In case you missed it – Espanyol vs. Real Madrid [2011-02-13, Liga jornada 23].
As Marca’s cover put it, this was a “Madrid 10,” meaning a Madrid that played with 10 players for essentially the entire game, but also a Madrid that deserved a 10 for their performance against one of their favorite teams (since 1994, Madrid is 21-6-4 vs. Espanyol), especially the best friends trio of Cristiano, Marcelo and Pepe. And Iker looked like a perfect “10” in the stands too.
ONE. I just like this picture. Plus, as I said, Cristiano had a fantastic game.
TWO. Before we go any further, we have to honor this man, David Barral, and not just for these lovely pictures of him in a pool.
If you’re wondering who he is, he’s the Sporting de Gijón striker who scored a goal against Barcelona on Saturday, resulting in a 1-1 tie, which gave us some air in the Liga. And to make that doubly sweet, he’s also a canterano, having played for Real Madrid B and C from 2002 to 2006. ¡Muchas gracias David!
THREE. Fun pregame things. I say “fun” because there was a lot of stripping involved (yay!) except for Sergio, who went the other way (boo!).
Sergio looked very pijo as he came out of the tunnel to take his place on the bench. Once on the bench, he unfortunately decided to put more clothes on. Why, Sergio, why?
As Cristiano came out of the tunnel, he kept pulling on his shirt, since it appeared to be too tight (if there is such a thing. May I make the suggestion that you just play without one?). This is of course not the first time that we’ve seen him do this. Meanwhile, Kaká was so caught up talking to Silvino Louro that he nearly went to the wrong bench. Adán had make the same mistake before him as well, the last time he would do so that night.
And Álvaro’s undershirt was too tight as well. He kept pulling on it as well, then made a motion for someone to get scissors. The shirt was cut accordingly and – yay! – Álvaro flashed his abs. Click on the picture – it’s worth it.
Iker wore a shirt that read “Sergio mucho ánimo” for Málaga goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo, who will be out for six months after having surgery Friday. Sergio had torn the ACL of his right knee during the game against Sevilla on Feb. 6. Though he’s only 21, this was the second time he’s had surgery on his right knee. This t-shirt thing was the initiative of Sevilla keeper Andrés Palop, who witnessed the injury firsthand. He got Adidas to send shirts to all the goalkeepers (or whoever would want to wear it) in the first division. ¡¡Qué detallazo!! Here’s to a fast recovery for Sergio.
Iker stripping, in slow motion. That gets a “10” too, no?
FOUR. The game of course will be remembered for the expulsion of Iker Casillas before the clock had reached the two-minute mark. Iker came out of the area to rashly challenge canterano José Callejón and was subsequently sent to the callejón (sorry, couldn’t resist) for clipping the Espanyol player. The ref immediately showed the red card, and the game was over for Iker. That of course didn’t stop Xabi from posing.
Iker couldn’t believe it. Meanwhile, Antonio Adán was hurriedly ordered to strip and sent into the game.
Poor Ángel di María was subbed out in order for Antonio to enter. And Mou called over Xabi Alonso to give him instructions, and after the game, he said that Xabi “understood me perfectly.” That’s why he’s the dad out there!
FIVE. As Iker walked off the field, he handed the captain’s armband to Chendo, to give to Marcelo (because he had been so upset he had forgotten to hand it over to Marcelo himself). But as Marcelo was on the other wing of the field, Madrid played the rest of the first half without a captain. Marcelo got the armband during the break and wore it for the second half.
This was the third expulsion of Iker’s career. The first was on Dec. 18, 2001 in the Copa del Rey against Nàstic after he received a straight red 10 minutes from the final whistle in a situation similar to this one, and the second after two yellows (in the 43rd and the 80th) vs. Osasuna on April 30, 2006. Madrid went on to win both games.
SIX. Iker went on to change back into his suit and watch the game from the stands, along with the descartados – Garay, Gago (overall, not a good night for the Argentines, no?) and Dudek. José Marais was there too. Iker looked quite nervous during the entire rest of the game. During the halftime, he put on a big jacket, since it was cold up there.
SEVEN. With all this, Antonio Adán got to make his debut in the Liga, and he was fenomenal. He received the congratulations of all his teammates after the game, as well as Silvino Louro and José Mourinho, who told the press, “he was fantastic in this unexpected debut.” Hopefully in the future, Antonio’ll be out there due to his own merits, not because of a red card or a broken jaw. That may come as early as next week, if Madrid decides not to appeal Iker’s card.
He looks like Álvaro’s dog here, no?
EIGHT. And Captain Marcelo really, really stepped it up. He was a giant on the team and scored the game’s only goal. El País called him a “train without brakes” and I think that’s an apt description for our Marcelino. He certainly looked like one while celebrating his goal, and a bit loco as well, no?
I love Mou’s smile!!
