Chelsea put winning at the centre of their identity in the last two decades, and it looks like they are finding their old selves. Robert Sanchez stood tall in the Club World Cup final as the Blues beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0, and the goalkeeper gave his thoughts on a "dream" that has come true.
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‘We’re going to be a solid squad’
Sanchez was ecstatic to have come out of the tournament with a second title of the season.
“It feels amazing: world champions. I was talking to some of the boys saying we got a big chance to make history here and win. We believed that we were going to but who would have expect that we're going to win like this: 3-0, clean sheet, dominated the game could have scored more. It’s a dream.”
It has been an unusual arrangement to play for almost a month in the USA after the end of the traditional European campaign. The players have put their bodies on the line, dealt with warm weather, and endured the mental strain of additional fixtures. But winning makes it all worth it.
“It is amazing. It is all we wanted: we've been here a month away from home, family, working hard.”
The Blues booked a spot in this final with wins over Benfica, Palmeiras, and Fluminense. On the other hand, if they had ended up at the top of their group above Flamengo, they would have faced Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 and clashed with PSG earlier in the competition. Yet, the 27-year-old offered a rebuttal to the notion that it was easier for his side to reach the final through their route.
“A lot of people were saying that we had the easy path, but it wasn't easy. We work hard and the boys deserve the win at the end of the day in the final we show how good we are and what we can do.”
Despite his many critiques, the Spaniard showed he could hold his nerve in this showpiece event. He pulled out a fabulous save to stop Ousmane Dembeleat the start of the second half and was seldom shaky between the posts. For his contributions in the competition, he earned the Golden Glove award.
“I had to show a little bit in the final! Concentration, being aware of positioning, the players, the runs and do my best. The saves were not crazy hard, but they were difficult because the pitch was sticky. So, they became they were difficult because of that. There was the cutback and a save from Ousmane Dembele, the shot from Bradley Barcola in the second half, a couple of simple saves in the first half.”
This triumph is a feat that brings an end to a strong season for the Blues. They reached the top four and earned a place in the Champions League for the first time since 2022, earned their first title in the BlueCo era with a 4-1 victory in the Conference League final, and are now world champions.
Sanchez spoke about the importance of this moment for the project taking place in West London.
“This is amazing. The owners, the directors, they know what they are doing with Enzo Maresca, the project that we have. Since the beginning, we sign players for our purpose. We are always going to be underestimated, but we know our quality. We know how good we are, and even here, we knew they got quality, but we have quality. If we match the pace, the intensity, then we're going to win the game.”
This outfit have the youngest squad in the Premier League. If this campaign can be the foundation for this group to grow further, then the medium-term future is looking rather bright for the Blues.
“We already showed the world so all we need to do is keep it the same. We are all willing to get even better. The boys are so young like 21 20 22. Imagine when these players become 24 25 26 and we we're going to be a solid squad. We're going to win a lot. We're going to we're going to do well.”
