Thiago Silva SPYING on his beloved Chelsea as he bids to wreck their Club World Cup dream
The legendary defender is now with Brazilians Fluminense, who face The Blues on Thursday evening in the semi-final.
4
Thag Silva is still going strong with Fluminense at the ripe old age of 40
Credit: GETTY
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Fluminense will take on his beloved former side, Chelsea, in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup
Credit: GETTY
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The Brazilian was recently observing his former side in training at the Cobham base
Credit: GETTY
There is £97 million for the tournament winner and veteran Silva will find it tough to play against the team with whom he won the Champions League and became a cult hero with the fans.
'I was in
London
not too long ago visiting my kids and went to some training sessions, you know.
'I know a lot of the players there, and I talk to them pretty much every week, some of them are really close to me.
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'I'm happy to have this matchup, and it's going to be a special day for me, but it will be even more special if we manage to go through.
'I'm just really grateful for everything I went through there. It was a very special team in my life, where I won one of the biggest titles of my career, and facing them now definitely won't be easy.
'I know how strong they are, but at the same time, we're going to try to play our game in the best way possible, respecting our opponent but fighting for our dream — the dream of our fans and the club.
'I don't think even the most optimistic fan could've imagined we'd be here, in the semifinals of a Club World Cup.
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4
'We've earned our place with hard work, and now we need to stay fully focused for tomorrow's match so we can try to reach the
next
round.'
Silva was a free transfer from French giants
Paris
St.Germain and signed by former
Watch Thiago Silva's son Iago, 13, drive Porsche as Chelsea youngster's mum Belle says 'bard did it right first time'
He was an inspirational character as part of the squad that was crowned kings of
Europe
by beating
Manchester
City 1-0 four years ago.
Silva is still going strong in his fifth decade and is an icon in his homeland with 113 caps for
Brazil
.
He said: 'People always talk about the gap between
Europe
and South America. I was just saying recently how much respect they have for us.
'If you look at most European teams, they have top players from our continent, and that shows the respect they have for us — and it will be the same tomorrow.
'The expectations are huge. The nerves are there, the excitement is there, the anxiety too, going into a
Club World Cup
semifinal against them.
I was in London not too long ago visiting my kids and went to some training sessions
Thiago Silva
'At what you could call the final stage of my career, I'm still living important moments and trying to help in the best way I can.
'It would be special to eliminate
Chelsea
, even with all the love I have for them, but when you're on the pitch, you have to focus on your own team.
'After the tournament, my support for
Chelsea
and PSG will always be there.
"I'm forever grateful to those clubs, I did everything I could while I was there, and I'll keep doing the same for Fluminense.
"Hopefully, we can get this qualification.'
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