Head coach Carlo Ancelotti and players Lucas Vazquez and Fede Valverde are relishing a triumphant end to a sparkling 2024 for Real Madrid.
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Real Madrid defeated Pachuca 3-0 to claim the Intercontinental Cup
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It marked the fifth title won by the Spanish club in 2024
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Head coach Carlo Ancelotti and players Lucas Vazquez and Fede Valverde gave their thoughts after the match
Real Madrid are champions of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024™ thanks to a commanding 3-0 win over Mexican side Pachuca at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, with Kylian Mbappe opening the scoring, followed by goals from Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior.
It rounds out an enormously impressive 2024 for Los Blancos, with five trophies won to end the calendar year.
“I think it was a pretty clear game,” said Ancelotti following the match. “Up until the Mbappe goal we had problems to activate the players up top, we had some difficulty. Once we started getting forward, those four have an incredible quality. That is what we have to do, get out with the ball cleanly and get the attack going.”
Players Lucas Vazquez and Federico Valverde, who each played a key role in Wednesday’s triumph, echoed Ancelotti’s sentiment that things loosened up for the European heavyweights once the deadlock was broken.
“[Pachuca] were tough, the first 20 minutes they pressured us a lot, they made things very complicated, but from there, once we opened the scoring, the match tilted our way,” said Vazquez.
“After the first minutes had started, the truth is that I didn’t like how I played much,” said Valverde. “With the goal I was able to come back to my way of playing and improve my play as well. I was able to lift the team up a little more and so I’m happy.”
Ancelotti also earned his 15th title at the helm of the team and couldn’t help but joke about his own Real Madrid legacy becoming permanent.
“I’m happy, obviously I share that with the club because it is simpler to win titles here than in other places,” said Ancelotti. “It is easier to win with these players because of their quality. I am very happy, I don’t know where they are going to put my statue, but they’ll tell me.”
Vazquez also took a moment to absorb what the club has accomplished in the last 12 months, adding that there is hardly any fatigue of winning in the Spanish capital.
“It has been an incredible year,” said Vazquez. “We came back to show that our ambition remains intact, we have a lot of hunger and we want to keep getting more.”
An exclamation point to the night was Real Madrid collecting most of the tournament awards, with Vinicius Junior adding the ARAMCO Player of the Tournament award and adidas Golden Ball, while Valverde pocketed the adidas Silver Ball.
“I’m very happy to have received another individual award, which is dedicated to all my people, to my wife, my children and my parents, who have been with me through the good times and bad,” said Valverde. “I’m very proud to have earned another title.”
