Real Madrid News
Real Madrid learn the dates and venue for the FIFA Club World Cup – report
According to a report from AS, FIFA have notified Real Madrid of the dates and the venue for the FIFA Club World Cup.
The annual competition, organised by FIFA, which pits continental champions of club football against one another is usually held in December, although the last edition was an exception.
However, the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar meant that the Club World Cup dates had to be moved again, with the tournament now set to be played in February 2023.
Indeed as per the report, the FIFA Club World Cup will be held between February 1 and February 11 next year. The venue for the tournament will be Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The FIFA Club World Cup has had to be suspended twice due to the coronavirus pandemic in the recent past.
The tournament is contested by the champions of each of FIFA’s six continental confederations along with a representative of the host country.
Real Madrid will be the representatives of Europe, having won the UEFA Champions League while Flamengo will be representing CONMEBOL after winning the Copa Libertadores, the Copa Libertadores champion of America.
Apart from those two teams, Seattle Sounders (CONCACAF), Wydad Casablanca of Morocco (CAF), and Auckland City FC (Oceania) have already qualified for this edition.
The representative of the host country UAE and the champions of the Asian Champions League (AFC), are yet to be known.
This would mean that Real Madrid will be travelling to the Middle East twice in two months in 2023. They are scheduled to play the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia in January before the Club World Cup in February.
The scheduling is likely to cause some concern to Los Blancos as they are scheduled to play Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg on February 21.
Before he was hired by Bayern Munich as the direct replacement for Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel was closely linked with a move to Real Madrid at the end of the season.
The German tactician had kept a close eye on the development at Santiago Bernabeu, especially with coach Carlo Ancelotti facing immense pressure following the club’s poor performances in domestic competitions.
A recent report from Jorge Picon has offered more details on the Tuchel saga, suggesting that the coach was even learning Spanish during his time at Ibiza, anticipating a potential move to Real Madrid at the end of the season.
There were even contacts made between Tuchel’s entourage and Real Madrid. Although the talks were positive, the two sides were not able to reach an agreement.
Real Madrid did not guarantee him the job. They had informed Tuchel that Ancelotti may continue at the Bernabeu in the event the club win the UEFA Champions League this season.
This bit of uncertainty played a critical role in convincing Tuchel to join Bayern Munich instead. The former Chelsea boss was hired as a direct replacement for Nagelsmann, who was sacked after a poor season in the Bundesliga by the club’s high standards.
However, Tuchel’s move to Bayern appears to be a missed opportunity on the German’s part, as Real Madrid have recently intensified their search for a new manager.
It is clear that the club’s hierarchy is yet to reach a consensus over the future of Ancelotti, with some believing that a change is necessary come the end of the season. In fact, the club’s president Florentino Perez has been an admirer of Tuchel’s compatriot Nagelsmann.
The coaching prodigy is one of the candidates to replace Ancelotti in the summer, though it is Mauricio Pochettion who is reportedly leading the race so far.
