One. Knowing Mou, this was all part of the plan. On the flight to Milan yesterday, Karim Benzema was seen interacting and joking around with his teammates more than usual, because his habitual traveling partner Lass was not called up for the game and thus not part of the expedition. Usually, Benz and Lass sit together, but each with their huge headphones on, listening to music. On this flight, Karim sat with Mahamadou Diarrá, one of the more gregarious members of the team, and was seen laughing with him, as well as Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos.
Two. Look out for Zizou at the game today, where he’ll be sitting in one of the palcos rather than on the bench, because he’s still acting as an adviser to FP, in addition to his new role as the link between the team and the club.
Three. The team will get their Audi vehicles for this season on Friday! Apparently, the club had been negotiating with Mercedes Benz to substitute Audi, but Mercedes offered a lot less money, so they stuck with Audi! [Update: it’s been postponed until Monday.]
Four. Also on Friday, Iker will attend the Madrid football awards at the Hotel La Princesa in Alcorcón. The World Cup will be on display, and Vicente del Bosque will receive the gold and diamond insignia of the football federation.
Five. Rubén de la Red has signed a new contract with Madrid, but this time as an employee rather than a player. The hope is that Rubén will end up training one of the youth teams, probably starting next season. For the rest of this season, Rubén will hang around Mou and Castilla coach Alejandro Menéndez to see how they work. He’s already taken courses in coaching and sports direction.