Petr Cech told his Chelsea team-mates it was up to them to prove they had not blown their only chance of Club World Cup glory following their defeat to Corinthians. The 1-0 loss in Yokohama saw the Blues waste what could prove a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be officially recognised as champions of the world. No sooner had they left the field than cracks appeared to emerge between those Chelsea players for whom the Club World Cup meant absolutely everything – namely their Brazilian imports – and those who clearly still see it as something of an ugly sister to the Champions League. Fortunately, even the latter group will have little trouble motivating themselves to regain the club’s real Holy Grail of the European Cup, which would guarantee them another world title shot. But having already suffered the embarrassment of Champions League elimination this season, it will be at least another two years before Chelsea are back where they were last week.
