Brazil's Powerhouse Fluminense and World Champions Chelsea

How do you watch the Brazilian domestic league?

The Club World Cup has come to a close with Chelsea's victory.

Most people probably couldn't have imagined at the start of the season that Chelsea, who had missed out on even European competitions from the time Abramovich left until last season, would actually win it, but that's the sport of football for you. Man, it's mysterious.

This time, I'm not talking about the final against Paris, but the semi-final before that. It's Brazil's Fluminense.

I'm not very familiar with it, but how do you watch South American football? They don't show the Copa Libertadores on J Sports like they used to, do they? I don't think any Japanese stations have the broadcasting rights, so if you want to watch it, you'd have to watch it via local internet streams or illegal sites. That's why people who watch South American football are usually hardcore fans. So, the Club World Cup, which you can watch on DAZN, is a valuable opportunity to experience South American football.

A clash between Europe and South America

■ Maresca's Chelsea formation

As for the starting lineup against Fluminense

The focus is on Joao Pedro, whose signing from Brighton was announced just before this match. Is it really okay to sign and immediately play someone during the tournament?! Although the transfer market is open at this time, so signing players is fine, but being able to add them to the squad during the tournament must be a unique club advantage.

Joao Pedro was used at the very front. At Brighton, he was used in the second line or as a shadow striker, but Maresca put him up front. After all, is that the goal?.

Nkunku, who was used on the right wing, was indeed used that way during his time at Leipzig, but Joao Pedro is playing as a false nine. He drops into the midfield to prevent the opponent's pressing from focusing on him. When Nkunku on the right moves into the center, Palmer can overtake Joao Pedro and move up to the top.
In contrast, on the opposite left side, Pedro Neto is isolated and fixed to the flank. It's as if they are telling him that this is his assigned area, and no one else enters that space.

There are two key points to this formation.

One is Cucurella, the left fullback, who is left open because Pedro Neto draws the enemy in while isolated. Since Fluminense is using a 3-5-2 formation, there is only one player on the flank. Therefore, if Pedro Neto can beat his marker one-on-one, Cucurella can be left free due to the matchup. The question is whether they can build the game from here.

The other is Palmer. He is the ace wearing the number 10 shirt this season, but the right side is quite fluid due to his relationship with Nkunku. Since neither Joao Pedro nor Nkunku are players who hold up the ball or build the game, it will be up to Palmer to control the fluid right side.

■ Fluminense's Defense

Aren't South American teams surprisingly tenacious in defense?
It was over 10 years ago, but I remember being surprised by how well-organized the defense was for Corinthians, the last South American team to win the Club World Cup. I have the same impression of Botafogo, who defeated PSG in this tournament, and Flamengo, who beat Chelsea in the group stage. It wasn't 'let the attackers fly freely' football (what era is that from anyway?).

I'm not familiar with the Fluminense players, but this person is famous.

Former Selecao captain and Chelsea alumnus, Thiago Silva. He's 40 now, but still going strong.

And this person is also here now.

Ganso, who was once said to be leading the Selecao alongside Neymar. He didn't make it to Europe for a long time, and although he briefly came to Sevilla, he left no impression at all. But he's still working hard.

Also, Marcelo was the captain when they won the Copa Libertadores three years ago, which led to Fluminense's participation in this tournament, but he has already retired. Time flies for legends.

Brazilian league teams, which are often raided by European and wealthy Asian clubs, have started losing to Asian and African teams if they lack defensive organization. However, as long as they are solid in that regard, they have the strength to compete equally with European teams. Having Thiago Silva as that leader is a big deal.

Fluminense uses a nearly 5-3-2 formation, with each lane locked down. Their positioning in midfield and the center is designed to leave no gaps, like a mesh net. Therefore, even when faced with a false nine or fluid movement, they aren't distracted, dealing with it by thinking, 'As long as we control this area, we're fine.' At worst, they are willing to concede the flanks as long as the center is tightly closed.

Because of this, they have fewer players on the opposite flank, but their philosophy is to prevent the ball from reaching there by compressing play to the same side and winning it back. It's somewhat like Simone's Inter. While Inter's positive transition is meticulously designed, Fluminense's positive transition isn't quite at that level.

■ Can Chelsea exploit Fluminense's weak points?

When they actually engage in a tight battle, even if Chelsea's right side shows fluidity, Fluminense seems to have calculated for that, making it difficult to break them down from there.

However, on the opposite left side, Pedro Neto is orthodoxly left in isolation, forcing Fluminense to deal with him in one-on-one situations. But behind him...

Previously, the three midfielders would have slid over to cover, but with Joao Pedro dropping deep and Enzo acting as the pivot, what should have been a Pedro Neto isolation leaves the Fluminense right side stretched thin in terms of numbers. The right wing-back is pulled toward Neto, allowing Cucurella to become a pivot.

Since Fluminense cannot disrupt the order of their five-man backline, even if Joao Pedro tries to draw the midfield out to leave Cucurella open, the midfielders are forced to follow. Their hand-off of markers isn't that smooth, and because Cucurella inevitably ends up open, Chelsea increasingly focused their attacks through the left.

■ Chelsea looking to maintain balance

The concern for Chelsea is the right side. Nkunku, who is playing as a winger, is not a natural winger, so for them to push forward from there, the full-back Gusto needs to attack. While the left side is being dominated, the right side isn't breaking through, so Fluminense holds the initiative there. Since Fluminense also uses this side for their counterattacks, Chelsea must do something about this side to maintain their balance.

Gusto takes over the right side in place of Nkunku, who moves inside. However, since he is a full-back, he doesn't have the one-on-one ability of a winger. Furthermore, if he loses the ball, they will be hit directly behind him.
Therefore, support is essential. And coming to his aid is...

Palmer.

Since it's not Neto, there is no winning path for Gusto to outperform his marker in one-on-one ability. So, they handle it with multiple players. Even if Gusto has no chance in a 1-on-1, there is a possibility in a 2-on-2. By positioning Neto and Palmer on both flanks, they also neutralized the Fluminense wing-backs during positive transitions, and Chelsea completely dominated the wide areas. They controlled the entire pitch and didn't let Fluminense do anything.

■ A serious battle against South American teams

This is the real thrill of the Club World Cup, as it's the only time you get to see serious competition against South American clubs. It has been dominated by European teams lately, but the South American sides put up a good fight in this tournament, which was quite interesting.

Even though clubs from various continents participate, there is a bigger gap in quality than in national teams, and while there are clubs like Al-Hilal that are based in Asia but are essentially European clubs, that's a different story. In the end, the only ones who can stop the European teams are the South American ones, and although Fluminense was the only one to reach the final four, I think they achieved decent results overall, and it's one of the few opportunities to experience South American football.

Club World Cup, concluded here

NEXT

New season kickoff! Pre-season Japan Tour!

Thanks for watching!!