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YOKOHAMA, Japan —It was when the huge, heaving mass of Corinthians players and staff were partying at the final whistle, when their 20,000 fans were lighting flares and chanting their idols’ names, that it really hit home to Chelsea that the Club World Cup was a trophy worth fighting for. Corinthians simply had a greater yen for it.
Chelsea’s latest inquest will focus on the players’ desire to win and on the late arrival here, but it really was the little details that truly cost the champions of Europe, the decisions that define a game’s destiny. It was Fernando Torres’s hesitant decision-making in front of goal that always made Chelsea vulnerable to one of Corinthians’ incisive counters.
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