Solari: "We hope to retain the title this year"

Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari has shown his excitement ahead of his team’s opening fixture in the Fifa World Club Cup on Wednesday, and said he hopes they can win the competition for the third consecutive year.

“For the club, it’s a great joy to be here. It means that Madrid are champions of the Champions League again and it is the trophy that we like best,” Solari told the media in Abu Dhabi.

“Being at the Club World Cup again is fantastic and we hope to retain the title this year, which these great players won last year.”

Solari had been following how the tournament was progressing from Spain, although he was more focused on Madrid’s final LaLiga game of the year against Rayo Vallecano before facing this last challenge of 2018.

"It's always important to get to this tournament with a victory in the last game. The Club World Cup has already begun, we have been watching it on TV and now we are glad to have arrived and to focus on Wednesday's game," he said.

“Up to now we were thinking about Rayo, who were our previous opponents, and the only thing after that was a flight. We are now concentrating and we will have the first training session for the match against Kashima Antlers.”

Madrid take on Kashima on Wednesday in the second semi-final, with the winner of the tie facing either River Plate or Al Ain in the final on Saturday.