Salcido: Fifa Club World Cup is the pinnacle of my career
▶ Captain of Mexican side Guadalajara cannot wait to lock horns with best, writes John McAuley
Club Deportivo Guadalajara captain Carlos Salcido has experienced a lot in a professional career spanning 17 years.
He has represented his national team, Mexico, 124 times, appearing at three successive World Cup finals between 2006 and 2014. In between that run, he won Olympic gold, excelling as one of Mexico’s overage players to provide a key role in the success at the 2012 London Games.
Having forged his reputation at Guadalajara, Salcido spent five seasons in Holland with PSV Eindhoven, winning the Eredivisie twice and playing in the Uefa Champions League. He also featured for Fulham in the English Premier League.
However, now back at his hometown club, Salcido has recorded what he believes to be one of his most notable achievements in the sport.
Guadalajara, more commonly known as “Chivas”, will next month contest the Fifa Club World Cup in the UAE, made possible by their victory, on penalties, against MLS side Toronto FC in the Concacaf Champions League final earlier this year. In standing tall during the shootout, Chivas clinched the title for the first time in 56 years.
Now, a potential match-up against Real Madrid, the twotime defending champions, is in the offing. Clearly, the 38-year-old defender has a few more accomplishments to notch before calling time on his career.
“This achievement is among the most important in my career,” Salcido says. “I’ve had the chance to play international tournaments with the Mexican national squad or with my previous teams when I played in the Uefa Champions League. These are always important tournaments, but this tournament has something special.
“It is the Club World Cup. Just as its name says, only the best teams in the world get to go. The truth is that this is one of the biggest milestones in my professional career.”
Chivas are only one match away from that encounter with Madrid. They begin their Club World Cup quest against Japan’s Kashima Antlers, the newly crowned Asian champions, in the quarter-final at Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on December 15. Come through that, and a marquee clash with Madrid, at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi four days later, is theirs.
“My aspirations for the tournament is to win the tournament if we manage to play the final,” Salcido says. “We are all hoping to play all the matches and to be there at the final. I would love to face Real Madrid. They are simply one of the best teams in the world. I can say that playing against them is one my biggest dreams.”
Salcido is adamant his side won’t be awed by what lies ahead in the Emirates. Chivas are Mexican champions – last season, they captured the La Liga MX title for the 12th time in their history – and displayed their mettle by coming through the shootout against Toronto in April to add the continental crown. It was a first since 1962.
Admittedly, they have struggled this year and currently sit 11th domestically, but still, Chivas are determined to stick to their principles for their Club World Cup debut.
“The preparation for the tournament will be exactly the same,” Salcido says. “Chivas do not change their playing style, however there will obviously be an extra motivation. We want to go the tournament and win it.
“We know that we’ll go there, and we’ll be playing against the best and you need to prepare for that.
“We are ready to play in the same level to any team in the competition and we are going to prepare with a lot of hope and with the clear objective of transcending even more in our careers.”
The preparation for the tournament will be exactly the same. Chivas do not change their playing style
CARLOS SALCIDO