José Mourinho at ABC
I was doubly excited to get a copy of ABC yesterday, because they featured José Mourinho on the cover, with a lengthy interview inside, plus their weekly magazine XLSemanal had an interview with Álvaro Arbeloa, which I’ve already shared with all of you. Anyway, Mou has some very interesting things to say and I love the little digs he gets in, but my favorite part is when the interviewer starts asking him about specific players.
Next to his chair, on the right, he has a tactical board so that in any moment, he can analyze any strategy of the team. In this, he’s unique. He can realize four different playing styles in a game until the scoreboard registers a comeback. A photo of the day he signed with Real Madrid hangs in his office. Karanka and Rui Faria can be found in the next room. José Mourinho has just become the champion of the Liga. He’s put the brakes on the cycle of Barcelona. He’s tranquil. He emanates security. The title is an incentive to win the Champions next year. The locker room is filled with images of the nine European Cups won by the club, and La Novena is right next to the door. La Décima should be in this locker room. The message says everything.
Seven league titles between Spain, England, Italy and Portugal. Champion in the three big leagues. Was it a challenge?
Yes. No coach has ever won the league in all three of the big leagues. It was an objective. It was a professional experience and a spectacular life experience. I hope I won’t be the only one to achieve this. In 10 years time, I hope there will be other coaches and players who have done this. My objective now is to win more Ligas with Madrid. And after my time in this club, I’ll work in one of the three big leagues, England, Italy and Spain. But at the moment, I have two more years left on my contract and my family and I are happy to have a stability that we hadn’t been able to enjoy until now, because we always moved each two to three years. We’re happy to continue with Real Madrid.
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Álvaro Arbeloa at XLSemanal
An interview with Álvaro Arbeloa appears in this weekend’s XLSemanal magazine (there’s also an interview with Mou in ABC, working on it), and it’s a good one, because Álvaro, as the image of Gillette, is asked questions about his own beauty routine, and that of his teammates… Don’t miss what he and Raúl Albiol say about Sergio Ramos! It’s hilarious!
I love the photo on the right…
“Whomever has not faced adversity does not know his own strength.” That’s how Álvaro Arbeloa expresses himself on Twitter, and it’s also his life philosophy. Álvaro is a 2.0 version of a traditional hero.
You’re already “Spartan,” Robocop, Rocky… and now you’re also “Hombre Lija” [the name of his Gillette campaign].
It’s just that in the Madrid locker room, we’re always clowning around and we love giving each other nicknames (laughs). Those nicknames came about because my teammates like to exaggerate and they told me that I take care of myself too much. I usually go to the gym for 20 minutes each day.
And that’s a lot of time for them?
What happens is that they’re a bit lazy. They train and then they go home, and so when you do an additional three sit-ups, they think you’re Rocky and so that’s what they called me. [Jajaja!!!!]
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ICYMI – the alirón edition
Now, onto the celebrations!
Gold stars go out to Pepe, Mesut, Sergio, Pipa (an extra shiny one), Sami, Xabi, Esteban, Karim, Raúl, José and Cristiano. And twitter/Facebook. I think you know why.
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ICYMI – the 32nd edition
In case you missed it – Athletic vs. Real Madrid [2012-05-02, jornada 20, 0-3].
With this win, Madrid won its 32nd Liga, the most out of any teams in the league. This was just the 12th time the alirón was won away from home, as the other 20 times, it had been achieved at in the Bernabéu. What got us there? Teamwork, which allowed us to set a number of records this season, both in the Liga and in Real Madrid.
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posts to come soon…
… in the meantime, enjoy Iker celebrating his five Ligas.
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¡sí sí sí, la liga ya está aquí!
¿Cómo no te voy querer?, ¿cómo no te voy a querer?, ¡si eres campeón de Liga por 32ª vez!
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all set for Athletic!!!
We could go into tonight’s game at San Mamés (22h) as champions (and get the pasillo) if our old friends over in Málaga (Fernando Hierro, Manuel Pellegrini, RvN, Júlio Baptista) do us a favor and beat Barcelona in their game (2oh). If that doesn’t happen, then we just have to win the game to sing the alirón (I’m not even thinking about the other options). Number 32, here we come! And as if we needed any extra excitement, there’s also JAVI MARTÍNEZ (!!!)!
What a great view!
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ICYMI – the three more points edtion
In case you missed it – Real Madrid vs. Sevilla [2012-04-29, Liga jornada 36, 3-0].
Another hard day’s work, another three points, another step closer to the alirón! Unfortunately, Barcelona ended up winning its match, so our celebration at Cibeles will be postponed until tomorrow, I hope. Besides the win, I’ll remember this game for this scene.
