Fluminense captain Thiago Silva had extra reason to celebrate after Monday’s 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the Club World Cup round of 16.

Silva revelled not only in his team’s historic performance but also in beating his former club’s city rivals.

The 40-year-old defender, who returned to his hometown club Fluminense last year, played three seasons with Milan between 2009 and 2012, winning a Serie A title and an Italian Super Cup.

As Fluminense knocked their Italian opponents out of the revamped FIFA tournament, Silva acknowledged he thought about the joy Milan fans would feel witnessing their arch-rivals’ defeat.

“I was thinking here and thinking about Milan,” he told reporters after the match in Charlotte. “I’m sure the Milan fans will be happy about Inter’s defeat and our victory.”

The centre-back, who also enjoyed successful spells at Paris St Germain and Chelsea, praised his team’s outstanding performance in overcoming the Champions League runners-up.

“This is a very important result for us. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. They played in the Champions League final less than a month ago,” Silva explained. “Today we played an incredible match. It had to be this way. There was no other way to achieve it.”

He added, “We were always together defensively. We played an excellent match.

“They also made it difficult for us. Perhaps we lacked something in defence, but that’s understandable against an opponent like this.”

The Brazilians next face the winners of the Manchester City v Al Hilal tie in the quarter-finals on Friday.

(Reuters/NAN)