In case you missed it – Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao [2010-11-20]. Warning: post is very gif-heavy.
Well, we all got our wish – we’re heading into the game against Barcelona as leaders of the Liga.
One. I could tell it was going to be a good game, judging by the players’ boots, or more specifically, the variety of colors, before the game started. We have Cris in his safari boots, Pipita in bright green ones (they look like they should belong to Iker), Özil in pink ones, Xabi in classic black (I wouldn’t expect anything else from him), Khedira in bright blue, Ángel di María in yellow and Marcelo in light purple.
Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos’ boots have “A. Pepín” on them; I wonder what that means? His headband has a more understandable “Sergio Ramos 4” on it.
Two. We scored five, and the celebrations were as great as the goals, from Di María jumping on Pipita to everyone (everyone!!!) rubbing Cristiano’s stegosaurus head.
Bonus Pipita here. Sergio Ramos was excited about his penalty, and I love how Cris raised his arms at the exact same moment that the crowd rose to their feet. It makes it look like he’s conducting them – he probably perfected his skills in the match against Sporting.
Three. Mou started the game in one of the palcos, but after eight minutes moved down to the stands, because he couldn’t get mobile phone coverage in the box. It took him from the 8:35 minute mark to the 10:30 minute mark to get down there. His new seat was the one he took against Murcia, specifically right next to the Madrid banquillo, in the first row.
Once installed in his seat, and flanked by several security personnel, he gave instructions, talking with everyone, from Rui Faria (who was tasked with transmitting his directions to Karanka), Dr. Hernández (who told him about Khedira’s leg pains) to subs Granero and Lass. Love the hand gestures. At the half, according to Cristiano, “Mourinho woke us up, because we came out relaxed.”
The fans LOVED him amongst them. Someone even brought a poster of Mou to the stadium and displayed it behind him! And when he left the game with several minutes remaining, people took photos, applauded and slapped him on the back.
What’s the point of Mou being suspended, if he’s just basically still directing Madrid from right next to the bench? There’s no meaning in it. In other sports, a suspended person is banned from the arena, which makes a lot more sense (though I do like having Mou still in charge).
Four. Cris was intense in this game, in his play and his reactions. He was still hurting from the Portugal game, and at the start of the second half, the cameras caught him telling Xabi Alonso that he couldn’t stand it anymore. But still, he soldiered on and finished the game. Oh, and he scored a hat trick too. Hats off to Cristiano. He’s now the pichichi of the Liga but said after the game that it doesn’t matter to him, because his focus is on winning the Liga. He also remarked that Barcelona’s 0-8 win doesn’t tell him anything, and added, “let’s see if they score eight against us on Monday” [cue Sport and/or Mundo Deportivo taking that out of context].
He also showed off some of his many skills.
Five. But maybe Cris was a bit too intense with the gestures. Poor Andoni Iraola was on the receiving end of an accidental slap in the face by Cristiano, who then went over to see if he was ok.
Iraola ended up with blood on his face, and had to leave for treatment. The same with Ricardo Carvalho, who can’t seem to get a break, since he also injured his face in the Atleti game.
Six. Marcelo and the Portuguese are very supportive of each other, from Cris checking to see if there was any damage done to Marcelo’s teeth to Carvalho offering him a shoulder to cry on.
Seven. Iker had a great, great game. Joaquín Caparrós said after the game that Casillas was “Madrid’s best player in the game. He’s always a determining factor against us, whether it’s in the Bernabéu or San Mamés.” This game was Iker’s 250th win in the Liga, pushing him into sixth place on Madrid’s all-time list. Fifth place isn’t too far away, since Fernando Hierro currently occupies that position with 251 wins.
Iker shouted “Alonso, Alonso” at one point, but it was nothing compared to the now-famous (at least on this blog) Guti, Guti, GUTI!!! He also threw out a couple of intense looks.
Meanwhile, I was fascinated by the wind blowing at Iker. Yes, I am easily amused, but this. is. Iker, and you all know how much I like him.
