Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has disclosed that the Blues will show Brazilian club Palmeiras some respect ahead of Saturday’s morning quarter-finals clash in the ongoing 2025 Club World Cup.
In a chat with TribalFootball, Maresca acknowledged the brilliance of the Brazilian clubs that have played in this tournament.
All four represented strongly to earn a place in the Round of 16. Flamengo fought closely with Bayern Munich in a 4-2 loss in the last round, and Fluminense knocked out Inter Milan with a 2-0 victory.
“We always respect Brazilian football. We don’t need this tournament to respect Brazilian football.
“Me, personally, I always respect Brazilian football because it’s one of, if not the, best countries in the world in terms of quality of football, so I didn’t need this competition to show that. They have shown in each game of this competition how good they are, and that will continue after this competition.
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“For me, it’s not a surprise because I really admire Brazilian football, because I love players with quality, and they are full of players with quality. That’s why I am not surprised about their football.”
Maresca believes he and his players have learned from the Flamengo defeat, revealing that he will respect Palmeiras heading into the game which is sure to be a heated clash in in Philadelphia at 2am on Saturday morning.
“For sure we try to learn, not just against Flamengo but after every game we play,” he added. “Against Benfica, we did some things good and we could do some other things better.
“The Flamengo game is the only time during this season we played in a new structure, because we are also thinking about different solutions and thinking about the future.
“Flamengo are a very good team in the same way Palmeiras are a very good team, and Fluminense are doing well.
“I really respect Palmeiras because you can see the way they are organised, the way they want to press, the way they are aggressive, the way they allow you to go one side and be very aggressive, ready for transition.
“They have quality players. Estevao is one of them, (Richard) Rios is another of them. The best thing is you can see the identity that they have.’
