The weather has finally taken a turn for the good, as it was sunny in Madrid this morning and the players wore short sleeves and shorts for the first time in a long time! Let’s hope they break out the sleeveless shirts soon! And in real life, that means no more scarves (that’s aimed at Sergio, Pepe and Iker)!
How come they don’t give the Castilla players first team training clothes?
And the other fantastic news out of today is that Gonzalo Higuaín is back!
Madrid held their last training session before tomorrow night’s game against Sporting (18h) this morning, with the 19 healthy players from the first team, plus three canteranos: MSFC Juan Carlos, Juanfran and Álex. Marcelo, Kaká, Cris, Benzema and Gago were the absences, as they stayed inside. And Sergio Canales needs a haircut.
The A-team really is inseparable, aren’t they? I wonder if Antonio Adán might one day join if they allow him, since his name does work?
More on Gonzalo: after 124 days, he’s returned to a call-up list (Nov. 28 was the last one). It’s also been about three months since he underwent surgery for his herniated disc (Jan. 11). Nineteen players were called up along with Pipita, including the three canteranos. Peter Lion was the only player left out due to the coach’s decision. The players are to arrive at the stadium at 21h tonight.
Goalkeepers: Iker, Adán, Dudek.
Defenders: Garay, Albiol, Ramos, Carvalho, Pepe, Arbeloa.
Midfielders: Lass, Khedira, Granero, Álex, Juanfran, Canales, Özil, Di María, Juan Carlos.
Forwards: Adebayor, Higuaín.
I wonder why only two forwards were called up, and one of them hasn’t played for four months? That’s a bit risky, no?
In José Mourinho’s press conference later on, he said that Higuaín’s return was “a positive surprise” that should be credited to “the dedication of the doctors, the work of Carlos Lalín (the readaptor), the efforts of the player himself… I hope the Bernabéu shows their support for him tomorrow.” Meanwhile, we found out that Cris, Benzema and Marcelo probably won’t make it to the Tottenham game: “the information I have is that Cristiano, Benzema and Marcelo will be ready for the game in Bilbao.”
[Collecting my thoughts and returning to the subject at hand after the mention of Bilbao made me start fantasizing about Javi Martínez (!!!).]
As for Sandro Rosell’s declarations that he expects Barcelona to beat Madrid 5-0 in the Copa del Rey final, Mou said, “I read them and they’re normal. If he thinks that, why wouldn’t he say it? I don’t think he’s disrespecting anyone. I don’t think he said anything out of the ordinary. But if I said it, I would be going straight to jail, but I think it’s normal for him to have said it.” You have to LOVE Mou, no? But he is right about there being a bit of a double standard; I thought about addressing it in the previous post but didn’t want to get into it. He continued, “it could motivate Barcelona’s players. Madrid’s have their own motivation, they want to win each game and they don’t need words from anyone else.” You tell them Mou!
We also didn’t find out about the starting eleven, which Mou knew but “I can’t say. I don’t want to.” Vintage Mou.
Over in Barcelona, Pep Guardiola showed more restraint than his president. He said in his press conference – and this is one of the reasons I love Pep – that “the president explained to me yesterday why he made that prediction, because it was during a charity event and the higher he predicted, the more funds they would collect. In my opinion, if you ask me, he could have avoided doing so. If it was to collect funds, I would have said 60-0.”
Meanwhile, original Ronaldo, who will be honored before tomorrow night’s game, arrived in Madrid this morning from Brazil. He then headed to his house and met up with some friends. Of the tribute, he said, “it’s a big honor because I’m a madridista. I have a lot of desire to see my teammates [very few are left!] and feel close to the fans, and I always have Madrid in my heart.” And you’re still in the hearts of madridistas too Ronie!
He’ll do the honorary kick off before the game, and he will also receive a replica of the Machimbarrena and Aranguren statue (the one in front of the locker room).
For their April Fool’s joke, the British newspaper “The Independent” wrote that Portugal had decided to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Spain for €160 million so that he could play with La Roja. The country did that to reduce their debt, with Cris deciding to be “patriotic” and accepting the deal. The paper then added that the English were prepared to counteroffer €230 million. Jajaja!!
Meanwhile, Madrid’s photographers haven’t gotten my memo. They’ve even got the coaches doing it now, groan.
Over in Castilla, they play Sunday against Guadalajara (17h), and hopefully the team will be able to consolidate their current second place standing! Denis and Goni spoke about the game, but they didn’t say anything we don’t know already (the game will be complicated, we’re working to move to first place, they will be a difficult rival, etc.) but I’m including this because Castilla rocks and because these boys are cute.
And… Sergio has pink pants! What colors are we still missing from his wardrobe? You know what? If he doesn’t sleep naked, then he might like some of those things that Javi (!!!) was modeling, jajaja!
