In case you missed it – Real Madrid vs. Zaragoza [2011-04-30, Liga jornada 34, 2-3].
What can be said about this game? Those who stayed home due to the rain were probably glad they did, due to the result and the ramifications for the Liga.
ONE. The two captains presented the Copa del Rey to the fans before the start of the game. Iker must have a lot of faith in his Sergio, because he let Sergio hold the Cup by himself, despite what happened during the celebrations. And Sergio must have been thinking, I better hold it with both hands, no? Don’t drop it, don’t drop it… There are no more back-ups…
The front and back of the presentation.
TWO. Prior to that, and unusually for the team, the concentración started at noon on game day, instead of the previous night. Iker’s persuasive skills must have improved! Pepe showed up in a Charlie Brown shirt – adorable! – while Marcelo’s jeans couldn’t have a longer rise.
THREE. The best part of the game was by far seeing Marcelo, Pepe, Esteban Granero and Gonzalo Higuaín reading a little piece of paper that Mou had scribbled some instructions on. Here’s what happened. Mou and his notebook were of course inseparable during the game.
A few minutes into the second half, Mou wrote something down on one of the sheets of his notebook, ripped it out and then showed it to Marcelo, telling him what he wanted him to do with it. Mou then went on to give instructions to Ángel, forgetting to hand the piece of paper over, so Marcelo held out his hand for it.
Marcelo then read the paper himself, and ran onto the field with it clutched inside his closed fist.
He then handed it to Pepe, who read it…
… and then passed it on to El Pirata (who was quite boss in Xabi’s absence, I have to say. Notice him in Xabi’s favorite pose). Zaragoza were preparing to take their penalty at this point. Esteban read the little piece of paper, shared it with Gonzalo….
… and then placed it inside one of his socks. He knows better than to throw it somewhere where it could be picked up, read, made public and over-analyzed! He was soon subbed out after that, and once back on the bench, he removed his boots, took the note out of his sock and ripped it up.
And this is the final fate of that note. After the game, Mou said, “it was a very simple note with a couple of instructions.” Apparently, it was about how to reorder the team after the substitutions, which is why it was destined for Boss 1A.
FOUR. Iker was really pissed off at himself after Zaragoza scored the first goal off of his mistake, and Sergio tried to console him. Cute! They’re the original bromance of this Madrid team.
FIVE. Our goals were too little and too late, but I was happy that Sergio scored, and also disappointed that he didn’t do any backflips. He did make a “T” and then a heart with his hands. Cue the rumors that he has a new girlfriend whose name begins with the letter “T”…
Karim scored Madrid’s second goal, but it was hardly celebrated, because at that point, options were few and far between.
SIX. These are the kinds of things I notice: Sergio had pink (I wonder if he chose the color himself?) Kinesio tape on the back of his neck. What did he do to injure that area?
SEVEN. Random moments: I loved Ricardo Carvalho’s reaction to the red card, and Sergio saying “none of that here, please.” And this was Mesut’s most exciting moment during the game. Yes, staring and blinking!
EIGHT. Cris watched the game from his palco, accompanied by girlfriend Irina, though they seemed more interested in making out (Cris) and eating (Irina) than the game.
NINE. A couple of Iker moments to make me feel better: Iker clapping, and doing his pre-game ritual of touching el larguero.
TEN. Sergio C.’s tweet after the game said, “I think we have to ask for forgiveness for this game… now we have to think about Barcelona. We are Madrid and we’re going to win.” Nicely put, all of it.
ELEVEN. And highlights from The Marcelo Show. He was a bit subdued, but I loved the moment when he accidentally kicked a Zaragoza player, and seeing that he was in a lot of pain, tried to get the game stopped so the medical staff could attend to him.
TWELVE. Mou must have been thinking, I wish my players would play like I want, so I don’t have to put on a raincoat, come out here in the rain to yell instructions at them and get wet.
THIRTEEN. Speaking of rain, the rain was good for Sergio, because it made his kit even more transparent, and cling even more to him. But for Iker, it was bad, because it plastered the hair to his head, and given the current situation on the top of his head, that’s not a good thing.
FOURTEEN. The Mou corner.
After the game, Mou told the press that the result was his fault: “the coach was not capable of motivating his players, who didn’t play well in the first half. We allowed our adversary to score three goals. We were better in the second half… My conscience is clear because I didn’t want to hand anything to Zaragoza on a platter, or hurt teams fighting to stay in the division. They fought hard and these points will most likely help them to stay in the first division. They won, so congratulations to them.”
There were numerous signs in support of Mou at the stadium, although he was both booed and cheered during the game.
FIFTEEN. Other notes:
– Iker Casillas has tied Levante’s Sergio as the active player with the most games played in the Liga, with 418 games in his 12 seasons. And he’s still three weeks from turning 30!
– Ricardo Carvalho will miss the next game due to his expulsion from this one, as will Ángel di María, as he received a yellow card in this game that was the fifth of the cycle.
– Madrid trained this morning to start preparing for the Champions League game against Barcelona on Tuesday.
– Castilla plays Badajoz tonight (21:30h), looking to extend their 16-game non-losing streak. Denis and Luis Hernández are injured and won’t be playing, while MFC Álvaro Borja Morata Martín, MSFC Juan Carlos and Fran Rico return to the line-up after serving a one-game suspension. Juanfran and Nacho also return to Castilla after being called up with the first team. “Nachete” started his second consecutive Liga game and made his debut at the Bernabéu, and his Castilla teammates also wished him luck prior to the game via twitter.
And here are the boys on the way to Badajoz, via Jorge Casado’s twitter!
