Today was new signing Emmanuel Adebayor’s first full day in Madrid, after arriving in the city late morning yesterday. Here are all the things he went through yesterday and today as Karim Benzema’s substitute Real Madrid’s newest player.
Arrival (Wednesday, 11:30h)
Emmanuel arrived in a private plane at Torrejón at 11:30, and was taken to the Mirasierra Suites. It looks like Emmanuel will provide many, many things for me to write about with regards to his fashion sense, but since these are his first days, I’ll go easy on him and not say anything for the time being.
The medical check-up (Wednesday, 12h)
After arriving in Madrid, Adebayor was taken to Sanitas La Moraleja for his medical check-up. The doctors were satisfied with his physical condition (Dr. Carlos Díez said that he has a tremendous physique, and is in very good condition, which will help his immediate incorporation into the team). The battery of tests included blood and urine tests, an EKG, an ECHO, an MRI, X-rays and an examination of his locomotor and cardiorespiratory systems.
And of course, he had to do the obligatory “topless on the examining table with the thumbs-up” pose. It looks like the Real Madrid photographer absolutely obsessed with players posing with their thumbs up in the air has struck again, due to the sheer quantity of photos of Adebayor in this pose taken on Wednesday.
First training session* (Thursday, 10:30h)
There’s an asterisk up there because while this was Adebayor’s first training session in Madrid, it wasn’t with his eventual teammates, since they had the day off. Instead, he joined Castilla’s training session, which started at 10:30, and in which first teamers Esteban Granero and Pedro León participated as well. José Mourinho attended the session, as did the super-elegant Zinedine Zidane (who will most likely form part of Adebayor’s support team) to see how Mou’s birthday present newest player was doing. The session lasted for 90 minutes, and Adebayor was seen speaking at length with El Pirata.
Yay, it’s MFC!
Contract signing (Thursday, 13h)
Jorge Valdano and Emmanuel Adebayor signed his six-month contract at the Sala de Juntas of the Bernabéu (where’s FP?) and the club also presented the player with a replica of the stadium and a personalized pen. He also got to meet Miguel Pardeza and Emilio Butragueño, as well as come face to face with some of Madrid’s most important trophies. The option to buy the player at the end of the season is worth €15 million.
I like the matching suits.
Press conference (Thursday, 13:15h)
In the press conference, held in the stadium’s Sala de Prensa, Adebayor was once again flanked by Jorge Valdano (who refused to talk about his relationship with Mourinho during said press conference). The first words out of the new signing’s mouth were, “I spoke with Mourinho this morning. I’m very happy to be here.” He went on to say, “I’m a footballer and I need to play. Mancini did not have confidence in me and I wanted to continue playing, and Madrid gave me the opportunity to do so. Right now, I’m here for six months. I’m very satisfied, it’s an honor for me and I’m grateful to be able to take part in this project. I feel good, like I’m at home, and now I hope to contribute to Madrid’s successes. I’ll do my best to make sure of that.”
And of course, he had to say nice things about his new team: “Madrid is an excellent club, with great players, some of whom are friends of mine. The technical staff is great. I come here to learn, to improve and to contribute to the team. I’m not here to compete with Benzema or any other player. Karim is a great player; we’re friends and I respect him.”
The question everyone wants to know is, which number will he get?
Presentation (Thursday, 14h)
Then everyone headed downstairs – the press out onto the field, and Adebayor into the locker room, where he changed into his new uniform (he said, “it’s a dream to wear the shirt of Madrid.”) Then he headed out to the field to pose with the ball, do some tricks with it, and all that other usual stuff.
I wonder what’s in that goody bag? And is it significant that he’s sitting at Mateos’ locker? And oooh, Sergio C.’s dress shoes!
