Thanks to reader bbBenz for pointing me towards this ridiculously amusing and adorable video from Shimon Peres’ visit to Valdebebas. And it turns out, Iker and Sergio both did get to practice their English, though they and their teammates only mostly said things like “nice to meet you” and “thank you very much” (both repeated various times throughout the visit).
Were they really bored, didn’t understand the English, or was the sun just in their eyes?
Here’s a rundown of the moments you should not miss during the video.
0:33 – Iker says his first English words – “thank you” after Peres tells him, “I love you.” That’s not exactly the response I’d want if I told Iker I loved him.
0:43 – Iker says “thank you very much” in his adorable (and typical) Spanish accent.
0:46 – Mou pats Iker on the back, Iker gives him a look.
1:00 – Xabi says nice to meet you, tells Peres he’s a good friend of Yossi Benayoun, since they used to play together in Liverpool.
1:05 – Xabi clarifies that he’s a midfielder, to which Iker says “a bad midfielder” (as many of you have pointed out). So is Iker one of those that only knows the bad words in English? Just like Mesut in Spanish? After all, Iker knew to change ‘best” to “worss” with Pepe.
1:18 – Peres’ translator tells the president that Xabi is part of the World Cup winning Spanish side, Peres cuts him off with a terse “I know.” How much do you want to bet that karate kick was going through his mind?
1:28 – Kaká says “nice to meet you too.” He’s reduced from being the former world player of the year, one of the most expensive signings ever, etc. to being “the Brazilian.”
1:34 – Iker introduces Pedro León as “Peter Lion”!!! Iker finds this amusing and grins to himself. I love it, I simply love it.
1:39 – Cris says hi! Just like that, with an exclamation mark at the end, and gives a thumbs up. He and Peres are apparently old friends, having met before.
1:46 – Iker calls Marcelo! Pepe!
1:52 – Cris introduces Marcelo as “the best player of the league.” Marcelo says “nice to meet you.”
1:56 – Cris introduces Pepe as “the best centerback.”
1:58 – Cris calls himself, Pepe and Marcelo “the best players here.” Notice a theme here? Mou and Marcelo would have used the word “top” for “best.”
2:06 – Cris ends the conversation with an “ok? Nice to meet you, eh.”
2:10 – Iker gives Peres a shirt and says, in English, “it’s a present for you. A shirt. It’s a tee (?).”
2:15 – Pepe fools around with Marcelo in the back (look at Marcelo’s posing!) while Sergio tosses Iker’s gloves backwards into the air.
2:20 – Sergio yells “very nice!” makes other noises. Cris and other players laugh.
2:45 – FP’s huge nose comes into view.
3:39 – Cris is bored.
3:50 – someone’s phone goes off, Álvaro and FP stare at the unfortunate soul.
4:14 – poor Di María. Just as he’s ready to pose for the group shot, it’s over. Loving Álvaro’s huge smile. And how polite of Karim to remove his hat for the photo!
4:18 – Mou strokes Peres on the nape of his neck. Someone shouts “niiiice.” Don’t know if the two are related.
4:19 – for some reason, Iker and Sergio shake hands with each other. Love it!
4:22 – someone mentions the Jackson 5 (sounds like one of the Portugese speakers, no?).
4:23 – someone sings like them in the background (why oh why was this not captured?).
So adorable, no?
