Andres Iniesta vows Barcelona will be up for the challenge of winning the Club World Cup when they meet River Plate on Sunday.
Iniesta played as Barca won the semi-final with Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0 through a Luis Suarez hat-trick and stressed that the first match was only part of the reason for travelling to Japan.
“The first goal has been met. We’re passionate about the final. We hope to take the trophy home with us,” the captain said, AS reports.
“The motivation [for the final] will be as greater or greater. There are people [in the team] who haven’t won [the Club World Cup], others who want to win again.
“I won’t deny that it’s a special pleasure. Hopefully we can reach the objective.
“We have to emphasise River’s unit and Argentine football in general. If we’re not 100% we’ll suffer problems.”
Barca beat Guangzho without Lionel Messi or Neymar, the former out with an abdominal complaint and the latter not yet fully recovered from a groin injury.
“[Messi’s involvement] will depend on the next few days. He and Neymar might be involved. They make us stronger,” Iniesta said of his teammates.
