more Madrid bits & pieces

Get ready for more of these types of posts (snippets) over the next few days, due to national team duty!!!  I hate it that just when we are able to finally get all excited about the Liga starting, the international games take over and we have to wait again for the season to resume.

One. I am hating the Premier League right now for approving the Rafa van der Vaart transaction… anyway, best of luck to Rafa at Tottenham; I hope he does brilliantly!  ¡Suerte Rafa! And as sad as I am about this whole episode, I am ABSOLUTELY gutted that Sylvie will be leaving us.  Gutted.

This whole episode just shows once again that while the coach may say that he likes a certain player, implying that he wants him to stay, the management always has other ideas.  Just look at what happened with the other Dutch players – in one year, we went from six to zero, despite the coaches stating publicly that they hoped to count on some of them…

Two. Sami Khedira talked to German newspaper Stuttgarter Nachrichten, and reader LaBlanca has kindly translated the relevant (to this blog) parts of it.  Regarding what Mourinho said the other day about the language problems, he said the coach was right, because neither he nor Mesut can speak the language yet (which is ok, considering that they’ve been in Spain for such a short time), but that he’s improving and taking Spanish classes three times a week.  We also find out that at the luncheon two weeks ago, all the new players had to make a speech, and he said a few words in German and Spanish, which the others listened to with wide eyes and then applauded, so he assumes that what he said couldn’t have been too bad.  Xabi is helping Sami with the language, because he speaks English, and Diarrá has also explained some things, while Cris has offered advice.

Sami also said that he’s proud to play for a club like Madrid, and that the players have no ego problems and they laugh a lot with each other.

I love the unity of the team!

In an earlier interview with Sport1 (also translated by LaBlanca), Mesut Özil said that he’s already found a house, in a neighborhood where several other players live (which can only be La Finca), he can communicate in English and is taking Spanish classes four times a week (take that Sami, with your paltry three!), and that he’ll continue studying Spanish while on the international break with Germany.  According to him, the adaptation on the field hasn’t been hard, because all the players have been supportive.  Mesut added that he loves Madrid, describing it as a beautiful city where the sun is always shining (except yesterday!!!).

Three. Poor France – you know the country’s national team is in trouble when the coaching staff & advisers can take on the current squad and probably beat them.  Zizou is looking fantastic, no?

Four. TSO was at a UEFA coaches forum in Switzerland yesterday, and was seen talking to Pep Guardiola.  It must have been a secret talk, because look at the lengths the journalists went to get a shot of them.  I love that Pep refused to bow to pressure and wore a purple sweater and jeans instead of a suit, which was what all the other coaches were wearing.