this is like the best day ever

As if all the training, cantera and speed race adorableness weren’t enough, José Mourinho had to go arrange a surprise barbecue for all the players, coaching staff and other staff for lunch.  He really is an evil, twisted, cynical person who doesn’t get along with his players, isn’t he?

I love that in the above picture, Iker and Crís made sure to pose together and with Iker’s arm around Crís’ shoulders, how Mesut is about three feet in front of everyone else, how Xabi inserted himself within the French, Pipita joking around with Albiol and making José Callejón laugh, the way Sergio has his arm draped over José, how Sami and Kaká are too busy laughing and sharing a joke to look at the camera, Álvaro Arbeloa in his sunglasses, and Marcelo just hanging on there, spreading his sunshine.

That salad must have been real tough, from the way that Hamit is cutting it.  And isn’t Gonzalo lucky, he can just sit on Antonio’s lap.  And Antonio is lucky too, he has his leg propped up on Kaká.

From what we can see from the pictures, this is how the players arranged themselves, with the staff spread out among them.  Tables I to IV are no surprise, but I would have expected Iker to be at Table I, and Altintop-Sahin to be at Table III.  But it’s great that Iker ate with the new boys!

Table I: Adán, Albiol, Granero, Xabi, Arbeloa, Callejón, Sergio.

Table II: Cris, Pepe, Marcelo, Kaká, Coentrão.

Table III: Lass, Varane, Benzema, Mesut, Sami, Carvalho (though apparently not at the same time as the first five).

Table IV: Di María and I assume Pipita.

Table V: Iker, Altintop, Sahin.

And some observations: I can barely function… Esteban and Xabi looking totally, utterly and completely BOSS, and right next to each other?  I feel lightheaded… (P.S. I am ignoring Xabi’s shirt).

Sami and Mesut have the same hair, and I’m happy to see Rafa under Lass and Karim’s wings, even though he’s like a foot taller than Lass and half a foot taller than Karim.  The lunch looks delicious, no?

How fantastic do Álvaro, Esteban and Xabi look in their sunglasses?  And of course, Cris and Kaká are sitting next to each other – it’s easier to share food that way.  And seriously, this is one big family.

I love how Pepe is adjusting the shade, and how Kaká looks like such a neat eater.

And some close-up shots, from which we can see that Gonzalo and Hamit’s shirts are those with English words that make no sense, that José Callejón seems to get along with everyone, that if Cris’ biceps get any bigger, he won’t be able to fit into that shirt anymore (the sleeve is already strained to the limit), that Iker worryingly has just a bit of fringe left on the front of his head, and that happily, most of our players have trouble keeping their hands to themselves.

And given this rare opportunity, I also have to do a (brief) fashion review.

My favorite color is red, so I like Pepe and José’s shirts (despite the brand name splashed out on the front), as well as Lass’ shorts.  I’m ignoring Xabi’s shirt, so he looks great.  Esteban looks fantastic as well, but I don’t like Antonio Adán’s light shirt and pants combo.  Sami, Sergio and Iker’s cuffed shorts aren’t doing it for me, nor are Mesut’s flip flops with pants.  As for Karim, I’ve spotted his Gucci neceser, so minus points for that.  He looks good otherwise, as does Rafa.  Cris’ backwards Yankees cap is typical Cris, as are his tight, tapered jeans and Gucci sneakers (with a belt a juego) – I wonder if Junior has matching ones?  Sergio also went for an American sports team, with a Rondo Celtics jersey.  Kaká looks pretty and preppy (I wanted to type “preppy,” but my hands typed “pretty,” and I thought, well, it’s true, so I kept it).  And of course, Marcelo brightened things up in purple.  All in all, the boys looked pretty good on Friday afternoon, no?

The boys (and the staff too) really have a serious obsession with each other’s heads, and that encompasses headwear.  And remember how Raúl Albiol described Gonzalo Higuaín as “he talks a lot, very talkative?”  I can totally see that here.  Plus, why couldn’t Sergio have jumped up and started dancing?  He looked ready! 

Okay, post updated, ¡a descansar!