After Chelsea’s 4-1 extra-time win over Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday, manager Enzo Maresca said it was a bad idea to hold the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
After the match at Bank of America Stadium, where Chelsea moved on to the semifinals to face Palmeiras, Maresca called the two-hour lightning delay “a joke.” He was upset that the weather kept getting in the way in the US, saying it wasn’t good for top-level football since it made it hard to focus and keep players safe.
“We didn’t give up to anything. Maresca commented, “We made enough chances to win the game.”
“But after the interval, the game transformed radically. That’s not football for me. There have already been seven, eight, or nine games that have been called off. To be honest, I think it’s a joke. This isn’t a game of football. Not for us. You can’t keep players in there for that long.
Maresca said he realizes that games have to be called off for safety reasons when there is lightning, but he noted that the number of delays demonstrates that the location is not right for such a big event.
“If six or seven games have already been called off, the people in charge need to think about it again. How many games get put on hold during a World Cup? Most likely none. In Europe? “Nothing,” he said.
“We’ve only been here for two weeks, and six or seven games have already been called off.” I think that’s a problem.
He said that excessive delays make it almost impossible to keep gamers’ attention.
“As a manager, how do you keep players focused in the locker room for two hours? They communicate to their relatives to get updates on their safety, eat, laugh, and play games. You can’t keep them in the game mentally. “That’s a joke.”
“Of course, we’re happy to be here and take part in this competition, but this isn’t normal,” Maresca said in closing.
