Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca remains one of the Club World Cup's harshest critics, despite his team reaching the semifinals, and continued a stream of complaints about everything from the weather to the scheduling ahead of Tuesday's clash with Fluminense.
The Italian has repeatedly complained about the heat, the calendar and the toll on his players' fitness at the tournament, while also criticising Fifa for the weather delay that interrupted his team's round-of-16 clash against Benfica for nearly two hours.
On Monday, ahead of the semifinal against Fluminense, the Chelsea boss refused to accept that his Premier League side were favourites, instead arguing that the tournament calendar unfairly benefited South American teams.
Maresca said the South American sides had arrived with fresh legs in midseason while the Europeans were exhausted at the end of a long campaign.
It is not that we don't see this tournament as important, it's that teams have arrived in two completely different situations and realities. How many games have the Brazilian team played in their current season? We have played 63 games, Maresca told a press conference.