Some more cute moments from yesterday’s training session. Sergio’s stretching is strangely mesmerizing, while Marcelo showing off his dance moves is just pure fun, along with Albiol welcoming Gago back.
There were also some fun moments as the players arrived at the stadium to change and board the bus to the Mirasierra Suites.
Iker’s outfit was made up of the bits and pieces that he had worn over the previous days, while Sergio busted out the red jacket that is also the favorite of Cristiano Jr. The Michelin Man Albiol wore a shiny, puffy jacket that looked like it was borrowed from Pipita Higuaín.
Meanwhile, Álvaro Arbeloa showed off his matching LV luggage on the way to the bus, Benzema looked like he was having problems with his car (not the first time, no?) and my favorite canterano – looking adorable in his jacket – was a hot commodity with female fans.
Looking ahead to the game: having Xabi Alonso and Marcelo out, as they are for this game against Sevilla, is not a good thing, because last year’s Lyonazo occurred precisely when these two players were absent. And before the game, there will be a small tribute to Iker, in which he will present his World Cup Golden Glove to the fans.
And Mou provided us with some great soundbites in his press conference yesterday.
On 2010: 2010 has been the best year of my career. If I had to rate myself on a scale of one to 10, I’d give myself a 11 because I’ve won everything that I could: Champions, the Scudetto, the Coppa… And in Madrid, we haven’t been eliminated from anything. In the Liga, we’re two points behind the leader, in the Copa we’ve classified for the round of 16, and in the Champions as well. For me, this is the perfect season.
[This sounds like something Crackòvia Mou would say, no?]
On Kaká: Kaká got emotional upon returning to the field with his teammates. Two weeks ago he told me that he was tired of working inside in the gym. He wanted to hear the sound of the ball, feel the rain, the cold… he was tired of being inside. After that he began to work outside, with the cold, the sun… listening to the sounds his teammates made. Then he told me he needed to be with the group. Today’s session was of low intensity, with zero risk for injury, so we invited him. He’s beginning to feel like a player again. He felt like one more in the group and everyone shared in his joy. If he trains like this for the next few days, he’ll be training normally with the group after the vacation. We hope that he begins to be Kaká, whether it’s on the bench or on the field, by the middle of January. In Madrid, he hasn’t been able to be Kaká due to all the problems he’s had.
On Iker vs. Cris: they have to sell newspapers. When you don’t have news, you look for something that’s not true in order to sell. We don’t have problems. They don’t have any problems. I don’t think we need to come out immediately to deny things. We can’t enter into this game. If there’s anything that we don’t have, it’s internal problems.
On Sergio’s return to the starting line-up: Sergio has done well, with the medical staff and the recuperators. They knew that we were in a complicated situation with all the absences and that it was important to recover some of those who were injured. He’s available. He wants to play and he’s going to play. I’m happy with him because he did everything possible to be here.
On Arbeloa: the reasons why Sergio could become a substitute are not due to anything negative about him, but rather the positive aspects of another player. It’s unjust for a player like Arbeloa to be considered a substitute. Sergio was sanctioned and Arbeloa played, and played well. Sergio was injured and Arbeloa played, and played well once more. Marcelo is sanctioned and Arbeloa’s going to play… When Arbeloa plays, he does well. He’s playing very, very well. I’m not criticizing Sergio. But starters aren’t always going to be starters. The decision is made on the field. And Arbeloa is an example for everyone. Everyone should have the hope of playing including when their teammates aren’t having problems. Tomorrow we don’t have Marcelo and since this team only has three fullbacks, Arbeloa should play on the left. [Sounds like someone has a new pet, no?]
On whether the team will be called up on Jan. 1: I make these decisions on my own and without consulting anyone, but I will spend Dec. 31 in my house. If they want to get together, they’ll do it alone because I’ll be in my house. I’ve decided that on Jan. 1 we’ll train in the morning and get together in the afternoon to play the next day in Getafe.