Several of you have sent me pictures and reports of your experiences with Real Madrid during their U.S. tour, so I just wanted to share them with the rest of you! It’s interesting for me to see the perceptions of football (or soccer, as Iker has said) in the U.S., and how the team behaves when they’re not in Madrid! Plus, I can see my influence in the number of posing pictures I received…
Magda and Alyssa went to the Madrid game in Philadelphia, and both provided their observations from the game, with Magda also supplying the photos because she was the “official photographer.” Magda: “I really didn’t mind Xabi’s clothes sticking to him.” [Who would?] Alyssa: “Xabi must be giving posing lessons because this match was FULL of sexy poses. Iker couldn’t last a minute without posing. I thoroughly enjoyed the view from the pack. Other frequent posers were Granero (not surprising), Kaká and Adán and Tommy Mejías (while on the bench).”
Alyssa: “we sat in the 6th row behind the goal where Iker was in the first half of the match. Almost every section of the stadium was split between Madrid fans and Union fans except that the section next to ours held the Union’s rhythm section. They were chanting and drumming throughout the match. A friend of mine who grew up in Philadelphia told me that Union fans (called Sons of Ben) are always insane. It must have been hard on Iker having them right behind him [don’t worry, he’s had a lot of experience at San Mamés and the Reyno de Navarra] but he still sent many smiles and waves our way. Also, it was across the field from us so I couldn’t see well, but Iker gave his shirt away at halftime. Oh how I love that man. Esss true!” She goes on to heap more praise on Iker: “I have to admit that I wasn’t very happy when I saw that Iker would be wearing yellow this season, but in person, he looks AMAZING! I don’t know what it is but it works for him! I saw him wear green for La Roja in June and the yellow is definitely better on him! I’m pleasantly surprised!”
As you can see, they were sitting close to the goal that Iker was defending, so Magda got some nice pictures “of him and his cute little butt. Also he seemed to take some lessons in posing from Xabi in this game because all of the 45 minutes that he was on, he was posing! The heat made the clothes stick to all of our players, and Iker’s underwear lines are visible because of this. And of course I couldn’t resist taking a close-up picture of Iker’s butt… this is just a zoomed out version of the last picture but I just love the expression on the face of El Pirata.”
Magda: “I noticed how all of the Portuguese speakers sat together of course. I was not pleased that Coentrão separated Cris and Kaká.”
More from the bench, according to Magda. During the first half (left), the players were “laughing and joking with each other.” As the second half rolled around, “it looked like our boys couldn’t stand the heat. Iker and Sergio were nowhere to be seen in the second half. It looks like all of the ones that were subbed out + Sergio decided not to come back out onto the field.”
Magda: “I wish more of them decide to wipe their sweat with their shirts and show us some abs. Benzema knows how to make us happy… Varane switched shirts with someone and showed us his perfect body.” Alyssa: “The heat definitely affected them. I’ve never been that drenched in sweat in my life… I’d say the most affected were Iker and Kaká. Iker never went more than a couple minutes without wiping sweat away and when he could, he walked closer to the bench asking for water. Whenever Kaká wasn’t involved in play, he looked almost ready to collapse. Benzema also seemed more exhausted than most but that’s probably because he played for so long. One plus side of the heat, their uniforms stuck to them like spandex. I felt bad for them but the view was incredible! There was also all the shirt-lifting to wipe off sweat! Ohmywow!”
Alyssa also went to hang out outside their team hotel, and got to see them boarding the bus. Alyssa says, “they were all very friendly and smiled and waved at the fans. Mourinho even continued waving periodically while seated on the bus. Also, there was a little boy in the crowd whose birthday was that day and didn’t have tickets to the match. Real’s staff gave him and his mother (most likely his mother) tickets! This whole club is full of incredible people!”
As for Cristiano, “the stadium was full of people wearing Ronaldo jerseys but who couldn’t recognize a single other player on the team since they didn’t have their names on their shirts. Cris was very aware of his popularity though and took every opportunity to show off. It was actually adorable!” Meanwhile, with regards to the fan interaction, “from everything I saw, Cris, Iker and Marcelo were the best with the fans and Kaká was the friendliest. The babies of the team (canteranos + Rafa) were all very shy but in the cutest way.”
Erika says, “the game was a packed crowd and I think you’ll be happy to know that the one and only Xabi and XIT both started the game. I thought it was kind of funny because all but one of the Portuguese speakers played in the second half. I really LOVE Fábio, so I hope you include a lot of him this season. I’m very happy at the work they have done while in the U.S. I think this is going to be a great season. And while they may have only scored two goals and it was in the first ten minutes, I think it’s important to note that they did not have much time in Philadelphia to relax and get used to the climate. It was like death out there. I had already sweated through my new jersey before the game had even started!” She also added, “Xabi is always is some kind of pose.” Erika managed to capture Iker stretching and waving!
Rukan writes in with these observations: “before the game, Marcelo, Pepe, Fábio and Cristiano were sitting on the bench and Kaká stood in front of them and there was a huge crowd in the stands yelling for them but they all ignored it except for Kaká who waved a few times. I heard other people saying that it was rude, but I thought it was kind of funny since many of the fans were being obnoxious.”
“Zidane was hanging out on the field prior to the game.”
“They did A LOT of stretching which was nice of course haha and plus it was ridiculously hot, so there was a lot of shirt lifting.”
“Avid reader” Niraj also sent in a few pictures from the game, including warm-ups, and some action from the corner. That’s a lovely angle for Esteban, no?
J. writes in with a fun anecdote: “I was fortunate enough to meet many Real Madrid players over the weekend in Philly. They really are a nice group of guys. Especially Iker – he is so classy and genuine. A true captain in every way! And Sergio has a sense of humor – he signed my ‘drop it like it’s hot’ Copa hat! Wasn’t sure if he was going to understand it or be embarrassed/upset when I asked him to sign it, but he chuckled. So cute!”
And Cammy has a couple more anecdotes and observations from the time Madrid spent in Los Angeles. She writes, “I have a funny story for you. I took my copy of Vogue España for Xabi to sign at their hotel. I told the guy in front of me that if he wanted Xabi to stop in our area, he should flash the picture of Nagore to Xabi. So when Xabi came out with Arbeloa and Albiol, both guys pointed to the photo and Xabi comes towards us with a big grin. He was a bit shy about the Vogue pictures but he had a big smile while signing it” (below left).
And another one: “last Friday, I happened to see Xabi and Granero outside the UCLA student store. It was just before the morning session and there were not too many people around. In the afternoon I again happened to see Granero and Arbeloa leaving the student store. I don’t think they were able to buy anything when the video of them shopping was taken so they went back when it was a little quieter. Looks like Xabi bought Jon a foam UCLA ball and bat.”
(And at some point, they all bought those matching hats.)
Cammy says, “Iker spends the most time with the fans, working the line from end to end. Xabi too will stop and sign. Cris will do a few but at the hotel he does more autographs. I think the guys are warming up since it seems all of them have been giving autographs. First couple of days Varane, the new guys and the canteranos were very shy but now they do go out to sign.”
Fatima was also at the Galaxy game, and she tells us that the game was “awesome! And the atmosphere, with all the fans being there, was even more so.” She was most excited to see Sergio Ramos, and says regarding Iker posing, “he has learned well from Xabi.”
She also managed to capture the moment Mesut Özil’s shirt came off, saying, “what an improvement from last year’s photos when he first joined the team.”
