Well, I was going to write about the Spain-Portugal game, but I can’t animate myself to do so (at least not without a lot of candy and a constant replaying of Iker shortless after the game) because of the result. So here is just one small detail, and some other Madrid news.
Iker gave his shorts away after one of the ball boys asked for them.
AND AN UPDATE: Madrid will face Levante in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. The first leg will take place on Dec. 22 and the second on Jan. 5.
One. Well, at least it was nice to see Cristiano outplaying some of Barcelona’s players. The bad news is that Busquets tried to take him out of the clásico with a hard foul at the beginning of the game, and Cris was subbed out at the end of the first half. He, as well as Ricardo Carvalho, should both be fine for Saturday’s game.
Two. The other international results were slightly better, with Benzema scoring in France’s 2-1 victory over England, and Drenthe (since he’s still technically ours) making his first appearance with the Netherlands’ senior national team in their 1-0 win against Turkey (Huntelaar scored the goal). Aitor Karanka and Zidane traveled to Qatar to watch Argentina take on Brazil, the former to watch Di María and Higuaín, and the latter as Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid ambassador. Mou was also supposed to travel there, but canceled for personal reasons.
Three. Rain + our players = a great combination (as long as no one gets sick).
Four. Sergio is once again showing his sensitive side, via his appearance in the SOS Foundation’s 2011 charity calendar, “12 months, 12 rights.” Sergio is the face of April. The calendar shows 12 athletes with 12 kids, with each photograph representing a fundamental right of children. Watch a “making off” (as they say it in Spain) video here.
Meanwhile, Sergio has been nominated in the category of “most caring athlete” in the Solidarity in Sports Awards, which is given out by the SOS Foundation, the Spanish Olympics Committee, the Spanish Paralympics Committee, and the community of Madrid. The ceremony will take place on Dec. 15, and the calendar will also be presented then.
Five. Speaking of Sergio, he’s managed to rein in his yellow card provoking antics, since he’s only gotten two yellows and no reds so far this season. In his previous five seasons with Madrid, he accumulated nine red cards (making him the second most expelled player after Fernando Hierro, who holds the record with 10) and 73 yellows, or about 15 a season. Considering that Hierro played 14 seasons with the club, that’s a bit alarming. As to the yellows, our Sergio is five away from catching up with Roberto Carlos as the fifth most yellow card receiving player, but Roberto played 370 games!
The change is due to Sergio being better able to communicate with the referees, and because he’s improved his game as well. I’m sure the responsibility as second captain has also been a factor, as he’s a more mature player, and less impulsive. In addition, he feels reassured by the presence of Ángel di María, who helps him out with the defense on the wing.
Six. Kaká, at Barajas last night, on his way to Brazil. Pictures via Marca; Ricky’s upward facing thumb has been cropped out.
Seven. Looking ahead: all the international players will be back for today’s training session, which will take place at 16h. The next game is on Saturday against that team of sexy Basque men Athletic, during which Mou will serve the second game of his suspension for telling a referee to do something not so nice. The club offered him the possibility of watching the game from the palco de honor, but Mou wanted to be near the team (i.e. he wants to coach them, even if it’s not from the bench) and be able to talk face to face with Karanka and Rui Faria, so he’s going to sit in the front row again, with Julio Cendal next to him. There will also be two other security guards protecting Mou from autograph and photo seekers. This was where Mou sat for the second half against Murcia.
Those two seats actually belong to socio number 16,603, Gabriel Ruiz Almansa (a 29-year socio), and his wife, Ramona Garza. They’ve ceded their seats so that Mou can sit there, and will be given other seats near the palco. This hasn’t been confirmed yet for security reasons.
In an interview with AS, Gabriel said that it will be an honor for him and his wife to give up their seats for Mou again. He added that his seat is the closest one to the bench, and there you can hear everything, exactly the same as you would from the bench. He also said he felt very “satisfied” that he can be useful for Madrid in this way.
Meanwhile, Aitor Karanka will speak to the press before this game, against his former team, tomorrow, as well as after the game. UPDATE: the club’s pissed at the Antiviolence Committee’s decision to ask the Federation to sanction Mou, so they’ve canceled Karanka’s press conference today. The official reason given is that they want to put the focus back on football.