In case you missed it – Real Madrid vs. Deportivo de la Coruña [2010-10-03].
José Mourinho had mused after the Ajax game that “one day a poor rival will pay for the times when we misfired.” And so that “poor rival” was Depor, with Madrid scoring six goals against them last night, or ¡¡¡the same amount of goals that Madrid had scored in the previous five jornadas combined!!! We are now in third place, BUT we are one point ahead of Barcelona (yay Mallorca!). [The crowd cheered extremely loudly when the Barcelona-Mallorca empate was flashed on the scoreboard at the Bernabéu.]
What a great game… this does help a lot to banish memories of the centenariazo!
One. Loved the goal celebrations, especially how Ricardo Carvalho messed up Cristiano’s hair, and the little dance by Marcelo and Sergio! Look at Sergio’s smile!
And both Cris and Pipita sent out kisses!
Those were some nice goals, no? And great passes leading to the goals as well!
Two. More goal celebrations: Cris celebrated his two goals in the same way, with this gesture. I have no idea what it means, but I’m going to say that it was directed at Kaká, since Cris seemed to be aiming it in the direction of one of the palcos where the injured players and/or their families sit.
And Mesut Özil’s goal was celebrated in these ways – with his teammates (I love how coach Xabi is giving Di María instructions even as he’s hugging his teammates) and individually.
Three. The rain kept coming down in Madrid last night! The players were pretty much soaked after a couple of minutes on the pitch. Iker had to wipe off his gloves on his shorts. And the rain did no favors for Iker or for his hairline, either.
Poor Mesut looked like he had just hauled himself out of the swimming pool, and I’m sure Marcelo’s hair was a bit smaller before the game started. I hope none of them get sick!
The only good thing about the rain was that various players got wet, and looked great while doing so. I’m pretty sure Xabi was running in slow motion in the moment this photo was captured, as he flicked droplets of water off of his hair with slow motion head tosses.
Cristiano Ronaldo and rain go together, because it makes his shirt and shorts transparent and clingy.
Four. The game could be summed up nicely via Jordi Codina’s tweets. “On the left: how grand is Iker! They’re not shooting much at him, but when they do, he saves them all, as he always does!” And on the right: “Buff! What a pass from Sergio! Wonderful!” Right back at you Jordi – ¡Grande Jordi! ¡Q bueno!
Five. Canterano Juan Carlos made his debut, wearing the number 26, with “Juan Carlos” above that – more here!
I loved how all of the older players took care of him!
Who else made his debut with Madrid? Team doctor Luis Serratosa, who replaced the suspended Juan Carlos Hernández! Dr. Serratosa will also be on the bench for the Málaga game. He specializes in nutrition.
Six. Pipita made me laugh during the game, once when he looked like Road Runner, and another time when he was attempting to show the ref something. A new dance move, perhaps? He complained quite a lot last night.
Seven. And we can’t have a game post without mentioning Sergio, no? He makes even the most mundane moments appealing. It may look like it here, but no, he didn’t spend the entire game with his arms over his head.
Eight. My favorite shots of some of the players:
– Marcelo, looking like a baby throwing a tantrum. Someone give him his own way!
– Pepe. No explanation needed, ¿verdad?
– the two extremes of Cristiano Ronaldo – intense concentration and intense frustration.
Nine. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™
I think he’s been working on his posing, because it appears that his repertoire of poses has expanded.
All teasing aside, Xabi had an excellent game.
Ten. The Mou corner:
– during the postgame press conference, when asked about the doubters, Mou replied, “they motivate me and make me laugh” and “I have two Champions Leagues and six championships – is that sufficient to be able to work here?”
– the Bernabéu chanted, “que bote Mourinho” at various points during the game, as well as his name. That is very unusual and so it is high praise indeed for José Mourinho.
– there is no doubt that Xabi is the father on the field, as Mou had said before. And this moment with the water bottle made me laugh so much – I loved Aitor Karanka’s reaction! I’m sure Mou is already regretting that it was caught on camera.
– I never noticed that The Notebook has a diagram of the field on one side, and I loved that Mou covered his mouth when speaking, so that the lip readers on staff at various TV channels wouldn’t be able to discern what he was whispering about.
– the Real Madrid pin was a nice touch, and of course matches perfectly with the suit, the shirt and the hair.
Eleven. It was a perfect weekend for Real Madrid, the club. EVERY SINGLE Madrid team that played an official game this weekend won. That would be nine football teams, from the first team to the baby team, and seven basketball teams. The Cadete B team even managed to do better than Cris, Pipa and co. as they beat Avance 10-0!
Special mention for Castilla, as the boys beat Cerro Reyes 3-0, with great goals from Sarabia, Mandi and a golazo from Álex Fernández – watch it here.
Twelve. Looking ahead: today is a rest day, which Iker and Álvaro spent being honored. Training resumes tomorrow with the absence of the 16 players on international duty this week and next.