the captain’s armband, Sahin in Madrid & more vacation plans

According to today’s Marca (perhaps maybe because there’s no news?), José Mourinho is considering taking the captain’s armband away from Iker Casillas, because he prefers a field player – preferably a defender – to be the one wearing it.  In his previous teams, he’s always had field players as captains, and he believes this way will give his team an advantage, as the captain will be closer to the action.  He’s going to argue this case to the club and to Iker, to see what they think, since he knows it’s controversial.  The candidates most likely to end up with the armband, should Mou push his way through with this measure, are Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso, the vice captain and the “captain without the armband,” respectively.  In any case, Iker will still remain captain in all other areas, he’ll just “lend” his armband to someone else on the field.  Iker and Andrés Palop (Sevilla) are the only goalkeeping captains in the first division.

Thoughts?

I understand why Mou would want to do this, but the armband has a symbolic value, and this will be a huge break with Real Madrid tradition.  And Iker himself is a symbol of this club, he represents the values of the club perfectly, having spent 2/3 of his life in Real Madrid.  He’s the only player on the current team to have been formed in the cantera, to have never known a team other than Real Madrid, and to be a regular starter.  And that counts a lot for us madridistas.  No one else fits the profile, and no one else represents el madridismo quite like Iker does.  He’s also shown that he possess leadership skills and charisma, and he has the respect of the referees.  Plus, he has worked very hard to get to where he is now today.  This (if true), coming on the heels of the lack of confidence in the cantera, makes me worry for the future of the club.  I’m not only disappointed in the lack of confidence shown towards our Castilla players, but the discouragement of another symbol of our club, the cantera.  There are several things that we madridistas hold dear, and these are two of them, because they are part of the essence of the club, and why we feel proud of and love the club so much.

Anyway, Iker will travel to Beijing today to continue with his campus visits.  Our captain will relate to the young goalkeepers (the campus is made up of only goalkeepers) his values, skills and experiences, accompanied by the Chinese national team coach Gao Hongbo and the starting goalkeeper of the team, Yang Zhi.  He’ll also attend the Beijing Guoan-Shanghai Shenhua game while there.  He’ll be in China until July 10.

Iker spent this past weekend in his parents’ hometown of Navalacruz, hanging out with his girlfriend and friends, and having a barbecue.  He posted these photos on his Facebook.

Nuri Sahin arrived in Madrid yesterday (Marca was there to capture the moment), to begin getting in shape for the new season.  He will follow a specific plan that will allow him to start the pre-season at the same rhythm as his teammates, beginning with medical tests to see how his right knee, which he injured in April, is doing.  He arrived in Madrid accompanied by his wife Tugba and his parents, and is staying at the Mirasierra Suites until he finishes moving into his new house.  The adaptation process isn’t expected to be difficult for the couple, as they’ve been taking intensive Spanish lessons for the last several months.  Sahin will meet this week with José Mourinho, who will arrive back in Madrid this week following his vacation.  Nuri trained for one and a half hours at Valdebebas on Monday.

Nuri spoke to AS regarding his signing with Madrid.  He described his signing as “a very special moment.  I was resting at the house of my agent, Reza Fazeli, who had invited me over to speak about some issues.  Suddenly, he told me that someone from Madrid was going to call me from England.  Five minutes later, I answered the phone.  I said, “hello?”  And I heard, “Hello!  This is Mourinho.”  I thought someone was playing a joke on me, but the conversation continued.  He told me that he had been following me this entire season at Dortmund and that he wanted me on his team.”  Sahin went on to say that he’s spoken with Mou several more times, and that he’s given him the task of organizing the midfield.  He also added that he’s feeling great, as great as before he got injured, and there’s no sign of any discomfort.  He joked that he must be the only person who wants his vacation to be over already, so that he can begin working.

What are some of our other players up to?  Xabi’s in Donostia, judging by this beautiful shot of the Playa de la Concha this morning, Sergio Canales is in Rome, Italy with brother Miguel and girlfriend Cristina, Álvaro Arbeloa is back in Madrid and having a great time at his campus, Cris is larking around with Irina in Portugal, and Álex and MFC Álvaro Borja Morata Martín – wearing matching outfits of what appears to be their official Real Madrid suit – shared a taxi to Las Rozas this morning to join up with the U-19 national team.