NAGOYA, Japan — Corinthians' coach Tite insisted Friday that the South American champions were not favorites to win the Club World Cup, despite Chelsea's recent run of poor form. The Brazilians, led by key players Alessandro and Paulinho, won the Copa Libertadores in July, mirroring the London club's achievement in Europe two months earlier by becoming continental champions for the first time. Chelsea has been on the slide in recent weeks though and come into the seven-team intercontinental tournament on the back of a Champions league exit at the group stage — the first time the holder has suffered such an ignominy. Two goalless draws and a surprise 3-1 thrashing by West Ham have put interim manager Rafael Benitez under pressure just two weeks after replacing Roberto Di Matteo, who led the Blues to that historic victory against Bayern Munich in May. “I don't believe (those) past results will determine what's going to happen in these games,” said Tite, whose side enter the tournament in Japan at the semi-final stage on Wednesday. “What I believe is you have to play 90 minutes in the first game and 90 minutes in the second game. The degree of difficulty and the pressure is the same (for everyone).” Corinthians will play either J-League winner Sanfrecce Hiroshima or Al Ahly of Egypt in Toyota, close to Nagoya. Chelsea will line up against Asian champion Ulsan Hyundai or Monterrey of Mexico, who plays in the quarterfinals, in Yokohama near Tokyo Thursday.
“We don't believe a certain team is the favorite to win the cup,” the 51-year-old Tite added. “This is the sort of tournament where every game has to be decided. There is a chance for everybody.” “There are no favorites attached to Corinthians or Chelsea, or even Al Ahly.” Terry out of Club Cup Chelsea captain John Terry has been ruled out of the European champions' trip to Japan for the Club World Cup though Frank Lampard will return from injury at the weekend, interim manager Rafael Benitez said Friday. Terry injured his knee in his comeback game against Liverpool last month, having served a four-match domestic ban for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. Former manager Roberto Di Matteo, sacked on Nov. 21, said midway through last month that Terry was expected to miss around three weeks following his collision with Luis Suarez when he strained ligaments. — Agencies
