'Tired' Barcelona arrive in UAE with eye on Club World Cup

Abu Dhabi: Having equalled the 1984-85 season's club record of 15 unbeaten games after Saturday night's 1-0 win over Espanyol in the La Liga, favourites Barcelona arrived in the UAE last night to add the only silverware that has been missing in their 100-year history — the Fifa Club World Cup.

Barcelona played in the UEFA Champions League against Dynamov Kiev last Wednesday in Russia and followed it up with Saturday's crucial league game to register their 12th win and along with the three draws equal Barca's previous best unbeaten run under Terry Venables in 1984-85.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's penalty clinched the issue after which coach Josep Guardiola said, "We're tired and it must be noticeable."

Before boarding the flight to the UAE, Guardiola expressed his displeasure over a two-hour stoppage in Istanbul imposed by Civil Aviation and was quoted on the club's website, "I'd like to thank Civil Aviation for not letting us fly directly. It's a serious time-waster. We'll have muscular fatigue and we'll have to spend 11 hours on the plane."

Making history

Barca, who played in the Club World Cup in 2006 but failed to win it are keen to create history here in Abu Dhabi.

"We're not going to automatically pick up anything. We have to win our right to be in the final", said Guardiola, hinting that the preparation for the semis against Atlante will be light.

"We're going to train a little, rest as much as possible and see if we can win," he said.

Lionel Messi, recent winner of the Ballon D'or and one of the three Barca players shortlisted for the December 21 Fifa Player of the Year Award, is also here though doubts persist on his fitness to play in Wednesday's semifinal against Mexico's Atlante.

Five-man pack

Apart from Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi are also in the five-man pack in the running for the Fifa World Player of the Year award. Club president Joan Laporta along with vice-presidents Rafael Yuste, Albert Perrín and Joan Boix, Technical secretary Txiki Begiristain and football director Raul Sanllehí also arrived with 25 fans also on the flight.

The club said it had received nearly 500 applications from fans for tickets to the Fifa Clubs World Cup though thousands more here in the UAE are eagerly waiting to see Europe's champions club in action.