Barca wary of the threat posed by Santos

Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano says his side are wary of the threat posed by Santos in Sunday's Club World Cup final.

The Catalan giants have earned passage into the final following a 4-0 victory against Qatari side Al Sadd in Yokohama on Thursday.

Mascherano discredited the notion that his country's football rivalry with Brazil will add a special feeling to the match, but noted that defeating Muricy Ramalho's side will not be an easy job.

"The final will not be special because I am Argentine," he said.

"Obviously that this is a final, we want to win it because it is an important trophy to us. We will try to do the right thing to get the trophy."

"Santos are really good, they have important players up front, like Neymar and Ganso."

"I know they are experienced, because I played in Brazil, and their coach is very clever. They are in the final, so we have to respect them."

The Argentina international also noted that Al Sadd's defensive approach to the game caused Barca some problems in the earlier stages of the match.

"I think the first 20-25 minutes were not easy, we could not find spaces to move forward," Mascherano said.

"But after the first goal, we calmed down and we started to find the spaces to attack better. After the second goal the game was almost finished."

Meanwhile, Carles Puyol admitted that the leg injury to David Villa is a heavy blow to his side.

"All injuries are painful, but this is more painful because Villa is highly regarded," he said.

"The only thing we can do is be with him and wish him a speedy recovery. Not having Villa for the final will be a special motivation, we will try to dedicate the victory to him."

The Barca captain then acknowledged that his side will need to turn in a good performance to defeat the Copa Libertadores winners in the final.

"It is clear that playing the final will be different; we will face another team, who are at another level, they have very good players who know well how to play the ball," Puyol said.

"We know that if we are not focused, we cannot win. The important thing is to play a good game, give our best and take the victory."

"The finals are always 50-50, especially if one is playing against a good team like Santos. We will have to be at our best."

"Neymar is a great player who makes the difference, he is very good in one-on-one situations and it will be very hard to defend him."

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