In case you missed it – Real Madrid vs Málaga [2011-03-03, Liga jornada 26].
This victory has done wonders to boost morale after a very difficult week, no?
FOUR. Two great montages to begin the post right: the Bernabéu and the goal celebrations.
FIVE. This is possibly my favorite photo from last night, because Cris and Karim really look like they’re slow dancing together; even their hands are in the right positions! But in this instant, Cris was probably distracted by another pretty face to the side (aka Marcelo). What song do you think Cris and Karim would dance to?
SIX. Pregame scenes. It looks like Sergio was being the captain when he told the team to salute the fans. Some of the players were more enthusiastic than others – Ángel, for example, brought his hands up over his head, while Cristiano could only manage a polite clap at chest-level. And I’m still not used to seeing Iker in long sleeves!
Before the game, Cris gave Manuel Pellegrini a hug. He said after the game, “I liked working with him. He’s a great person and a great coach. He always treated me well during his time as coach of Real Madrid, and I treat well those who treat me well.” I love that gesture from Cris, and I wish some of the other players had done that as well.
Meanwhile, Manuel went up to Mou to shake hands (very briefly). It was a great gesture and shows once again what a gentleman he is, even if every news outlet described the handshake as “icy.”
After the game, Pellegrini explained that he did this because “it’s a matter of education, and in addition I have no problems with Mourinho.” As for the Bernabéu, they were mostly indifferent to the former coach: there were neither cheers nor boos. For me, it was so weird seeing Pellgrini on the opposite bench!
SEVEN. As mentioned in the previous post, Cristiano ended the game with an injury to his left hamstring. He left the game with 13 minutes left, right after scoring his third goal, leaving Madrid with 10 players, as they had already used up all their substitutions (although Mou and Cris had agreed before the game that if he scored three goals, he would be substituted out). After celebrating the goal, he walked toward the bench to ask for a substitution (he didn’t know that all three had been used up), and when he realized that, he got permission from the coach and the doctors to leave for the locker room instead, while the crowd gave him an ovation.
These were the first minutes of the Liga season that Cristiano didn’t play, at the 2/3 point of the season, and in his 39th overall game! In any case, I hope the fact that he was looking to end his goal drought won’t cost us, given the importance of Cristiano to the team. After the game, in the mixed zone, Cris told the reporters that the injury came during the goal, and that he left the field because he didn’t want to force himself knowing the importance of the games coming up. He added, “I don’t think it’s anything serious, but I didn’t want to risk it. In principle, I don’t think I’ll be playing on Sunday.” He ended his conversation with a “vale? Ciao.”
But… Cris had an MRI done today, and it turns out he will be out 10-15 days, meaning that he’ll miss the Liga games against Racing and Hércules. He had tweeted earlier that it “doesn’t seem bad” but later erased that tweet, once he got the test results, I suppose, because for him, any down time is BAD, in capital letters.
EIGHT. Sergio Ramos moments. And there’s something for everyone, whether you want your Sergio gesturing, yelling, being commanding, running forward, running backwards or just winking.
NINE. Esteban may have decided to shave the other day, but it looks like Lass is compensating for that, because he was sporting the beginnings of a beard, which I haven’t seen before (but then again, I don’t focus too often on Lass).
And it got pretty cold last night, so several of the players came out after the halftime break with gloves on. Lass looks quite silly with the short sleeves and gloves combo, no?
Meanwhile, Marcelo looked like a goalkeeper when his gloves were combined with his wristband! And the fact that he’s holding the ball there makes it that much more so, no?
TEN. There’s no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is an entertaining and skilled footballer. He’s a pleasure and a joy to watch. That would have been a great goal had it gone in.
And when the football is not in the picture, he does other cute things.
ELEVEN. With that disguise, Sergio Canales could have gone to rob a bank after the game (if any were open, that is). He must have had some important stuff to do out there, because he received instructions from both Mou and Karanka.
TWELVE. The substitutions. The bossest (is that a word?) man out there got a little break, while Sergio C. got some playing time. I’m glad he got some minutes! And the Bernabéu loves him, because when he checked in, there were chants of “Canales stay, Canales can’t be sold!”
Meanwhile, Fernando Gago – I love his short hair after having to suffer through his various mullets – got a bit wet while waiting to check in. When Ángel came off, he gave Fer a hug, but Manu only got a high five.
I was sad to see Álvaro Arbeloa once again on the bench – is the love affair over, or is he merely being rested for some reason?
THIRTEEN. More evidence of how cold it was out there last night.
FOURTEEN. I see it didn’t take long for that tourism pact to come into effect. But what about our suggestions???
FIFTEEN. I loved this moment when EVERYONE was doing something, whether it was gesturing (Rui), yelling (Aitor) or whistling (Silvino), with the surprising exception of José Mourinho, who just sat there stoically. He could have passed for a statue. What the others were doing was to try and get the attention of Adebayor, so that he could receive some instructions before he checked in. And it looks like Aitor bites his nails! That just makes him even more endearing.
SIXTEEN. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™
Two words: so boss.
My wish is for Xabi to pose like Quincy the next time he’s waiting to take a corner. He would look great like this!
SEVENTEEN. Meanwhile, Iker said after the game that José Mourinho is the “captain of the ship” and that “we’re at his mercy. We’re going to support him in everything he says, in everything he thinks and in everything he does. He shouldn’t be worried because we’re going to watch out for him like he does for us.” I love the loyalty that exists between the coach and players, though I may not always agree with what Mou says, thinks and does.
Iker’s also boss, but in a different way.
EIGHTEEN. Fun moments – the camera pans down Marcelo’s body, and Mesut has some choice words for the official – I told you that the first words he learned well were probably swear words (remember how Becks only knew hola and joder?), and I’m sure he’s using a couple of them there.
NINETEEN. The Captain Mou corner.
The Ultra Sur chanted Mou’s name at one point during the second half, as they usually do, but there was a slight difference in how things developed, because this time, part of the stadium started booing at the mention of the coach’s name.
Mou was quite calm – for him – during the game, as he spent most of it on the bench, and not pacing the sidelines. He was seen scribbling in his notebook, although he hardly gave any instructions to his players – he admitted that he stopped doing that once he viewed the team as having won the game, after the 4-0 mark.
(I love how Aitor was trying to peek at what Mou was writing!)
At his press conference, Mou continued with the discourse started on Wednesday: “Obviously I have nothing against the city [Málaga], the club or their professionals, I just responded without hypocrisy, like always. if you ask those who coach the best clubs in the world if they would go to Málaga, they would answer, ‘Why not? Right now no, but perhaps one day.’ But that’s not true, since they wouldn’t go! People always choose the best opportunities for themselves. If I have to apologize, I will do it, I have no problems with doing so, yesterday I apologized to a journalist but the truth is I responded as I always do, without hypocrisy. In a hypocritical world, not being hypocritical is a big defect, it’s a defect that I have and that I will always have.”
Mou praised Karim: “he’s playing better, and he appears to be a different player than the one I met when I arrived. My analysis is that he’s more complete now, stronger, with a different attitude.”
As for the hot topic of the calendar, Mou said, “I don’t want to waste any more time talking about this. The person with the power to decide [on the calendar] should do what he wants. It’s not worth it to talk any more about this. For the señorío of this club, we shouldn’t denounce anything else. We’d all be better off if we stay silent.” Sí, sí y sí.
And when asked if it hurts him that he’s so criticized in his world, he replied, “my world is distinct. My world is not football. Football is my professional world.”
Mou also apparently ordered for the field at the Bernabéu to be watered (we know that he loves sprinklers, no?) before the game and at the half, so that the field would be fast and complicate the life of Málaga.
TWENTY. Other notes.
This picture has nothing to do with what’s written immediately surrounding it, but I thought it looked good here, for more than one reason.
Game notes: poor Peter Lion. He was finally called up, only to be discounted at the last moment, so he watched the game from the stands along with Jerzy Dudek, as Mou rotates the back-up keepers.
Looking ahead: the team trained today behind closed doors, to start preparing for Sunday’s game against Racing.
Other injury news: Fernando Gago had an MRI done today (I wonder if he coincided with Cris?) after having to leave the training session early, and the result showed an injury to his right adductor. He’s out for three weeks. Poor Fer!
Lass will miss this weekend’s game against Racing after picking up his fifth yellow, which means an automatic one-game suspension. As Sami Khedira and Fernando Gago are also out due to injury, it will be Esteban Granero’s big chance to prove himself by accompanying Xabi in the midfield.
And because I care about these things: FP, Jorge Valdano and Iker Casillas called Raúl to congratulate him for the goal that he scored which sent Schalke to the final of their domestic league cup.
The first half of this ICYMI can be found here.