- Title: JAPAN: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Chelsea are tighter under Benitez, says Cahill
- Date: 13th December 2012
- Summary: YOKOHAMA, KANAGAWA PREFECTURE, JAPAN (DECEMBER 12, 2012) (REUTERS) INTERNATIONAL STADIUM YOKOHAMA CHELSEA DEFENDER DAVID LUIZ, MIDFIELDER FRANK LAMPARD, DEFENDER GARY CAHILL, FORWARD EDEN HAZARD, STRIKER FERNANDO TORRES, DEFENDER BRANISLAV IVANOVIC AND DEFENDER PAULO FERREIRA DURING TRAINING CLOSE OF CHELSEA PLAYERS' LEGS DURING TRAINING CHELSEA DEFENDERS ASHLEY COLE, RYAN BERTAND, CESAR AZPILICUETA, UNDER-21 PLAYER GEORGE SAVILLE, FORWARD JUAN MATA, MIDFIELDERS RAMIRES, MARKO MARIN AND JOHN OBI MIKEL DURING TRAINING VARIOUS OF CHELSEA INTERIM MANAGER RAFAEL BENITEZ TALKING TO TORRES AND LUIZ (BACK TO CAMERA) (SOUNDBITE (English) CHELSEA INTERIM MANAGER, RAFAEL BENITEZ, SAYING: "Use the best team possible for winning the first game and after that I will think about the other one. So my experience is you cannot leave things for the final because you have to win the semi-final." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE (English) CHELSEA INTERIM MANAGER, RAFAEL BENITEZ, SAYING: "The players that are here, Frank Lampard, between them they are available all of them. They were training normal and everything is fine." SIGN WHICH READS: "CHELSEA FC HEAD COACH RAFAEL BENITEZ (SOUNDBITE (English) CHELSEA INTERIM MANAGER, RAFAEL BENITEZ, SAYING: "At the end of the day when you change the manager the players they want to, to prove the new manager that you can pick them for every game. That was the situation the last two games we were playing much better and creating more chances and that is always positive for the confidence of the players." AZPILICUETA JUGGLING THE BALL WITH MATA WATCHING / MARIN IN THE BACKGROUND AND CAHILL IN THE FOREGROUND (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHELSEA DEFENDER, GARY CAHILL SAYING: "I think since he's (Benitez) come in we've tightened up as a unit, defensively I think as a team we've tightened up which has given us a platform to build from. And obviously we've just started to get some good results." OFFICIAL JAPAN 2012 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHELSEA FC DEFENDER GARY CAHILL SAYING: "It's hard to get into this competition in the first place so we've travelled all this way. We want to go as far as we can to win it. And since we've been over here we've realised how big it is I think. We've got some Brazilians in our squad and its absolutely huge for them I've seen the send-off they've (Corinthians) got from the airport and it's amazing. So it's sunk in now I think how big it is for us and we're looking to do really well in it and like you said it is an opportunity to win a cup." WIDE OF MONTERREY PLAYERS TRAINING VARIOUS OF MONTERREY PLAYERS TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MONTERREY COACH, VICTOR VUCETICH, SAYING: "They have very good players at Chelsea and I am sure that they will be scoring goals tomorrow however we also have very talented players in our team and what we'll do is play what we need to play. And that is the kind of game that we will be playing tomorrow." A SOCCER BALL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MONTERREY DEFENDER, DARVIN CHAVEZ, SAYING: "I want to play internationally in clubs around the world and I think that is natural for any football players. And as he said I want to be able to perform and bring out my best and for my strength and skill to be acknowledged by everybody. But of course we grew up as Monterrey players and as a member of Monterrey that's how we want to play tomorrow." MONTERREY DEFENDER HIRAM MIER DURING TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MONTERREY DEFENDER, HIRAM MIER, SAYING: "The Olympics is something where our dreams had come true. And it was after playing against European nations and now we are here to be world champions." MONTERREY GOALKEEPERS JONATHAN OROZCO AND JESUS DAUTT (IN FOREGROUND)
- Embargoed: 28th December 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA1FBZUOF7P83R5SAKBCNHBNW5F
- Story Text: Chelsea have become more compact defensively under interim manager Rafael Benitez as they prepare for the soccer Club World Cup in Japan, defender Gary Cahill said on Wednesday (December 12).
The English Premier League side, who face Mexico's Monterrey in their semi-final in Yokohama on Thursday (December 13), took four games to register their first win under the Spaniard.
However, nine goals in their last two matches have given Chelsea a boost for a tournament they are under pressure to win after an embarrassing group-stage exit from the Champions League.
"Since (Benitez) came we have tightened up as a unit defensively and as a team," Cahill told reporters.
"That's given us a platform to build on and obviously we've just started to get some good results."
Cahill said the Chelsea players had realised the significance of the Club World Cup since flying out to Japan following Saturday's 3-1 win at Sunderland.
"It's hard to get into this competition in the first place so we've travelled all this way," he added. "We want to go as far as we can to win it. And since we've been over here we've realised how big it is I think.
"We've got some Brazilians in our squad and it's absolutely huge for them I've seen the send-off they've got from the airport and it's amazing. So it's sunk in now I think how big it is for us and we're looking to do really well in it and like you said it is an opportunity to win a cup."
Some 15,000 Corinthians fans saw off their team in Sao Paulo, waving banners and letting off fire extinguishers in the airport lobby.
Benitez echoed Cahill's sentiments about how much the Club World Cup meant to them.
"I will use the best team possible for winning the first game," Benitez said, "and after that I will think about the other one. So my experience is you cannot leave things for the final because you have to win the semi-final."
While club captain John Terry remained in London for treatment on a knee injury, Frank Lampard is likely to play a part after overcoming a nagging calf problem.
"Frank Lampard will be available," confirmed Benitez, who knows any slip-ups in Japan could prompt trigger-happy Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to hire a new coach. But Benitez believes the players are now playing with confidence following back-to-back victories.
"When you change the manager the players they want to prove to the new manager that you can pick them for every game," Benitez said. "That was the situation in the last two games we were playing much better and creating more chances and that is always positive for the confidence of the players."
Monterrey, meanwhile, who are playing in their second-successive World Club Cup are determined to make their first final.
"They have very good players at Chelsea and I am sure that they will be scoring goals tomorrow however we also have very talented players in our team and what we'll do is play what we need to play," said Monterrey coach Victor Vucetich. "And that is the kind of game that we will be playing tomorrow."
Monterrey, the CONCACAF Champions League holders, have already improved on last year's fifth-place finish in the competition and defender Darvin Chavez said playing on a world stage and showcasing his talents was his motivation to help the Mexican outfit to win.
"I want to play internationally in clubs around the world and I think that is natural for any football players," Chavez said. "And as he said I want to be able to perform and bring out my best and for my strength and skill to be acknowledged by everybody. But of course we grew up as Monterrey players and as a member of Monterrey that's how we want to play tomorrow."
Hiram Mier, who was part of the Mexico team which won the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics, said the summer's tournament had given him a taste for international tournaments.
"The Olympics is something where our dreams had come true and it was after playing against European nations (that we got a taste for international competition) and now we are here to be world champions." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
