In case you missed it – Real Madrid vs. Real Betis [2011-10-15, Liga jornada 8, 4-1].
In Spanish, we say “chapeau” (the French word for hat) to express the sentiment of “well done” or “bravo” (Iker says it a lot) and that’s what we have to say to Gonzalo and Kaká for their comebacks, to Cristiano for being the same lethal force he’s always been, and to the team for being our Madrid. Plus, it has extra significance because Pipita scored a hat trick!
ONE. Despite the excellent game, I have to say that this moment was my favorite: Cris waving to mamá Dolores and Junior before the game, and Junior waving back oh so adorably! And if that wasn’t enough, Junior also blew kisses to his daddy, who couldn’t stop waving to his little one. Papá wasn’t able to score a goal for Junior, but he did play a major part in the win, assisting on two of the goals.
TWO. With Iker in bright yellow, we can spot him a mile away. He lights up the tunnel, no? I always love the moment when Madrid emerges from the tunnel to the strains of the centennial hymn (before, it was their normal hymn). It never gets old, no matter how many times you experience it. I’ve watched many, many games, but I still get goosebumps.
THREE. Gonzalo Higuaín scored his third hat trick in four games, in two games with Madrid and one with Argentina. On many of these goals, Ángel di María was his partner in crime. This was Pipita’s fourth hat trick with Madrid (the other three were against Valladolid in 2009-10, against Valencia in 2010-11 and against Espanyol in the last jornada. He also scored four goals against Málaga in 2008-09).
This is really exciting, because the greatness of Gonzalo is coinciding with the greatness of Karim Benzema for the first time, so I can’t wait to see what these two can do for us. I love Álvaro jumping on top of the group hug during the celebration for the first goal (that appears to be Arbeloaman’s favorite way to celebrate) and Kaká running over to the bench to hug Antonio Adán to celebrate his goal. Remember how I said in a previous ICYMI post that Antonio has a good life? This is more evidence.
It’s great to see Kaká so happy again, and enjoying playing football, after feeling like a robot out there, in his own words.
I love how Xabi extricates himself from the celebration for the third goal, and how excited Pipita was to see Pepe in the celebration for the fourth goal.
FOUR. Marcelo’s gestures always make me laugh. In this game, it was his gesture of bewilderment, as well as the way he expressed his frustration.
During the game, Marcelo was seen scolding fellow Brazilian Iriney, but by the end of the game, Marcelo and his hair twin were hugging.
FIVE. Antonio wore the black kit, how come Iker has not worn it yet?
SIX. I love little details like these. Mesut’s headband says “Mes,” probably short for his name, though it also means “month” in Spanish (and I might start calling him that), and Sergio’s says “Ramos 4.”
SEVEN. Before the game, Mou showed that he and Pepe Mel have a great relationship. They also hugged after the game.
EIGHT. More close up with Iker’s boots than you ever imagined possible. And with his face too. During the game, Iker shouted “¡más!” (more!) at his defenders.
I know some of you would want this picture, so here it is.
NINE. Sergio made sure his hair remained perfect during the game. When falling, he did so in a way to highlight his ass (though that probably was not his intention). I love him for that.
TEN. Kaká received high fives from his teammates as he made his way to the bench, while Cris was also subbed out, giving us the rare glimpse of Cris on the bench.
ELEVEN. Jesus walks on water, and Kaká? Well, Kaká can float on grass.
TWELVE. Agustín Herrerín has missed the last several games due to illness (he developed complications from a herniated disc operation), and so Chendo has taken his place as field delegate in the meantime. I hope to see Agustín back soon! It’s strange not to see him there at the entrance to the tunnel.
THIRTEEN. Mes didn’t have his best game, and spent some time on the ground, but he was quite graceful while doing so, no?
FOURTEEN. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™
The game may be over, but Xabi never stops posing.
I can’t believe Xabi’s not in this picture!!!!!
FIFTEEN. Gonzalo Higuaín went home with the game ball, after the refereeing team handed it to him.
Meanwhile, at the center circle, shirts were flying off and players were hugging (poor Hamit apparently doesn’t know anyone so he had no one to hug). Sergio and Álvaro both exchanged their shirts with Betis players. And you can also see how Marcelo and Iriney kept on talking.
Because we always need more, more, more of shirtless Sergio in action.
SIXTEEN. I just like this picture of Kaká.
SEVENTEEN. After the game, Gonzalo was still elated, joking about how he has to build a shelf to hold all the game balls he’s been collecting. He was also happy that this was the fourth consecutive game in which he’s played 90 minutes, including two with his national team, since he was operated on. Pipita had words of gratitude for his teammates and the club for “always being there when I needed them, during my recovery” and for Cristiano: “the goal scorer is just as important as the one who gives assists and Cristiano is helping us with his passes.”
Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos went to Betis’ locker room after the game to see how Álvaro Vadillo was doing, as he injured his right knee in a collision with Sergio. He told the press that he hopes Vadillo is fine, that he recovers quickly, and that he wishes him the best. He also praised his teammates, saying, “Higuaín is great, he has reached his best level this season. He’s on a scoring streak and that benefits the group.”
EIGHTEEN. The Mou corner.
In the post-game press conference, Mou was asked about the rivalry between Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín, now that both are playing so well. He said, “I have such good footballers that the issue of starters and substitutes doesn’t exist. It’s difficult to play four, five or six games with the same starter or the same substitute. Karim Benzema started really well and now Gonzalo Higuaín is scoring. My criteria when it comes to choosing players are the characteristics of the player against the projection of the rival. Many people believe that it’s a problem for me to have two forwards in good form, but that’s not a problem. A problem would be to have only one or none of the two.”
NINETEEN. Look who was at the game – Claude Makélélé! He told Canal+ that “my heart is still madridista, I had a great experience here, I won titles.” He also said that he likes Spain, that Madrid for him is the football city, and that he would go say hi to his friend “the phenomenon” Mou after the game. When talking about Madrid’s chances, Claude mentioned that Madrid would have to wait until the end of a cycle, except he confused the word for cycle (“ciclo”) with the word for century (“siglo”). Jajaja, I really hope Madrid doesn’t have to wait a century! Despite that, his Spanish is still pretty good. I hope he also got a chance to visit with Zidane! Claude is another of those people that I detest FP for kicking out the door, along with VDB and Fernando Hierro.
TWENTY. The Bernabéu recorded their first sold out game this season, and the first one in half a year (the last game that Madrid played in front of a capacity crowd was the Champions League semi against Barcelona last April). On Saturday afternoon, 83,000 people filled the stadium to watch Madrid, a new record, since work on the stadium over the summer added 1,000 seats to the stands.
TWENTY ONE. Sergio was busy on twitter after the game, congratulating Pipa; sharing a photo from his dinner with his brother-in-law Carlos and two friends from Sevilla, Lolo and Rai; and lamenting the injury to Vadillo, saying he had gone to see him after the game and sending him encouragement. Why oh why did Sergio put on a shirt? The friend on the right is the best.
And Iker is back to using Google translate! Today’s post: “Yesterday we managed to win a game in the first part we resisted. Nothing else to start the second period we have a goal, was very important. It had nothing to do the first period than the second. In the end we won 4-1 to a blatant Betis and I do not arrugo in the Bernabeu. Congratulate Higuain on his third treble of goals in two weeks. Another Real Madrid goal was Kaka. Now, we consider in winning the match against Lyon and we will have almost a foot and a half in the next round of the Champions League!”
TWENTY TWO. Other notes.
Esteban Granero, José Callejón and Jesús were the game day cuts, so they watched the game from the stands. It seems that seven Spaniard line-up may not be seen again anytime soon.
In the Carabanchel district of Madrid, the Calle del Real Madrid (Real Madrid Street) intersects with the Calle del Real Betis (Real Betis Street). Cuatro went to interview people there, finding Real Madrid fans living on the C/ Real Betis, Atlético fans living on the C/ Real Madrid, and one Atleti fan who lives on the C/ Real Betis but throws out his trash on C/ Real Madrid.
Cristiano will apparently debut his Tencent Weibo account tomorrow. It’s one of the equivalents of Twitter in China, as Twitter as well as Facebook are blocked in China.
Raúl and Iker (and basketball star Juan Carlos Navarro) have joined the DKMS foundation to fight against leukemia and encourage people to donate bone marrow. They’re doing this to support a man named Hugo, from Avilés (Asturias) who has been fighting leukemia for three years and waiting for a bone marrow match. In June this year, doctors told him there was nothing else they could do for him. However, he’s fighting on, and his friends have collaborated with DKMS to hopefully find a match for him. Raúl and Iker have joined this initiative, with Raúl as the padrino of this German foundation. Both he and Iker have recorded messages encouraging people to join up with them. Iker’s says, “hi, I’m Iker Casillas and I also want to give my support to Hugo. It’s important for people in Spain to donate their bone marrow, so we can save the lives of Hugo and many more people… Hugo, you’re a champion.”
Castilla takes on Rayo Vallecano B tonight at 19h, hoping to continue with the great football they showed earlier against Tenerife.
TWENTY THREE. Madrid returned to training on Sunday morning, as they have to start preparing for their Champions League game against Lyon on Tuesday. Twenty players ran around on the pitch, including Jesús, while Lass worked out in the gym and Carvalho, Sahin and Albiol continued with their recovery work. The starters from the game stretched and ran laps, while those who didn’t play many minutes or any minutes stretched and did ball exercises. The goalkeepers did their goalkeeping exercises.
Cris showed off another hairstyle, Adán and Jesús showed off their juggling skills, and don’t the boys look like some men on a mission in the last photo?
The bosses, front (side) and back edition.
And to end, our boys, being adorable boys. I wonder if Marcelo Sunshine is ticklish…
