Chelsea will face Brazilian side Fluminense in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup after seeing off Palmeiras and that means a reunion for veteran defender Thiago Silva
Marc Cucurella #3 of Chelsea FC
Marc Cucurella has been texting Thiago Silva(Image: Dustin Satloff/FIFA via Getty Images)
Marc Cucurella already had a date booked with a “legend of football” in New York even before Chelsea reached the semi-final. Cucurella revealed he has been swapping text messages with Chelsea legend Thiago Silva who is 40 but still going strong for their Club World Cup opponents Fluminense.
Chelsea defender Cucurella was only team-mates with Silva for just over two years but the ex-Brazil defender clearly left a big impression. And now it is Silva who stands in the way of Chelsea reaching the final in New York next weekend and the £97million jackpot for the tournament winners.
Cucurella swapped texts before Chelsea’s quarter final win over Palmeiras and now they will face their third Brazilian opponent of the tournament.
Spain international Cucurella said: “He's a legend of football, a top player. He's only played for big clubs and texted me before the game saying: 'let's go, hopefully we can see you in a couple of days.’
“I texted him saying: 'let's go.’ We have the opportunity to play against him again and hopefully we can do good things and win this game and play in the final which is what we want to do.
“We've watched some of their games. They have very good players. They are very determined, have Thiago Silva. They're in the semi-final because they've done the right things. It will be a very equal game."
Chelsea lost to Flamengo in the Group stage, beat Palmeiras in the quarter-finals and now are favourites to get past Fluminense and meet either Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid in the final.
But Cucurella warned about taking the games lightly against the Brazilians even though the wealth of the Europeans mean they are expected to win. Cucurella said: “The Brazilian teams have a very high level. They have showed in this tournament that they are going right until the final stages.
“Now we have another tough match against Fluminense. We will play against Thiago Silva and I think that will be very nice. But now we will try to rest, prepare well for the match and face it in the best way possible.
Thiago Silva #3 of Fluminense
Thiago Silva will line up for Fluminense against Chelsea
(Image: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
“I think they're showing they're very good. Everyone is making it to the final stages. We've played against two Brazilian teams so far and now we will face a third. They fight until the end.”
Cucurella is on course for his 60th appearance of the season for club and country and admits that he is not quite sure how much holiday he will get or indeed what next year will look like if Chelsea go all the way.
He added: “At this moment, we do not think about the fatigue. If we are tired, we want to enjoy this moment. It is a good opportunity to make something important. To be proud of our work and to play for Chelsea.
“We are not thinking about this at the moment. We have this opportunity. We are 100 per cent focused on this. If we win this, all of us will be happy. We are thinking about this. We have a good chance to play in the final. Hopefully, we can win this tournament. Then we can speak with the manager. Hopefully, he is happy.”
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