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Elber warns Bayern of difficult match against Flamengo
Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala pulls a jukebox across the pitch during a training session at the ESPN Sports Complex ahead Sunday's FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match against CR Flamengo. Sven Hoppe/dpa
Former Brazilian international Giovane Elber warned his ex-club Bayern Munich that they will have a difficult piece of work when facing Flamengo in the last 16 of the Club World Cup.
"It will be very difficult. The Brazilian teams are taking this tournament extremely seriously," Elber told the t-online news portal in an interview published on Saturday.
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"The Club World Cup is huge for them. They want to show that they can keep up with the top European teams," he said.
Three-time Copa Libertadores champions Flamengo defeated Chelsea 3-1 in the group stage.
"Vincent Kompany and his coaching staff know what's coming their way. Flamengo were outstanding against Chelsea and almost everything worked for them," Elber said.
But he still sees Bayern as the "clear favourites" to win the match and advance to the quarter-finals.
"Flamengo are strong, no question about that. But we have the better squad, also in terms of depth."
Elber played 266 games for Bayern and scored 139 goals. He won the Bundesliga four times and the Champions League once with the Bavarians.
