The upcoming el clásico is on everyone’s minds, with one exception.
One. UEFA has announced yesterday that they have opened a disciplinary case against José Mourinho and four of the players (Iker, Sergio, Xabi and Dudek) after their “improper conduct” in the win over Ajax on Tuesday. The disciplinary hearing will take place on Nov. 30. In response, Madrid posted a message on their web site saying that they have been notified that the case has been open, and that they are surprised by the decision since they “understand it does not follow the content of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations.”
I’m not saying or condoning what did or did not happen, but how does UEFA intend to prove that Madrid partook in “improper conduct?” And if there is not anything in their rule books that specifically forbids what happened, what kind of case do they have? And, are they doing this because it’s Real Madrid that’s involved?
Two. Xabi and Cristiano attended an act organized by bwin to talk about the upcoming Barcelona-Madrid game.
Cristiano’s take on the game was that “it’s one more game… although it’s an important game for both teams. We’re one point ahead, and even though it’ll be difficult because we’re playing away, I’m confident that we’ll go in looking for a good result.” He also talked about the style of the teams: “we have our own identity, we don’t copy anyone and we’re going to continue like that because we’re getting good results from our style of play.”
Meanwhile, Xabi was his cautious self, saying that “right now we’re doing things well, but we have to continue improving. We don’t want to stop.” And after complimenting the play of Barcelona, he added, “the two games, both in the Camp Nou and the Bernabéu, are very important, but apart from those there are a lot more to play.” Xabi revealed his keys to success: “if we play well, if we play like a team, if we’re strong in our attack and strong in our defense… this is the recipe to win in the Camp Nou. Anything can happen, but we have to play like that to be able to win there.” His bet for the game is a “2” (that means a win for the visiting team).
I love how Cris seems to get excited when he discovers his chair has wheels, about 15 seconds in! And Xabi totally rocks that hoodie, no? Plus, you have to love how succinct Cris is – “yo.”
Three. Álvaro Arbeloa was tasked with giving a press conference yesterday, and of course, talk was centered on el clásico. Álvaro said, “it’s an important game because they’re our biggest rival in Spain and we all know what will happen if we win, and on their field. We’re going in with this idea and hopefully we’ll be able to bring joy to the fans.” He added, “we have a lot of confidence, we’re doing things well and the team is working hard… we intend to play our football and achieve a good result.”
Four. Mou, in declarations to AS, said, “we all have the responsibility of making Monday’s game a super game for everyone… we’re physically good and we know what we have to do, but we’re facing a team that has worked together for a long time, in contrast to our few months. In any case, we’ll be prepared for any situation.”
Five. Sergio, during the presentation of the Champions for Africa game (more on that here), was of course asked about that game on Monday. He said that “it’s going to be a special game. Both teams are doing well at the moment and football lovers are going to enjoy it a lot, especially the fans of the team that wins. We’re convinced that we can achieve something good against Barcelona.” He went on, “we always go onto the field with the feeling, the desire and the objective of winning. It would be a mistake to step onto the Camp Nou field with any other mindset… we have a positive mindset that we can do something big and aspire to win titles. In order for that to happen, we need to win on important fields, and one of them is the Camp Nou.”
The fun edition is coming up!