all set for Tottenham!

What did Esteban do?

The day has finally arrived – the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, unfamiliar ground for Real Madrid in the last seven years.  The good news was that Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo were back training with the team, along with Kaká, whom I had all but forgotten about, but was very happy to see, especially since I like the scruff on his face!  The entire team trained yesterday afternoon, with the exception of the injured or slightly injured Fernando Gago, Ángel di María, Peter Lion and Karim Benzema (the last one was out on the field running, however).

There were hugs all around at the session, to welcome back the Portuguese-speaking trio.

I hope Cris and Marcelo will only play if they’re 100 percent ready.  They shouldn’t force anything (or be forced), since I would hate for them to aggravate their old injuries or injure anything else!  According to Diego Torres, the team’s doctors believe that Cris isn’t fully recovered from the left thigh injury he suffered on March 2 against Málaga.  They believe that his wound wasn’t fully healed when he played against Lyon on March 16, that he re-injured himself playing against Atleti on March 19, and that if the scar tissue opens for a third time, the recovery time will be prolonged to one month plus.  However, Mou wanted Cris on the list for Sporting, even if it just meant that he would be on the bench.  Cris told his coach that he still had some pain and the doctors had recommended that they wait.  Mou was furious, and even more so after the game, when he reproached the two team doctors in the locker room in full view of the players, saying in a “scornful and threatening” tone, “let’s see when you take Cristiano, Benzema and Marcelo off the injured list!” causing the doctors to back away until they hit a wall.  Yesterday, the doctors gave the green light for Marcelo and Cristiano to play.   I hope they will be okay.

And thus… 19 players were called up for this game; the absences were Gago, Benzema and Peter Lion due to injuries, and Raúl Albiol and Sergio Canales due to the coach’s decision.  The list looks as follows:

Goalkeepers: Iker, Adán, Dudek.

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Arbeloa, Pepe, Carvalho, Garay, Marcelo.

Midfielders: Lass, Xabi Alonso, Khedira, Granero, Kaká, Özil, Di María.

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuaín, Adebayor.

José Mourinho and Gonzalo Higuaín spoke to the press before the session.  Mou had nice words about former madridista Rafa van der Vaart and his decision to move to Tottenham: “I think Rafa (made) a good choice, I always like the players to be happy… and I feel that he’s a very happy boy now.  (He’s) a very good player who could also be good for us, but we made our choice when we bought Özil, and when you have Özil and Kaká, and also Rafa?  No problem for me to have them all, but for him, I think the choice was a great choice, and I’m very happy he’s doing so well and I’m very happy he’s happy.”

Mou also avoided answering questions about the Liga, because “this is the moment to focus on the Champions.  I think it’s normal that we have nothing else in mind, because this is the most important club competition in the world.  Real Madrid has not played this match in several years, and the Bernabéu has not been able to watch this game.”  To hammer this point across, Mou then looked over at Pipita, sitting next to him, and asked him, “how many times have you played in the Champions League quarterfinals?” with the end of showing the importance of the (quarterfinal) game, which Madrid has not played in seven years.  Pipita’s response was “never,” to which Mou added, “look, you see?  We’re talking about Gonzalo Higuaín, a top player, and this is the first time he’s played in one.  What do you think he’s thinking about?  El Es-porting?  He’s thinking about the game, nothing more.”

When it was his turn to speak: Gonzalo expanded on this: “being with the team at this point in the competition is a big responsibility, my objective is to help my teammates bring this team forward in this competition.  We have to win tomorrow… we have to fight for this competition.”  He also talked about coming back from injury: “I’m happy to return to playing, especially since it was unknown whether I would be able to return this season.”

Pout it, Pipita!

And of course, Rafa van der Vaart was the Tottenham player chosen to speak to the press.  He told the journalists that “I haven’t played here [in Madrid] for a while and sometimes I miss it, but I’m happy in London.  What I miss most [about Madrid] is the weather and the lifestyle because my mother is Spanish.”  And once again showing what class he has, Rafa stressed, “I want to play well but I don’t have any negative feelings towards Real Madrid.  I want to win tomorrow and play a good game, but I don’t have any desire for revenge.”

Looking ahead to the game, if any of the following players receive a yellow card, they will miss the second leg game in London: Sergio Ramos, Ricardo Carvalho, Ángel di María, Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo.  Raúl Albiol is also on that list, but he’s not at risk since he wasn’t even called up for this game.

In Liga news, el clásico has been scheduled for Saturday, April 16 at 22h.

Other news: in an interview with DPA, Mesut Özil was asked whether José Mourinho really is “The Special One,” and he responded “yes, absolutely.”  In a previous question, he had already lauded Mou as “the best coach in the world.”  He was also of course asked about what Cristiano is like (he must be so tired of answering this question), to which Ozi said, “he works a lot, and he’s always friendly and nice.  On the field, he revs up to 100 percent.  He’s ambitious, he always wants to win, including during the training sessions.  I’m very happy to play with him.”  Mesut also said he has a great understanding with Madrid’s entire front line of Higuaín, Benzema and Adebayor, calling them three “top” forwards (has he been taking English lessons from Mou?).

And congratulations to Cadete B, who won their group (Group I) of the Preferente division, with four games left, after beating Alcobendas 1-6!  Their record currently stands at 23-3-0, and they’ve scored 107 goals and only allowed 21.  They’re the second team from La Fábrica to win their group, after Juvenil A.  Let’s hope there are many more!

Antonio Adán’s little brother Alfonso plays for Cadete B, as does Gonzalo Merchán, brother of Castilla’s Víctor.