Salomon Rondon’s Pachuca out to upset Real Madrid in FIFA Intercontinental Cup final after incredible 2024 for striker | Football News happymamay

Real Madrid is close to another title, the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, which will be contested by the champions of the six continents of the world. And in their way stand Mexican side Pachuca and a familiar face to Premier League fans in Salomon Rondon.

Rondon is now 35 years old, but his career is nowhere near over. In fact, for the former West Brom, Newcastle and Everton striker, this has been the most amazing year of his life. Rejuvenated in Mexico, the goals and trophies began to flow quickly.

A total of 26 goals have been scored since joining Pachuca last January, a club known for its youth development. Rondon was not only the top scorer of the Clausura Liga MX season, but was also the top scorer in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Player of the Year performance in the final When Pachuca stunned Columbus Crew 3-0 in the final in June, it earned the Mexican club their place in a FIFA competition for the first time. Rondon’s dream continued in Qatar to prepare for the Madrid meeting.

The new Intercontinental Cup format pits Pachuca against newly crowned South American champions Botafogo in the actual quarter-finals in Doha. That match doubled as the Derby of the Americas with the trophy at the end. Pachuca won 3-0.

Rondon scored the third goal, and Botafogo’s defenders were beaten and bullied by the experienced striker. Pachuca won the semi-final over Al Ahly as well – the so-called Challenge Cup which brought more trophies. There are Indian summers and then there is this.

“We won two titles in four days, and now we want the third title against Real Madrid,” Rondon said. Sky Sports. “I am very happy and proud to be part of this amazing club and to live these things. There are no words that can describe what we have achieved.”

A consistent goalscorer in the Premier League for West Bromwich and Newcastle, Rondon’s time at Everton was more difficult. But what seemed like the end of the journey was, in a sense, just the beginning. Incredibly, Rondon has played pretty much non-stop since then.

He left Everton in December 2022, signed for River Plate the following month and helped them win the title in Argentina. Upon finishing the year in Buenos Aires, he moved to Mexico at the beginning of 2024 and continued to play and play.

There was no international retirement for Venezuela either. Rondon was the second-highest scorer in the Copa America in the summer. In October, he scored the equalizer as Venezuela drew with defending champions Argentina in a World Cup qualifier.

“This year has been great for me,” says Rondon. I am very grateful that this year I once again showed my desire to continue improving and giving everything I have, and that will continue to be the case. “I’m really enjoying myself now.”

“You can tell how much I enjoy football by being nominated for the FIFA Best 11,” he adds. Yes, it is worth noting. Rondon was included in the list of the 21 distinguished strikers in world football during the year 2024, which reflects his amazing renaissance.

Maybe it’s not too late to improve. Perhaps the best is yet to come for Rondon. Real Madrid will be the favorites on Wednesday, but Pachuca is starting to have that underdog tag. “Obviously we have high hopes for this Intercontinental Cup,” he says.

“We came to Qatar determined to have a great tournament and finish 2024, which brought us a lot of happiness in the best way possible. We gave it our best. We came here as CONCACAF champions and came out as champions of the tournament.” Americas.

“We now face a really difficult match but we go into it with great enthusiasm. I have already achieved some great things, but there are still a few days of the year left. Real Madrid is waiting for us and that is a great motivation. I really hope we can finish the match with a win.”