What are your thoughts on Palmeiras' performance?
"They were a strong opponent, a typical South American team. They were very good individually and had huge solidarity and discipline. They had huge sacrifice against the ball, suffer and defend together.
"So we knew it would be difficult to create half chances. We had to be patient but relentless at the same time.
"Like it is sometimes in a final, it's a bit stiff in the beginning. You look for solutions but you don't want to open spaces for counter-attacks which they rely on and are very good.
"This was, for me, more or less the first half. It was a bit stuck and we struggled with the fluidity of our match.
"We changed the structure a bit in the second half and found the spaces better. We scored a wonderful goal and had two or three good half-chances after that. Then at the moment we were in total control and were the better team, and seemed to find spaces better and have a higher rhythm, we gave a penalty away from a throw-in which is very unusual.
"Then the whole story starts from scratch, which is mentally and physically not easy. We never stopped attacking and never stopped trying for the 90 minutes.
"We changed the structure again in extra time, had a different structure to defend and attack, and the team did very well to control the match completely.
"The guys from the bench had a huge impact and if you have a late penalty, you are of course lucky, but I think we deserved it because we had a lot of chances, never stopped trying, and being active the most during the game. So we take it like it is in a final against a tough opponent. It was a fantastic victory.
How have your last 36 hours been, it must have been very hectic?
“I was several times on my way to the airport and on my way back. When I was driving I was called back because a test was not [confirmed as] negative, but finally, we made it. I arrived for dinner at 8:15 in the evening so no chance to be part of the last training.
“I took the meetings today, of course, and I tried to keep things as normal to prepare the team for the opponent. But it’s my first day here and now we leave.
“It was not nice to watch the semi-final in the office on the screen – as a coach you want to be on the sideline – and I am happy now that all the effort from everybody and support was worth it and we managed to get the cup.”
What was it like watching semi-final from home?
“The semi-final I was walking up and down in my office. I had a tactical view to see the whole pitch and the TV feed on the other big screen. I was in contact at half time and in the second half with my assistant on the tribune.
“We did the same in the cup game against Plymouth, but it’s not like I am constantly talking to them but maybe every ten minutes or 15 minutes I give a little bit of input because you have a wider angle.
"But coaching is also about the feeling on the touchline so I needed the input from the sideline. It’s not possible to coach just from the office because you need the closeness to the game and the players, what you think is good and who should have an impact.
“For today, we were calm before the game. We tried to calm the team down and tell them what a fantastic opportunity it is to play football and that every player in the world was jealous of us to play in the final and so many young boys out there dream to be in this final. We reminded ourselves that everyone has been this boy.
“It’s also a moment to enjoy, enjoy the hard work and sacrifice we put into this game. In half time, in the second half, and at half time in extra time, we changed some tactical stuff and told the guys to keep on pushing.”
There is a big financial gap between South American and European clubs, but how did this match compare because Palmeiras managed to be competitive?
"This is one game and for one game you can always close the gap, even a financial gap. It is a huge football country and they have so, so many good players. You can never doubt they are competitive in one or two matches.
“There is a huge financial gap but it plays a huge role in their approach to the game. They want to show they can close the gap, so the role they play is a little easy to prepare for a match. We need to prove we are more competitive, have more games at this level than they have in their league, this is maybe the difference in the approach.
“The atmosphere was fantastic and it felt like an away game. They had a huge crowd and it was amazing. Maybe this tournament isn’t so highly regarded in Europe, but once you are here and feel it, it totally catches you.
“I was on the bus after preparing for the final, you see the lights of a stadium, you don’t know the other team so well, it’s a fantastic feeling and incomparable to any other feeling. So it was so beautiful to play this game, a huge challenge, and we did not expect anything else.
“We had a tough semi-final against Al Hilal who had a fantastic team and coach who forced everything out of us. We struggle at the moment. We don’t play our best football and it’s not our best moment in general.
"We struggled a little bit as a team, but as Petr Cech says many times, we managed to find a way to win, to be in the final, to win the final, and for this they deserve full credit.”
This is another final Kai has turned up for?
“I am very happy. He was decisive today and it was not easy to shoot the penalty. I am happy he stepped up and took it the way he took it. It can only be good for his development and well done.”
Was there a point you didn’t think you would make the final, and have you had a chance to speak to Roman Abramovich?
“It’s for him. There is no doubt it’s for him. We met shortly on the pitch after the final and I said congratulations and he said congratulations.
"I said, ‘it’s for you, it’s your club and it’s your input passion that made this possible'. We are happy to be part of it. Of course, the trophy is for him.
“It was a back and forth [to get to Abu Dhabi and we were running out of flights with the time difference and we knew the deadline was coming.
"We took the second-to-last chance to make it. The last one would’ve been to make it in the morning. I am happy that we made it.”
Why did Mason Mount come off?
“He was injured. It was in one of the first actions, he had a run at the back post with Azpilicueta. They fell and his opponent fell on his ankle and he hurt his ligaments badly. So we have to see. It’s an injury.
"He came to me and said he didn’t feel good, stiff and painful. He didn’t know if he could continue so we took the decision.”
Antonio Rudiger won the man-of-the-match award, just how important is he to you and how much do you want to keep him?
“At the moment, he is a Chelsea player and he has delivered since day one which is very impressive."
"He delivers at a high level and we have huge respect for him. The fans love him and we show our appreciation to put him on the field. He is a leader, a leader of the group since we arrived."
"He is in talks of course. The situation is not new and it doesn’t affect his performance, that is the most important thing for me. The others things are taken care of by the club and Toni’s agents.”
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