In case you missed it – Madrid vs. Atlético de Madrid [2010-01-13; Copa del Rey quarterfinals first leg].
The 11-year unbeaten streak at the Bernabéu was extended with this victory last night. As the headline in El País put it, “Atlético walks, Madrid flies.” That was so true. The team was a team last night, a cohesive unit, with play flowing from the defenders to the forwards, helped along by Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira in the middle. Finally.
I’m optimistic, but still cautious, because anything can happen in the vuelta. However, Madrid has never lost a Copa del Rey series after notching a 3-1 game in the ida, so at least history is on our side.
One. I love these montages of mostly frustration showed by our players, because they all look so beautiful here, from Xabi asking people to calm down to the sweat dripping down Álvaro’s face, but for the most part the game was happier than this.
Two. We saw a very feisty Xabi Alonso last night, which is big news because it is so unusual. Look at him get into it with Juanfran here! Shoving? Madly gesticulating? Is that really Xabi?
Look at this 30-second clip from the game. I count Xabi raising his arms and pointing 13 times in the 30 seconds, or once every 2.3 seconds, even switching arms when one got tired.
And when the game was at the 48:15 mark in the second half (3:15 into injury time, which was only supposed to last three minutes, and only 15 seconds before the game would actually end), Xabi was still arguing and getting into it with the referee. That’s what I call intensity. After the game, however, he said he was pleased with the performance of the árbitro.
Three. We got three goals from Sergio, Cristiano and Ozi. But as usual, I enjoyed the celebrations more than the goals themselves (though they were nice). Sergio jumped onto the advertising board ringing the field to celebrate with the fans, with Sami Khedira running after him to make sure he wouldn’t fall (sweet, no?). Ozil did a fist pump of success and jumped as well, and this time it was Álvaro Arbeloa who jumped onto the pile. Xabi was back to his classy, restrained celebratory style.
Sergio also sent out a kiss after the goal. After the game, Sergio said, “it’s been some time since I scored and I had a lot of desire to score again, so that I could dedicate the goal to my grandmother, who’s not doing well.” How sweet, again!
As for Cris’s celebration, he busted out a few moves – is that his version of the Dougie? The timing of Pepe’s injury is so unfortunate because it came just as Kaká came back, and I had been waiting to see Cris, Marcelo, Kaká and Pepe celebrate a goal together. Cris also did his customary thumb sucking and finger motions towards the palco. I guess this means that it is for Junior, and not Richi. Too bad.
Cristiano’s goal last night was his first against Atleti. It also means that there are only two teams left in the Primera that he hasn’t scored against, Barcelona and Sporting (he scored against Levante in the Copa del Rey, but not the Liga).
Four. Pregame moments.
Kaká tries to sneak into the starting lineup, and our handsome captains.
The Ultra Sur never fail to display a huge banner covering the entire bottom part of the Fondo Sur whenever Atleti comes to visit, and this time, it was a simple one. Stripes in Madrid’s colors flowed down the section, with the bottom reading “Valores Eternos” (eternal values).
Five. Iker exchanged his shirt with an Atleti player after the game, but unfortunately was wearing another layer underneath.
And of course, I can’t miss an opportunity to show off his perfect profile. I’ve really never seen a profile perfect as this one.
In a postgame interview with COPE, Iker described De Gea as a “fantastic kid, a great goalkeeper, and the future of Atlético and the Spanish national team.” David de Gea had an excellent game!!! Madrid would have scored so many more if it weren’t for him.
Six. Fun moments.
Esteban Granero is even smooth and so cool when it comes to removing his warm-ups. The jacket just kind of oozed off, didn’t it? I assume this is how he does it, no matter what types of clothes he is removing. And Ozi got the highest form of praise, a slap on the back from Mou.
Xabi was once again the father out there on the field, while Karim Benzema was captured biting his nails.
Cris showed off his compassionate side after a hard tackle on Tomáš Ujfaluši, for which he earned a yellow. And Sergio played with former canterano Filipe Luis’ hair, in the presence of Filipe’s good buddy Álvaro Arbeloa (remember this?)
Seven. Front and back™ (and several other angles in today’s edition).
Álvaro Arbeloa. A side and a back.
Cristiano Ronaldo.
I couldn’t choose between these two back pictures since they were both pretty great. Which one do you prefer?
Esteban Granero.
He wear wearing what looked to be a piece of dirty string in his hair as a headband, but he managed to make it work. Despite the fact that he was in the game for less than five minutes, he made front and back.™ That’s a notable achievement, no?
Iker. An under and a back.
Marcelo.
Sergio Ramos. A side and a back.
Xabi Alonso.
Eight. There was an article in Marca today, their “topic of the day” and it was all about how everyone now covers their mouths whenever they say anything on the field. Luckily, Iker and Cris didn’t, because otherwise we wouldn’t have these cute little moments.
Nine. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™
Look carefully for Xabi being a tease.
Ten. The Mou Corner.
He had a pretty calm game.
In his postgame press conference, Mou spoke on several subjects.
On his players, he said, “Benzema is working more than ever for the team; he’s not egotistical. What he lacks is a bit of hunger to score, but he’s a great player.” Of Ozi, he said, “physically, we can see his progress in stepping up his intensity, the rhythm of play and continuity. He’s playing fantastically.” Mou was aslo complimentary towards Arbeloa, describing him as “a very serious boy on the field, he’s compact and reliable. I like players like him, which are the ones that coaches usually fall in love with.”
Mou also comforted Benzema after he subbed him out and the Bernabéu subjected him to some whistles.
He also said that “we want to go all the way in the Liga, Champions and the Copa.” Yes, yes and yes.
Eleven. Postgame stuff.
Sergio got a jacket at the end of the game, but poor Álvaro was ignored. That was because Álvaro was headed straight to the locker room, while Sergio was interviewed by the Canal + crew. I love how his eyes just kept roaming around. To the left, to the right, at the interviewer, off into the distance…
Twelve. Other game notes: there was a minute of silence before the game, and the players wore black armbands, for actor Juanito Navarro, who died last week. He was socio number 36 of Madrid, never missed a game and had even run for president at one point. Ozi was left wondering who in the world that was during the moment.
Thirteen. Yesterday’s tweets.
Xabi’s going to Coldplay’s concert, and Álvaro had to pay €38 for parking.
Fourteen. Looking ahead: the team held a training session this morning to start preparing for this weekend’s game against Almería, which will close out the first half of the season.
Meanwhile, the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals will take place in one week’s time, on Thursday Jan. 20 at 22h in the Calderón.