I love team bonding events

Prelude: Sergio’s hair is back to looking good, mainly because it looks like his hair of old, just shorter in the back.  I hated the side part and the bangs, and love the center part.  He’s looking at lot like René in this photo, no?

I love it when the entire team goes out together, because I find team bonding activities so cute, and also because it inevitably turns into a fashion do’s and don’ts, Real Madrid edition.  The previous edition can be found here, and as you can see, despite the influx of new players, there have not been a lot of improvements!

But first, some words on the lunch.  It was held at Asador Casa Juan (C/ Infanta Mercedes 111), a Basque restaurant (not surprising at all) specializing in fish and meats.  FYI: the restaurant was opened by the ex-maître d‘ of Asador Donostiarra, who is (again, not surprising) named Juan.  The entire coaching staff and squad were there for the lunch, which began at 13h and ended around 16h.  Real Madrid’s site says that Raúl Albiol was the last one to leave, maybe because he was incapacitated by the crutches?  Garay and Kaká were also on crutches.  (I imagine if Drenthe or Sergio had to use crutches, they would somehow bedazzle them or find some way to match them to their outfits).  Anyway, the lunch was the idea of the two new captains, Iker and Sergio, who handled the organization.  The former, the coach and the new players also made some short speeches during the meal.

Keep reading to find out what the players had for lunch, what neat trick Iker & Sergio pulled off before the luncheon, another reason why Rafa needs to stay and a fashion review!

The two captains took charge of the final bill, which came to about €2,000, although they had also requested that the new players hand over their credit cards before they could enter the restaurant.  That amount wasn’t too bad, considering what they had.  As appetizers, jamón ibérico, tomato and tuna salad, cheese mousse, fried cod fritters and grilled goose “foie.”  The first entrée was a seafood platter with small crabs, shrimp, crayfish and prawns.  For the second entrée, the players had a choice between fish (sole, cuttlefish or monkfish), or grilled meat.  For dessert, ice cream and fruit.  And to drink, water and soft drinks.  Each also were given bottles of wine from Casa Juan’s winery as a gift (that’s what they were carrying when they left the restaurant).

And one more reason why Rafa van der Vaart cannot leave: what would the Germans (Khedira and Özil) do without him?  He’s been helping out with translating to make sure the two of them feel comfortable.  With Rafa gone, the Germans’ adaptation process will take much longer.  In addition, they both seem quite reserved and laid back, so they might not always take the initiative to adapt.

And now onto the fashion review!  Even though we’re sorely missing Guti for his dazzling contributions to this type of event/post, the outfits of the players still provided something to discuss.  They could be divided into several categories:

The classics

These were the guys that didn’t take much of a fashion risk on Friday.  Plain tees, plain polos, aviators or Ray-bans… the art of simple dressing.  It’s not surprising that Kaká or Xabi (after all, the word classy is defined by a picture of Xabi) falls into this category.  I’m also liking Sergio Canales’ plaid shirt – I wonder who picked it out: him or his mom?  It reminds me of Xabi in Esquire.  And no one wears aviators quite like Álvaro Arbeloa – he always looks amazing in them.

The special ones

In this case, I’m not talking about José Mourinho, but the players who brought a personal flare to their outfits.  Unsurprisingly, Royston Drenthe fell into this category, with Pepe included because it looked like he was going to go golfing after lunch.

The jean shorts

Apparently, jean shorts are all the rage among Spanish footballers who like to dress casual!  Raúl Albiol, Iker and Pedro León all sported denim shorts.

The tees

The wild and wonderful world of Real Madrid’s players’ t-shirt collections… At least we now know that Mesut Özil is NOT an alcoholic, and that Esteban Granero had gone shopping during his time on UCLA’s campus.  Pedro León apparently likes Madrid’s team colors a lot!  Karim Benzema needs a new pose, and Marcelo’s shirt is indescribable, on par with Pepe’s during the last lunch.  I’ll give it a shot though: is that an astronaut baby dressed like the Virgin Mary and throwing flower petals around?

The teases

That would of course be Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos, both for wearing quite low-cut shirts.  Cristiano’s sunglasses dragged down the vee of his v-neck, and Sergio most likely deliberately decided not to button the top two buttons of his shirt.  We’re the winners here.

Both looked quite good, even if Cris’ pants were too short (he gets a pass because it’s no longer surprising).

The Iker

There’s no way to describe Iker and his outfit other than by giving him his own category, appropriately named after him as well.  At first glance, the pink, striped polo didn’t look too bad (even if it is A&F, which I hate) but then I saw the rest of his outfit – cuffed denim shorts (David Villa springs to mind) and flip flops.  And you KNOW the man bag is embroiled somewhere in that mess.  Oh Iker.  If you looked at the picture on the right, the words “captain of Real Madrid” don’t immediately come to mind, no?