AC Milan are raring to strike back at Boca Juniors in the Club World Cup opening today with Ronaldo, back from injury, ready to join playmaker Kaka and fellow goal-machine Filippo Inzaghi.
Both Milan and Boca, Argentina's most crowned club who defeated the Italian side in the 2003 Intercontinental Cup final, have left behind disappointments in their home leagues to face other continental champions here.
Despite advancing to the Champions League knock-out rounds, Milan are currently languishing 11th in the Serie A, while Boca have just lost the battle for the Argentine league title to Lanus.
"I have a burning desire to win the Club World Cup, especially with it being my second crack at this title," Kaka said. "I haven't forgotten our defeat to Boca Juniors."
Boca midfielder Alvaro Gonzalez said: "It would be very nice to win this competition, especially to compensate people for the support they gave us when things didn't turn out well."
The annual tournament, in its third year under the current format, kicks off with a play-off between Iran's Sepahan and Waitakere United of New Zealand. Milan and Boca are seeded in the semi-finals set for the middle of next week.
"This time, my teammates and I will be hugely motivated to see things work out right for us," said the 25-year-old Kaka, who won France's prestigious Ballon d'Or award for best player of the year on Sunday.
Kaka admitted the Club World Cup is seen as a "bonus" in Europe below the Champions League although it is the "most important title" in his native Brazil.
"Things are different this year," he said. "In brief, we're 100 percent focused on the job in hand and we want that Cup."
Europe's best have been shamed by Brazilian sides in the Club World Cup, which merged the traditional Intercontinental Cup featuring European and South American champions and a one-off club world championship in 2000.
Sao Paulo beat Liverpool 1-0 in 2005 and Internacional defeated Barcelona by the same score last year. In the 2000 tournament, Corinthians beat fellow Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.
Boca coach Miguel Russo said before his team's departure for Tokyo that he could not wait for the Club World Cup "because I see that the team is in good shape."
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said: "This World Cup is the main objective of the season. We'll try to bring home another Cup, to cap off a very positive year."
In the 2003 final, the Argentines beat the Rossoneri 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes.
Tunisia's Etoile Sahel will clash with Mexico's Pachuca here on Sunday for the right to face Boca in the semi-finals.
On Milan's side of the tournament, the winners of the Sepahan-Waitakere play-off will face Asian champions Urawa Reds of Japan in the quarter-finals.
Sepahan, the AFC Champions League runners-up, are taking the berth reserved for the hosts.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS