all set for Almería!

Can you believe we’ve come to this already, the LAST training session of the season, ahead of the LAST game of the season?

Mesut needed to work on his abs, but Sergio and Cris did not.

Real Madrid held their first and last training session yesterday in preparation for today’s home game against Almería (20h).  Twenty footballers ran around at Valdebebas, including Sami Khedira, who ran alone, and canteranos Jesús, Joselu and Mandi.  The absences were Gago, Garay, Higuaín, Di María, Marcelo, Lass and the birthday boy Iker, due to a combination of injury and excused absences (it looks like Marcelo has been granted extra vacation).  That means we didn’t get to see Iker receive congratulations and pulls on his ears from his teammates!  Zizou also hung around the field and spoke with José Mourinho, who was missing Aitor Karanka.

The next training session won’t be until July 11, which means Madrid won’t be playing any friendlies after the season, and almost two months of vacation for those without any international commitments, such as the Copa América, or Spain’s Americas tour in June.

Eighteen footballers were called up for this game.  The ones left off the list were Lass, Gago and Khedira (injury), Garay, Higuaín and Di María (excused for Copa América duty), Marcelo (on vacation already), Adán and Iker (coach’s decision).  The three canteranos who trained with the first team this morning were included, and it’s the first call-up for an official came for Joselu and Mandi (Jesús was called up for the Getafe game two weeks ago).  And Iker must be jealous, because the players won’t have to be concentrados tonight – instead, they’re cited to be at the stadium at 12h today, game day.

Goalkeepers: Dudek, Jesús.

Defenders: Carvalho, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Arbeloa, Albiol.

Midfielders: Granero, Alonso, Özil, Kaká, Pedro León, Canales, Mandi.

Forwards: Adebayor, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Joselu.

Jerzy Dudek will start against Almería in his last game with Real Madrid.  He spent four seasons with Madrid, winning one Liga, one Copa del Rey and one Supercopa de España, and is, as José Mourinho said, “un hombre top on the team.”  ¡Gracias por todo, Jerzy!  We’ll miss you!

Cris wears short shorts.  And why are Karim and Kaká waving those jerseys around?

Aitor Karanka spoke to the press (no doubt Mou’s smiling somewhere) following the training session.  He didn’t want to give a grade to the team, although he said the season has been good, because “in the first season, the team got to the semifinals of the Champions, won a trophy that they hadn’t won in a long time, and did well in the Liga, where we are the highest scoring team at the moment and where we have a player that will take home the pichichi.”

When asked why Madrid signed Peter Lion, Aitor said, “there are young players who have done well, such as Pedro León.  Coming to Madrid is taking a big step forward, it’s a lot of pressure and not everyone manages to adapt in the first year.”  As for Altintop, Karanka said, “he has the profile we’re seeking… we hope he’s a good signing.”  With regards to Adebayor’s future, “Emmanuel is a fantastic player and he’s brought joy to the team.  We’ll see what happens.”

Aitor also revealed that his objective is to “enjoy” himself and that he’s very content at the moment and not thinking about the future (as in whether he’d like to become a head coach).  As for the cantera, his thoughts were that “the potential of Morata, Sarabia or Álex is there and we’ll keep them in mind.”  He also said he believes that calling up three canteranos won’t harm Castilla: “I spoke with Toril, with whom I have a very good relationship.  He told me that he believed they could be with us.  He always looks out for what we need in the moment.”  Lastly, Iker wasn’t called up because “we had planned for this since some weeks back.  Antonio has worked very hard and Dudek as well, as have the chicos de la cantera.”

Real Madrid got Hugo Sánchez and Cristiano Ronaldo together for a reportaje.  Here’s to Cris breaking Hugo (and Zarra)’s record!  See the rest of the pictures here.

Cris said, “I am delighted to be amongst them. Individual accolades are important, but not as much as collective achievements. I’m satisfied because it isn’t easy to score 38 goals in one season, but I managed to do so with the help of my teammates. I wouldn’t be able to win a Pichichi Trophy or a Golden Boot without them. I am very grateful to them. All I can promise is that I will always do my best when wearing this shirt. Özil, Kaká, Xabi Alonso, Di María, Benzema, Higuaín… it’s hard to choose just one teammate. This award belongs to all and I wish to share it with them.”

And a couple of cute Castilla portraits from yesterday, of Fran Rico and Nacho.  Report here.  Don’t forget, they’ll be playing their first playoff game on the road to the second division on Sunday at 12h at the Bernabéu against Alcoyano!

And Iker posted this cute photo on his Facebook yesterday.  He also dedicated this song “La chica de ayer” by Nacha Pop to an “incredible” person who “likes this song a lot,” saying, “thank you for everything.”  I think we all know who that person is, but if you need proof, go here.

To end, a photo of little Iker from a Cuatro video.  Truth, heart, thank you!!!

UPDATE: The called-up players met today at noon in the Bernabéu to begin the concentración.  Will this be the last time we see some of these faces?

I also like these pictures.  Cris’ hair is very gelled up, and what happened to Jesús’ face?