The team had yesterday day off, and today’s session is closed to the press, so I’ll take what news I can find!
ONE. A couple more things from the Lyon game, including a focus on Karim.
– Karim Benzema spent some time in the locker room of his ex-team after the game. He also chatted with Jean-Michel Aulas – perhaps to tell him that he finally has furniture in his house – and other Lyon directors.
– According to AS, when Karim found out hours before the game that he was not going to start against his old team, he called his parents and told them not to bother coming to the game, because he wasn’t going to play. Karim had purchased fifty tickets for his friends and family, and had been very excited about the game. Karim’s mom decided to stay at home, but his dad – a smart and possibly psychic man – decided to come anyway, and we all know what happened during the game.
– Zinedine Zidane and Lass both stayed in France after the game, taking advantage of the off-day. Lass left the Gerland on his own, not on the Real Madrid bus.
– Also at the game was José Mourinho Jr. aka Zuca. He arrived in France on Tuesday in a private plane along with Cristiano’s mamá and Mou and Cris’ super agent Jorge Mendes. JMJ returned to Madrid with the expedition, and on the plane he sat between his dad and Silvino Louro. He must be one of the luckiest kids in the world.
– Cristiano Ronaldo left France with a bruise to his left ankle. Yesterday, he contacted the medical staff of the club to tell them that his ankle was swollen. They prescribed anti-inflammatory medicine for him, and told him to immobilize the ankle and apply ice on it.
– Sami Khedira is hopeful that he’ll recover by next week, although he admitted he doesn’t know the severity of the injury, just that the doctors had told him that it wasn’t going to be an easy recovery and that he would for sure miss the game against Dépor.
TWO. A Pipita update – it seems like forever since we heard anything about him, and if Mou didn’t constantly mention him during press conferences, we probably would not think too much about him, no? According to Marca, Gonzalo is recovering nicely from his hernia operation, which took place a little more than a month ago. Pipita goes to Valdebebas every day to receive treatment from the fisios and to work out in the gym and in the pool, and his spirits are high. According to the doctor who operated on him, the period of recovery is four months. In other words, we shouldn’t expect him back before May 11. I hope things go well, and that he’s not going to be rushed back.
THREE. And an interesting article from El Mundo about the role of los franceses in Madrid. Just like the Cantabrians and the Champions League, having a French player on the squad always bodes well for Madrid, especially in that competition. After all, two of the best French players of all time, Raymond Kopa and Zinedine Zidane, played for us. We’ve had some other less well-known players – Christian Karembeu and Nicolas Anelka come to mind – but they also managed to win the Champions League while with Madrid. And Karim Benzema could be the next one, along with Lass.
Kopa won three European Cups with Madrid, Karembeu scored three decisive goals in the run-up to La Séptima, Anelka secured his place in Real Madrid history in the semifinals against Bayern Munich the year Madrid won La Octava, and of course, Zidane scored that sublime goal to win La Novena. Will Benzema be decisive for La Décima? If that’s going to happen, he made a very good start on Tuesday, no?
FOUR. Because he’s ridiculously good looking, friends with Iker and used to be part of us. Miguel Torres, yesterday during a press conference with Getafe.