Eight. When Sergio Ramos stepped up to take the penalty, everyone was quite surprised. After the game, he explained that he had asked Cristiano to let him take it (Cristiano is the first option, and Xabi Alonso the second) because he was having trouble finding the back of the net and wanted to get over that: “There’s usually an order to these things, but I was confident. I wanted to score because I usually have a good goal average. I hope this is the beginning of a good run.” Meanwhile, Cris had this to say: “Sergio told me, let me score, let me score and he’s a great friend and needed confidence.”
Aitor Karanka also weighed in on this turn of events, saying it was “a simple anecdote. Cristiano is the one in charge of taking penalties, but Ramos asked him to let him take it, because he was confident he could make it. They talked and Cristiano gave him the opportunity. I don’t know what they said but we don’t have any problems with it… The míster was surprised, because he likes to control everything, and upon seeing something like this… but the important thing is that we made the penalty.” See Mou’s reaction here, or keep scrolling down.
Here, we can see Cris and Sergio discussing who would take the shot (when Cris relented, he got a pat on the ass from Sergio), and Sergio’s concentration.
I love how when Sergio took the shot, Xabi was basically mirroring him behind him. And Mou’s reaction is priceless – he yelled, “why did he take it?”
It was the first Spanish Madrid goal in the Liga (Pedro León, Xabi Alonso and Esteban Granero have scored in the Copa, and Pedro León in the Champions), and Sergio was the first defender to take a penalty since Fernando Hierro (who left Madrid in 2003). Sergio’s reaction was, “it’s a nice detail, he’s a good friend and he was one of my idols.”
Nine. Bernabéu notes: when the Barcelona score was flashed on the scoreboard, the Bernabéu faithful booed. There were also various signs in support of Mou, including “adelante Mou, adelante Madrid” and “ni canalla ni violento, el Bernabéu a muerte con Mourinho,” as well as some accusing Preciado of being a crybaby. Cris, Özil and Di María were frequently applauded for their interventions, and Özil, Khedira and Higuaín when they were subbed out. Even Cristiano’s protests and Di María’s mistakes were applauded. The Bernabéu was in a festive mood and it was contagious. Let’s bring on Barcelona.
Ten. Front and back.™
I can’t resist. I love Fernando Llorente. (And Bones!)
So, no front but I think we can all agree that simply the back is more than enough.
Eleven. Trend alert: it’s the “in” thing to pull on your shirt when you’re frustrated.
Twelve. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™
What’s so interesting on his right?
He’s even got Cristiano copying him. Xabi’s a trendsetter.
Thirteen. Some fans sang “Que viva España” so here’s the part dedicated to la selección. We have Fernando Llorente doing something, and using Pepe’s ass to get up off the ground.
There’s also the talking and hugs between the La Roja teammates during and after the game.
Fourteen. Random things that I thought were fun:
– how Amorebieta’s kinesio tape completely matched the stripes on his shirt.
– the similarity between Iker’s pose and a caganer (this is a picture of one of Iker from several years ago).
– Cristiano’s ridiculous tweets. Barnabeu. Really, Cris (‘s publicist/PR person/Nike handler)? And the other is self-explanatory.
Then he talks about his charity work! Left: “on Dec. 29 we’ll play the third Champions for Africa game in the Calderón. We have to help Kanouté so that it will be a success. I’ll see you all there!” Right: “I’m happy to be a finalist in the Solidarity in Sports Awards. I’m sure the other candidates deserve it as well. I wish them luck.” Caring and sweet, that’s our Sergio!
Fifteen. Looking ahead.
Sami Khedira left the game around in the 67th minute after feeling pain in his right thigh, and will miss the next game against Ajax on Tuesday. Mou is also considering resting some players before the game against Barcelona, and among those players will be Higuaín, although the official excuse is that he’s suffering from lower back pains.
The team held a closed training session today.