Jose Maria Basanta (pictured) will be appearing in his third FIFA Club World Cup with Monterrey next week in Morocco. (Photo: Mexsport)

 

MONTERREY, Mexico – On Thursday, FIFA released the official list of players for this year’s Club World Cup, which starts next week.  Once again, not surprisingly, the name of Jose Maria Basanta appears on the Monterrey roster. 

It will be the three-time CONCACAF champion’s third straight appearance in the annual event and the defender has been there every step of the way. 

Basanta has played in five Club World Cup games over the last two editions, captaining the Rayados to their most significant achievement in the tournament – defeating Egypt’s Al-Ahly, 2-0, in the match for third place last year.

Since Monterrey did not qualify for the current CONCACAF Champions League, it cannot participate in next year’s Club World Cup.  As a result, maximizing effort and performance in Morocco is of paramount importance.  Such opportunities, after all, are rare and don’t come around very often.

"Reaching the final is the goal that we have, it is the objective,” expressed Basanta, who took the field in four 2014 World Cup qualifiers for Argentina.  “We are aware of it and we can get it.  The reality is that it will not be easy, both the first and the second game to get to the last game.”

After not qualifying for the Liga MX Apertura playoffs, Monterrey has been training intensely and played three friendlies to keep players in game shape.  It will meet Paraguay’s Nacional in one last preparation match on Saturday before departing for Africa.

“The team is seizing the rhythm as we intend, as the coach (Jose Cruz) wants and that is the most important thing,” the 29-year-old noted.  “The team is seen as solid and very compact, which is one of the things that we were looking for and it is reflected on the field of play. 

The Rayados will open Club World Cup play on December 14, squaring off against the Raja Casablanca-Auckland City playoff winner in the quarterfinals.  Basanta stated that the experience gained from participating in two previous editions of the tournament will be an advantage.

'Most of us have already lived it and the experience is important,” he concluded.  “It is necessary to apply it and to be conscious of it from the first 90 minutes in the field.  To compete with these teams is extra motivation.”