NINE. Does anyone think that José Callejón resembles another canterano (and now lead singer of Pignoise) Álvaro Benito? They both sport very “original” hairstyles. Random fact: José has a twin brother, Juanmi, and both of them played in the cantera. Juanmi, the better looking one in my opinion, currently plays for Córdoba. Another random fact: José is the player who receives the most tackles in the Liga, not Cristiano nor Messi.
TEN. At halftime, Iker put on a jacket – which is strangely fascinating – and Aitor Karanka waited to congratulate Antonio and especially Marcelo.
ELEVEN. The substitutions. Sergio came on at the very end of the game. His kit is so, so, so transparent, no? You can completely see the outline of his underwear! Go ahead and click and look, I won’t judge you.
Meanwhile, Ozi took his sweet time coming off the field. The substitution was called at the 32:25 mark, and it wasn’t until the 33:00 mark that Ozi finally stepped off the field. Even Mou, who sometimes uses the substitutions to waste time, told him to hurry, so that he wouldn’t get carded. Mesut was rewarded with a hug.
And here we have Sergio in for Manolín Adebayor, with both of them making the sign of the cross, as they came in and went out, respectively.
TWELVE. There were smiles all around the banquillo once Marcelo scored the goal, even from Ángel di María. Those water bottles are huge, no?
THIRTEEN. After the game, Adán said that Mourinho had told him to stay calm, and he also thanked his coach because “he’s always shown he has confidence in me and that’s why I was relaxed when I went out on the field, and I knew that things would go well.” He added that the important thing was to be “prepared mentally” and that he felt good “thanks to the work of the team.” He revealed that he would keep the shirt of the debut for himself.
Meanwhile, Marcelo said of his team, “we’re a family and we always want to win each time we play… I’m happy to score and help the team but the most important thing is the victory and narrowing the gap with Barcelona.”
And Pepe (not the most flattering picture of him, is it?) told COPE that “I’m happy in Real Madrid, and I’m going to do everything I can to stay here… I won’t listen to any other offers because “soy del Real Madrid” and I know that the people love me.”
Iker gave the team a 10 for their performance, and praised Adán, saying, “he was great; solid and firm. He’s a goalkeeper with a present and a future.”
FOURTEEN. Poor Pepe. Actually, poor Sofia. Not something you want to happen to your man right before Valentine’s Day.
FIFTEEN. Much like our tribute to Juanito in the seventh minute (illa, illa, illa, Juanito maravilla) of each game, Espanyol honors their fallen captain Dani Jarque in the 21st minute of each game. Siempre con nosotros.
SIXTEEN. Mesut Özil was tanner than usual, no? Usually he glows because he’s so white, but today… maybe Cris helped him out (you know he had self tanner or a tanning bed available), so the next time they room together, he won’t glow in the dark.
SEVENTEEN. At the end of the game, the players hugged, and Antonio Adán was on the receiving end of many of them.
José Callejón also hugged Antonio (his former teammate in the Real Madrid cantera) and Marcelo!
And as stated earlier, Antonio was congratulated by Silvino Louro, who looked like a very proud father.
EIGHTEEN. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™
He’s classy.
NINETEEN. The Mou corner.
I love how animated he is on the right!
Mou was full of praise after the game, saying that Pepe had a “fantastic” game, that Adebayor had “done the work of three players,” that Adán appeared to be “a veteran in the goal.” He added, “I want to congratulate Antonio and all the goalkeepers that work with us, as well as our goalkeeping coach, who is the best in the world, with all due respect for the others.”
Regarding the referee sending off Iker, Mou said, “it’s clear that I don’t like to play with only 10 players for so much time, but he’s a great referee and he has the right to make mistakes. I like referees who let you play, who don’t call everything…. I don’t like actors (meaning those who dive in the area), and on my team there are no actors.”
TWENTY. Yesterday’s tweets, where people do like actors.
Álvaro Arbeloa met with actor/comedian Carlos Latre after the game! If you’re not familiar with Carlos, he plays Leo Messi on Crackòvia, and he was the MC during Spain’s World Cup celebration in Madrid last summer.
And musician Pancho Varona alluded to the acting awards The Goya Awards (Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars, which took place last night as well) to say that the first Goya went to Iker Casillas for “Sad mistake from a goalkeeper.”
TWENTY ONE. And Castilla also had a great weekend, beating Depor B 7-1!!! MFC Álvaro Borja Morata Martín scored a hat trick, Madrid’s three first goals, with Juan Carlos, Sarabia, Denis and Joselu scoring the other four. This meant that Castilla notched its sixth straight win! And in those six wins, they’ve scored 23 goals and only allowed three. Castilla continues third in the table, with 45 points. How great (and how cute) are the little ones???
TWENTY TWO. Looking ahead, sponsored by on-their-knees Álvaro and Sergio.
The team will have a two-day break, returning to training on Wednesday to prepare for Saturday’s game against Levante.
And former Real Madrid player Ronaldo will announce his retirement from football today, at the age of 34. I wish him the best of luck, and I will never forget his “debuta madre” with Madrid, and of course everything else he did for us.
Ahhh, the way we were.
