‘The Doll’ was, merely three weeks ago, looking forward to his first December in leisure in a decade. He planned on spending time with his family, having a long weekend away, doing some Christmas shopping and, from the comfort of his couch, watching compatriots Julian Alvarez, German Cano, Adonis Frias, Lucas Romero and Emiliano Tade perform at the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023™.

Then the phone rang. Marcelo Gallardo now finds himself 12,000 kilometres away, concocting an assault on the global title, with N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, Jota and Karim Benzema as his principal weapons, fanatics en masse desperate to see Al Ittihad conquer the sport at home in Jeddah.

Arguably the most successful coach in River Plate’s history, Gallardo speaks to FIFA about the importance of the competition to Ittihad, the passion of their supporters and coaching Benzema.

Marcelo Gallardo: Primarily, I believe there is a great enthusiasm, especially for Arab football. Having a Club World Cup held in the city where we are based, where the team is located, I think it sparks great excitement for everyone. And when I talk about excitement, I also mean for myself and my entire staff. Just over 20 days ago, we were here discovering a completely new world, facing the possibility of a major challenge like the Club World Cup. All of this motivates me hugely.Given the framework it brings, with the champions of each continent, it is one of the biggest competitions a team can aspire to win at the club level. We are in a top-notch scenario where each team will come with its own aspirations, knowing that the world’s eyes are on them. In that sense, I believe the expectations are very high. Like every participating team, we are very excited to perform well in the tournament.The aspiration of reaching the final, or going all the way, is what excites us and keep us focused. I think we will face a leap in quality. We have a good squad with good players. We are in the process of gaining a mutual understanding, and that is never easy. Especially when you are just starting out and in a fast-paced competition with a tight schedule. But all that will be put aside when we make our debut. We are all excited to navigate this tournament in the best possible way. I reiterate that the most important thing is the first game.

Can you imagine the stadium with 60,000 people on Tuesday? What is the passion of the Ittihad supporters like?
I had some idea of what it would be like, but being here, it seems that the expectations have grown a lot. I see a very passionate fan base that follows the team, supports the team, makes themselves felt, makes themselves heard. They always sell out the stadium and hopefully that also gives us greater expectations. Our fans are very excited. It’s something that has pleasantly surprised me: the passion of the fans and how they have expressed themselves, not only towards the club and the players, but also how they have welcomed us. And that’s good because we are used to these situations, where you play and have the fans’ emotions. Here we find ourselves in a place where there is that emotion too. Hopefully, we can live up to it so that they feel fulfilled.

Saudi football has undergone a boom. How far do you think it can go?
That will depend on how they manage the expectations and the development they have to continue growing. I believe they have all the potential to do so. They have a very clear goal of growing the league; important players have already come, and I think important players will continue to come. At the moment, they can maintain and sustain it over time, so I believe it will bring significant growth. That will depend on the continuous support that the league has for its football, awakening its audience, and the demands that important players coming in can also give. It’s also about allowing their grassroots football to continue growing because every country, despite the tendency to improve the league’s condition with important or foreign players, [needs to] develop internally. Developing players, training coaches and being able to connect with this expansion of the Arab world into the world.

Did you find the passion here that also motivates you and gives you the fuel to say, ‘This is a place where I can develop’?
Initially, it was about discovering a completely new place, a completely different place for me. This discovery is also a great learning experience. It comes with that intention: trying to transmit my essence, my knowledge, my passion for football and what I like to do. And in that journey, I am discovering a lot of things that also allow me to grow. I am in that [phase of] expectation: not only adapting but also filling myself with things to enhance everything that, at least, we have intentions of expressing. That, initially, gives me a certain adrenaline being in a day-to-day role again – on the field, in training, at matches. All of that has put me in good spirits, so I am happy, and hopefully we can have the opportunity to gradually implement all our ideas and develop.

What does it mean for you to have players who have won a lot, like Karim Benzema?
I believe that players who have had supreme experience, who have been through a lot, and who have been winners or very competitive carry that hunger for victory with them. And if you are in a place where the demand is not the same, well, that’s when you remember that if you are competitive, you have to be competitive always. If you are a winner, you have to try to win always. So, for those players, the demand is within themselves, or in the worst scenario, it just needs to be awakened. When you want to build a winning team, it has to come not only from the coach but also from the players, who demand it of themselves. It has to come from the executives, from the fans, creating an environment that allows everyone to feel good and aim for the highest goals. We all want to win. Sometimes it’s not possible, but when you do everything to win, it’s very likely that some things will happen because it starts to generate from there.