Jhon Arias (left) of Fluminense in action against Jaeik Lee (der.) Of Ulsan HD during the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup match between Fluminense and Ulsan HD in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, on June 21, 2025.
Photo: EFE – Sarah Yenesel
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Jhon Arias He has paved, pure football, his entry to the Pavilion of Figures of the Club World Cup. In an interview with AFP, the Fluminense idol is excited about the pass to the semifinal: “None of us wants the story to end here.”
It has been so well in the United States that his companions call him “Our Colombian Pelé”a nickname that went viral on social networks, but that pleases the idol of the Rio de Janeiro team.
The truth is that the 27 -year -old Colombian has been chosen Party player in three of the four flow matches in the tournamentincluding the surprising 2-0 victory against Inter Milan in Eighths.
Arias attends AFP hours before the quarterfinal clash against Hilal, a Saudi team that overthrew Manchester City 4-3 on Friday in Orlando.
“We know of the power of Arabic football, the growth it has had, of everything that represents the wzal in its league. Nor is it coincidence that they are in rooms and that they have made such a good tournament”, He warns.
“It's no surprise”
Question: Many doubted the Fluminense. What has been the key to reaching the rooms?
Answer: “It does not have many secrets, we have done an honest job based on humility, in consciousness, also who we are as a club, knowing about the strengths and the good group we have.
For us it is no surprise what we have achieved, We arrived at a strong moment And we have been making a World Cup worthy of what Fluminense is. “
Q: Is it seen in the semifinals?
R: “The basis of us is to go to match. Right now we think of the rooms, it is not healthy or healthy to advance, for the respect that we have had in each phase. First we have to prove it and get it on the court, which is where we have achieved everything. There is clearly the illusion, but we are only going to dream the semifinals after taking the step. ”
Q: Many say you are the best World Cup player. It is?
A: “No, I don't guide me much for individual things, the individual is simply a pamper to collective work, That has been one of my personal bases.
I do not get easily under I know very well deal with praise and criticismbecause my essence does not move.
It is a beautiful global tournament, my classmates enhance the individual and none of us wants to end here. ”
“Very uncomfortable with that nickname” –
P: What do you feel when they call it the Colombian Pelé?
R: “I don't like it very much, I feel very uncomfortable with that nickname. We all know the world icon that is Pelé, and I feel that all players have a different story, we have our own history.
We are talking about one of the great five legends of world football, in history, he is a person who has marked many generations and the entire world, It really is a name too high.
The nickname, I respect it does not come to the case, I take it more jokingly, of something a little more jocular, but no, God, I am far from all that. “
Q: Does Europe's dream still reveal it?
R: “Yes, I have never hidden it, because we are talking about the football elite, there is no footballer who does not want to reach Europe. That also speaks of ambition as a athleteof always wanting more, I do not tell you (to go) right now, my focus, my main dream, is to continue advancing in the World Cup. ”
World Cup with “Magic Realism”
Q: In the World Cup there have been surprising victories. What do those unexpected triumphs mean?
R: “Sometimes we make a little that mistake to belittle who is not in Europe, who is in different leagues. Modern football is no longer allowed to leave a single favorite, to leave a team that creates superior to everyone. The World Cup has served as a platform to leave it more evident.
In the other parts of the world we have shown that we also have our quality, that we also have our way of living football, to see it, to feel it, then It has also served to enhance that talent that is in other parts“.
Q: His favorite book is “Hundred Years of Solitude”, by García Márquez. Is the history of the World Cup in the World Magic Realism?
R: “For the fan it has been more a magical realism for everything they have lived, everything that the great victories entail. In the intern, in the team, we knew we had the tools to do things wellthat we had the human material to be able to compete well, to leave the name of the club, of the country, of the continent, on top ”.
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