in case you missed it – the Herculean edition

In case you missed it – Hércules vs. Real Madrid [2010-10-30].

This was our first – and hopefully last, although I seriously doubt it – remontada of the season.  And sigh… winter’s coming – the yellow winter ball was used for the first time this season.

One. Cris started out the second half a bit lost, but he eventually found his way.  He scored twice, bringing his total to 13 in the month of October (11 with Madrid and two with Portugal).  He’s currently ranked first for pichichi with 12 goals.  And he showed us some new goal celebrations!

Two. Benzema was involved with both of Cris’ goals, and his teammates were very happy for him.  In the goal celebrations, his hair – or where his hair would be if he had some – was ruffled repeatedly by his compañeros.  They’ve been doing the same to Özil – I wonder if it has any special meaning?

After the game, Karim Benzema left the field smiling, and receiving hugs, pats on the back, high fives from all his teammates.  He was very happy, saying that we have yet to see the best Karim Benzema.  And Cris was especially pleased with Benz’ performance: “I’m very happy for him.  He was key because he gave me the pass that led to the third goal.”

Now, can everyone shut up about Benzema/anxiety/goal drought/not worth the high price tag, etc.?  And while we’re at it, I want the same for David Villa.

Three. I love how we’re a team.  Pepe received some “good job” pats as he sat down on the bench, while Diarrá had some nerve-wracking moments while just sitting there cheering on his teammates.

Four. Meanwhile, Álvaro Arbeloa and Sergio Canales were having a wonderful time just chilling on the bench.  They’re probably smiling to themselves and saying, “I can’t believe I get paid for this.”

Five. Take a good look at these boots; we won’t be seeing them for much longer!  And will we be reminiscing about them in a couple of months?

The cameraman loved Cristiano.

Six. Marcelo’s hair looks smaller than usual, no?  And especially compared to that picture they used of him in the lower left corner – I can hardly remember when he used to look like that (i.e. when he and TI Robinho looked like twins).

Seven. Even though Iker and Sergio do this before every game, I never get tired of it.  I wonder if they missed doing this in the last three games?

What does Iker need the towel for?  It’s not like he sweats a lot during games.

And Iker actually had some work to do today, so why was he messing around like this?

Eight. The most entertaining Mesut Özil moments of the game: getting rejected by Marcelo, and removing the garbage from the corner.  I bet you he’s using the couple of the Spanish swear words that he knows (he definitely knows some, since that’s what any Spanish student learns first, and especially with teammates like the ones he has on Madrid) to describe the situation to the referee.

Nine. The dancers.  All three have a future in ballet.

Ten. I loved this moment.  Raúl Albiol looked a bit sleepy, so he had to do some jumping around to get his blood flowing.  And Álvaro Arbeloa was busy taping his socks.  It took him forever to finish the job.

And it was great seeing Raúl back, and having the complete set of four musketeers + Iker on the field all at the same time!

Eleven. I just liked this image; the photographer captured it at the exact right moment.

Twelve. Two of our former canteranos play for Hércules, Javier Portillo and Tote.  I miss them!  Javi had so much promise… Jorge was seen warming up, but didn’t make it into the game.

Iker and Portigol exchanged shirts after the game.

And of course, Royston Drenthe is on loan to the team from Alacant this season, and was prohibited from playing due to a clause in the contract.  I guess he didn’t offer up the money himself then!  Anyway, he watched the game from the stands, but spent part of the time before the game started on the bench with his teammates.

Thirteen. The few negative moments of the game.

– no, no and no.  If you all do that again, you’re going to be dead to me.  I’m going to write your names in my little notebook.

– I love you, Ángel Di María, but you really need to get a new goal celebration.  It’s getting to the point where I’m almost hoping he won’t score because I don’t want to see that heart anymore.

– as soon as the ref blew the whistle to end the first half, Marcelo and Ricardo Carvalho headed to him, complaining all the way.  He didn’t like that so much.

And an ugly gesture from Carvalho, kicking away the boot of the injured Nelson Valdez, who eventually had to leave the game (without his boot).  Muy feo, Ricardo.

Fourteen. The Xabi Alonso pose section™.

Xabi’s getting good at pointing.  Very boss.  He reminds me of the statue of Colón in Madrid in the third photo.

Fifteen. The Mou section.

On the left: c’mon Cris, I need you to score, and you can even do that goal celebration again.

On the right: as we’re going to win this one, no one is dead to me, so I can crumple up my list of enemies and throw it away (until the next game).

And I loved his reactions to the second and third goals.

For the second goal: while the rest of his staff was celebrating the goal, Mou was shouting out technical instructions to make sure Madrid wouldn’t blow it their lead.

For the third goal: he could finally relax, so he went all out celebrating.  I’m glad he didn’t injure himself!

Mou said after the game of Karim, “he brought a different dynamic to the game.  He didn’t score but his participation in the performance of the team was fantastic.  It’s very important for his morale; I’m very happy for him.”  And Marcelo got some praise as well: “he’s been playing fantastically well since the beginning of the season.”

Mou also said that Diarrá and Granero won’t be sold or loaned out in the winter transfer market.

The team also received the congratulations of FP in the locker room after the game, which is unusual.  He hugged Mou as well.

Sixteen. Looking ahead: no rest for the weary – there’s a training session today to start preparations for the CL game in Milan on Wednesday.  I hope all the players used that extra hour to sleep!

Yesterday was also the two-year anniversary of Rubén de la Red’s departure from the game.  I really hope everything works out well with him, and that he remains involved with the club, because he’s a real asset for us.