Melo: Club World Cup has shown South America can compete with Europe

Former Fluminense midfielder Felipe Melo believes teams from South America have shown at the Club World Cup that they have the ability to compete with sides from Europe.

Fluminense have been the surprise package of the revamped tournament in the United States, reaching the semi-finals where they take on Chelsea on Tuesday.

Renato Portaluppi’s side finished second in Group F behind Borussia Dortmund, but were able to draw with the Bundesliga side in their opening match of the competition.

Elsewhere, other Brazilian teams impressed. Flamengo finished top of their group, beating Chelsea along the way, while Botafogo also made it to the knockout stages.

Palmeiras also reached the quarter-final stage before they were beaten by Chelsea. Boca Juniors and River Plate were the only South American teams that failed to get out of their groups.

“European clubs might be better, but the current world champion team is South American [Argentina] and the one who has the most titles is also South American [Brazil],” Melo told reporters at the Club World Cup.

“The best players are South Americans. We send our best players over there [to Europe], so we do still have the quality.”

#DIADEFLU

A BENÇÃO JOÃO DE DEUS
A BENÇÃO JOÃO DE DEUS
NOSSO POVO TE ABRAÇA
TU VENS EM MISSÃO DE PAZ
SÊ BEM-VINDO
E ABENÇOA ESSE POVO QUE TE AMA