Juventus coach Igor Tudor said 10 players asked to be substituted during his team’s FIFA Club World Cup defeat against Real Madrid due to fatigue caused by “really difficult conditions” in the round-of-16 tie in Miami.
Gonzalo García’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 win for Madrid and confirmed the Spanish club’s place in the quarterfinals at the expense of Italian giants Juve. But while temperatures in Miami peaked at 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius) — lower than heat levels in recent games — coach Tudor said his players struggled to cope with the conditions.
And despite heavily-rotating his team during the tournament, Tudor said that Tuesday’s fixture against Madrid was a game too far for his players for several reasons.
“The conditions were really difficult today,” Tudor told reporters. “Ten players asked me to be replaced. They were really tired.
“There are a lot of factors that weighed into that. It is the end of a long season and there was a lot of stress on the players that takes their energy.
“The conditions that they played with were really difficult— the humidity too. All of these conditions make it much more difficult. And the heat — that was another thing that made it more difficult.”
FIFA’s decision to schedule the tournament — the first 32-team Club World Cup — has been criticised by many in the game, including former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who spoke out about the competition last week.
And while Tudor said Juventus had a positive experience in the United States, he said his players now need to rest.
“I think it is time to rest now,” he said. “We will have three weeks of rest, so I don’t think it [Club World Cup] will affect us in a negative way. But yes, we need to get some rest, start again and be stronger.
“The guys really gave it all, we played all out best cards and it wasn’t enough unfortunately.
“If there are lessons, we know we can compete against some of the best players in the world and it is a precious experience when you play against clubs of a higher level.”
Real welcomed Kylian Mbappé back to action for the first time this tournament with the forward making a 23-minute appearance from the bench after being sidelined with acute acute gastroenteritis.
And coach Xabi Alonso said that France international will be in much better condition by the time Real play their quarterfinal in New Jersey on Saturday.
“Every day, he is getting better and from now until the quarterfinal, he is going to be even better,” Alonso said. “I talk to him every day, ask him how he is feeling and I think he is going to be way better for the quarterfinals.”–ESPN
