Abu Dhabi: In 2009, Barcelona dethroned World and European champions Manchester United in the Uefa Champions League final to qualify for the Fifa Club World Cup here in the UAE.
Once in the UAE, Barca defeated Mexican club Atlante in the semi-finals 3—1 to set up a final against South American entrants Estudiantes. The tense match was forced into extra-time after being tied 1-1.
Argentine sensation Lionel Messi scored the eventual match winner through a brilliant header and Barca picked up an unprecedented six trophies for the season.
French defender Eric Abidal was part of that star-studded team, which most rate as arguably the best ever. The Frenchman was once again in town for the Club World Cup, and he relived those glory days.
“Yes, I have good memories of being here because we won this trophy here against strong teams,” he said. “I remember the games were difficult. This is football and you fight to win the Champions League to get an opportunity to play this tournament. It was special.”
Abidal won 15 major trophies at Barcelona and was part of Pep Guardiola’s near unbeatable team, alongside the likes of Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Carles Puyol.
The 37-year-old former French international was of the view that the tournament is special because of the effort that teams put to qualify for the event.
“To be in the tournament you have to play in the league and also in the Champions Trophy and that is the most difficult part,” he said. “You win the Champions League and you know that your future will be this tournament. To achieve the goals at the end is not easy and you have to do everything to reach till the end.”
Abidal told Real’s potential semi-final opponents Al Jazira to try to create an upset and push on from there.
The Abu Dhabi side have been drawn to face Auckland City in the quarter-final play-off and, if they win, they will then face the winners of the Asian Champions League for a chance to play Real.
“It will be one of the dreams for these boys to play against some of the top players,” he said. “You have 90 minutes or a little over that to make the most of it. Beating a strong team can be a dream but in football you never know. They need to fight and play like a team, and try and create a chance to score,” said Abidal.
Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre, echoed those sentiments, saying that it is a lifetime opportunity for the local boys and for their coach, who should only look for positives.
“They must try for an upset win,” Silvestre said. “To play against Cristiano Ronaldo and the likes of Gareth Bale is huge. It is also a great opportunity for the coaches to face the likes of Zinedine Zidane. I’m sure the motivation will be high so why not create an upset and then it will be a historical moment for them.”
Silvestre was confident of Real going all the way and creating history.
“I think if you look at their manager and the players involved in the squad, there is always a desire to achieve better than others,” he said. “To be on top of everybody, they are surely going to enter the tournament with the desire to win it.”
