Vini Jr. and Fede Valverde were awarded the Golden Ball and Silver Ball, respectively for their performances in the Club World Cup. The Brazilian scored the first goal in the semi-final against Al Ahly, in which he was man of the match. In the final against Al Hilal he shone once again, scoring a brace and assisting Benzema's goal to guide Madrid to the title. Fede Valverde has also played a key role in the Club World Cup; the midfielder scored in the semi-final against Al Ahly (0-2). The Uruguayan then went on to score two in the final against Al Hilal. The Bronze Ball went to Vietto.
The Uruguayan spoke for the press expressing his happiness: "I'm happier about other news. You realise that other things are more important, football is a job that you want to do well and you also want to perform well for the club. This is going to be good for me in terms of my spirit. I felt comfortable in the last match and I also enjoyed it. Today I tried to have a good time, I had already heard what my wife said to me and it lifted my spirits a lot. It's a great day for me and for all Madrid fans".
Hug with Ancelotti: "Now I have to keep going, I can't relax. It was a big thing for me. In that hug with Ancelotti I showed a lot of things. Last season I didn't start with much continuity and he, with a few words, some advice and on a day-to-day basis, helped me to finish the season well. Today I am the player that I am thanks to him and he helped me a lot to get through this rough patch."
Contribution: "I have to continue in this vein. When things aren't going well for you, you can't go down and when they are like today, I can't just stick my chest out and say that I'm the best. I have to keep contributing as much as I can, even if it's a small amount.
The Germans Toni Rudiger and Toni Kroos were also among the protagonists (as always), with both of them having won this trophy before: Rudi has won it with Chelsea following their CWC success after winning UCL of 2021 and Kroos has won it on 6 occasions making a league of his own (1 with Bayern and 5 with Real Madrid). Both of them spoke for the press after the victory in Rabat and expressed their happiness.
Rudiger expressed himself in the following terms: "I'm very happy to win another title with such a special team. This club wins a lot of titles and it's great to be part of this. It's something I never imagined. We started very well, we scored two goals. Then we conceded a goal that we shouldn't have let in. In the second half we came back very strong and in the end it came down to minor details. We were able to have a very calm game”.
Something about Vini Jr.: "Vinicius is a special player. He's strong and in one-on-one situations he's the best in the world”.
He was also joined by Ceballos in the press. The Spaniard who is establishing himself as a key man in Ancelotti’s midfield, said: "It's a trophy we've been working towards for a long time. It began last year at Inter and it's been a long road. Winning the Champions League and these two games. Karim is our star player. He inspires us. He plays so well in tight spaces and having him with us today was a turning point".
Then, later, Toni Kroos had the following to say: "We're here to win titles. We've done well. There were two games we had to win. We've played them and won them and now it's time to celebrate. I don't think about a specific number to reach. I try to enjoy football and work hard, that's when the results come. To get here you have to win the Champions League first. We're going to try again, but we know it's difficult. I'm very happy with the six Club World Cups”.
Reward: "It's a long road. In the Champions League we struggled in the play-offs and the reward is getting here. For the opposition in this tournament, it's the game of their lives and you have to defeat them. We were serious, but we could've defended a bit better in both games”.
Next goals: "We come away from here feeling confident and with one more trophy in the bag. We're motivated, but we have a very hard fixture calendar because we play every three or four days. But we're ready for it and we'll see how we perform".
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