Dortmund's Watzke accuses Europe of 'arrogance' around Club World Cup
Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens celebrates his side's first goal of the game during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund at Borussia-Park stadium. Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has dismissed speculation that he met with Bayern Munich board member for sports Max Eberl over a potential sale of Dortmund forward Jamie Gittens to the Bundesliga champions. Federico Gambarini/dpa
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has accused European clubs and fans of "arrogance" in connection with the Club World Cup currently being played in the United States.
"Here on site, we can see how enthusiastic the South Americans, Asians and Africans are about this tournament. It has the same value for them as the Champions League has for us," Watzke told Sport Bild in a interview.
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"Perhaps we Europeans are also a little too arrogant. But this arrogance is catching up with us, because we can now see how strong South American football is."
Europe, the world's biggest and richest football market, has appeared luke-warm towards the tournament for various reasons while it appears to be embraced elsewhere.
Dortmund are among 12 European teams at the month-long event, and need a point in their final group match later Wednesday against South Korea's Ulsan HD to reach the knock-out rounds.
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