination by European clubs.

"There will be no pressure as we are a big team and every time we go out to play there is pressure. It is a natural pressure and we are not champions of the continent if we don't have these qualities," said Rodrigo, media officer of Internacional.

The official said their former Club World Cup-winning coach Braga had contacted them and would be visiting the squad soon. "His assistant Lemaire visited us and we will be happy to see Braga," Rodrigo said.

Happy hunting ground

The Internacional players seemed to be enjoying the weather here, much cooler than back in Brazil and were looking forward to win their second trophy in the UAE.

"In 2008 we played in a tournament in Dubai and won the Cup defeating Inter Milan and if we meet them again here in the final we hope to repeat that result," Rodrigo added.

Kleber, who won the Fifa Club World Cup with Corinthians in 2000 is bidding for his second title with Internacional while Indio De Lima and goalkeeper Renan Britto Soares were members of the 2006 Club World Cup winning Internacional squad and are back for another shot at the title.