• David Luiz hails Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema

• He discusses Flamengo’s hopes of ending Europe’s Club World Cup monopoly

• The club’s fans, Gabigol and the Flamengo-Palmeiras rivalry are also on the menu

A shower cap was placed over his extravagant curls, a white wig placed over it. A fake beard was applied to his chin, make-up to his face, a false belly strapped across his washboard abs. David Luiz slipped into shiny, red trousers, a matching jacket and black boots, strapped on a black belt and stepped out to masquerade as Santa Claus for kids at the Escola Flamengo Social Mangueira in a Rio de Janeiro favela. The disguise worked about as well as the toys Patch infamously manufactured in Santa Claus: The Movie. David Luiz already has one of the most detectable faces in football. The ball he had at his feet was a stone-cold give-away. The former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal centre-back was mobbed.

David Luiz graciously spent the next few hours chatting to and playing football with the star-stricken children. Then he handed them each a present. Almost every one of them requested a second gift. It’s not that they were ungrateful for the toy trucks, dolls and games they received, or were being cheeky. It’s that they have long obsessed over a gift David Luiz is one of few men on the planet who can help seize. It's that the football club which to them is religion has obsessed over a gift for forever and a day – before they were born, before their parents were even born. Since Zico and Co ragdolled Liverpool in 1981, every Flamenguista has been infatuated with a second global trophy.

David Luiz is set to head to the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™ in search of that gold.

David Luiz: I would swap, without any doubt, being named the second-best player at that tournament for the title. Unfortunately Corinthians played really well that day. Especially Cassio, who was exceptional and was named the tournament’s best player. That’s football. But as a footballer you always want to be playing in the biggest competitions, and the Club World Cup is one every player wants to play in. On numerous occasions I’ve won; on numerous occasions I’ve lost. The Club World Cup is missing from my collection, so now I am on a mission to win this title.

I think Flamengo played really well in that final, but unfortunately came up just short. Let’s not forget that Liverpool were a mighty force in those years. They were good everywhere – going forward, defensively. They didn’t win the Champions League, the Premier League for nothing. So I think Flamengo did really well to make it really difficult for such a team.

It was one of the best pages of my career. It came unexpectedly. I had spent virtually my whole career in Europe, I grew as a player there. It was never my intention to return to Brazil. Suddenly everything changed. That day was my second Libertadores final. I managed to help Flamengo triumph and consecrate myself in the select group of players to have won the Champions [League] and the Libertadores. If I’m not mistaken there’s only 13, 14, so that was really special for me.

He’s a great player. He’s one of the biggest idols at Flamengo. He was born to do the best thing you can do in football: score goals. He loves scoring goals. He does it in big games. I hope he can keep on doing it for Flamengo for a long, long time.

I really hope so. First, though, we have a semi-final that will be really, really difficult. There’s no doubt about that. These teams [from outside Europe and South America] are getting better and better, so we preparing as best we can and taking their challenge very seriously. Then the final would be even tougher. But we’ll give it our everything.

(Laughs) I think almost every one of them! It’s not just the dream of all the kids, but the dream of the entire nation of Flamengo to be world champions again. It’s been a long time for a club of this size. I can tell you that we’re thinking about it every single day.

One of the best teams in the world with one of the best coaches in the world. Without doubt they are the big favourites. They’re the favourites in every competition they participate in because of their history, their know-how, how complete they are and the quality of their players. But in football anything can happen. You saw that once again at the World Cup. Games can be decided by minor details. We’re trying to prepare our own weapons in the best way possible so that we will arrive at the competition prepared for every situation we could face.

I’m extremely happy for Vinicius, for everything he’s achieving after the way he was treat when he arrived in Europe. Many people didn’t believe in him, in his football. Through dedication, hard work and humility, he’s managed to prove he’s one of the best players in the world. He arrived at Real Madrid full of hunger and ambition. He debuted for the first team. Suddenly he was put in the Cantera (youth team). It would have ruined some players, but Vinicius got his head down, worked really hard and now he’s reaping the rewards of what he planted. As for Benzema, he’s already been named the best player in the world. He has incredible quality. He’s one of the best strikers in the world.

I don’t know. I’ve had moments where I’ve played in the biggest competitions in the world, in the biggest games in the world. But to be 35 years old, playing for one of the biggest clubs on the planet, participating in the biggest competitions this club can play in, is without doubt one of the highest points in my career. I’ve had the joy of being able to win titles at every club I’ve been at. I’m extremely grateful to all the people and all the clubs who’ve helped to get to where I have. This is without doubt one of the most beautiful times in my career.

Me signing for Flamengo was indebted to the supporters. I felt their affection before I even joined. The nation of Flamengo is from another world. Without any doubt, everyone wants to be in a position where they can bring happiness to masses of people. Winning games, titles with this club is an amazing feeling. I’m very happy to be at Flamengo.

I think it’s a really healthy rivalry created by the success of the two teams over the last few years. Flamengo and Palmeiras have been fighting for the biggest trophies on this continent. I think the rivalry has helped both clubs keep growing and growing. Palmeiras push Flamengo, and we push Palmeiras. Both clubs are constantly seeking to improve. It's always a really tough game. Palmeiras have a really quality side and a great coach. We’re fully aware of what a great team we’re up against and are preparing in the best possible way. I really hope we win.

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Final highlights Corinthians-Vasco da Gama (Brazil 2000) Sao Paulo-Liverpool (Japan 2005) Internacional-Barcelona (Japan 2006) Boca Juniors-AC Milan (Japan 2007) LDU-Manchester United (Japan 2008) Estudiantes-Barcelona (UAE 2009) TP Mazembe-Inter Milan (UAE 2010) Santos-Barcelona (Japan 2011) Corinthians-Chelsea (Japan 2012) Bayern Munich-Raja Casablanca (Morocco 2013) Real Madrid-San Lorenzo (Morocco 2014) River Plate-Barcelona (Japan 2015) Real Madrid-Kashima Antlers (Japan 2016) Real Madrid-Gremio (UAE 2017) Real Madrid-Al Ain (UAE 2018) Liverpool-Flamengo (Qatar 2019) Bayern Munich-Tigres (Qatar 2020) Chelsea-Palmeiras (UAE 2021) Other videos Best Club World Cup goals (feat. Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo) All champions’ trophy lifts