one more day in Los Angeles

Iker looks – and is – hot.

The return of Pepe to the morning session was the good news; the bad news was that Sami Khedira had to leave early due to a toe injury.  Sergio Ramos and Nuri Sahin were the other absences, as they stayed inside to work out in the gym (although Sergio tweeted that his back was a bit better).  The field players did their usual stretching, running and tactical exercises, while the goalkeepers did their own work to the side.  The team returned to the field in the afternoon for their second session of the day, with the same absences (Sami was there, but didn’t train with his teammates).

Next up for our team is today’s game in San Diego vs. Chivas Guadalajara.  The team will travel to San Diego today and return to Los Angeles afterward.  It’s likely that Khedira, who underwent some tests at a hospital named after the man who gave Cristiano Ronaldo part of his name – the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center – will miss this game, as will Sergio Ramos.  The next training session will take place at UCLA on Thursday at 17h, and will be open to the press for the first 15 minutes.

Today’s dose of Marcelo sunshine…

José Callejón and Antonio Adán were sent to speak to the press after the first training session.  Antonio Adán was asked if it was possible to beat Iker out for the position of starting goalkeeper, and he replied, “I can’t say it’s impossible, because if that’s how I viewed it, I wouldn’t be here.  I work hard here with the hope that one day the situation will change.  I know that it’s very difficult…”  He also said that he’s not thinking about how long he can handle being in this situation, as he’s happy to be part of this team, and he wants to contribute to this group.

Despite what you may be thinking, this is not the worst of it…

Meanwhile, José said the goal he scored against the Galaxy made him very happy, and that he’s not thinking about whichever forward is going to come to Madrid, because that’s an issue for the coach, not for the players, who only have the task of working hard and progressing each day.  He also described his return to Madrid as “a dream.  It’s a luxury to be here with this coaching staff… for me, it’s a dream to share a locker room with teammates I had seen on TV before.”  Some of those are Iker, Sergio, Cristiano and Kaká, whom José said were among those who have impressed him the most.

Callejón also called Madrid’s cantera “one of the best in the world.  If you have to leave to go to another team, great.  I’ve matured as a footballer and as a person.  If you leave and you do well, perfect.  But if you have the opportunity to debut from the cantera and stay, that’s much better.”  All our players have been very diplomatic in the press room so far!

… because THIS is!!

It’s always nice to see our boys being the fans instead of the superstars, as we saw on Monday, when some of them asked for pictures with Elsa Pataky or Paz Vega during the Tourism Spain event.  And Sergio also tweeted this photo of him with Daniel Craig, whom he called a “legendary James Bond” – I personally wouldn’t go that far… A photo tweeted earlier by Sergio – a repeat of last year’s pose – shows why he should stick with the Real Madrid training gear.

Back in Madrid, Castilla will begin their pre-season today, at 10h in Valdebebas, with many absences.  There are of course those players who have left, most notably Pablo Sarabia and Juan Carlos Pérez.  Meanwhile, MFC Álvaro Borja Morata Martín, Dani Carvajal and Álex are on national team duty, while six other canteranos are currently with the first team in Los Angeles.  Castilla’s first game will be a friendly against Parla on July 27.  Their first official game will be on Aug. 21 vs. Sporting de Gijón B at the Di Stéfano.

And the Spanish U-20 team is already in Colombia, preparing for their World Cup.  Madrid caught up with Sergio Canales and Fernando Pacheco at Las Rozas before they left, and the result is some very cute photos.  View the rest and a video here.