Jornada 10 is a rare midweek game, against Villarreal on Wednesday (22h). But first… more from the Málaga game. As you know, I love those moments prior to and following games, and once again, the boys didn’t disappoint. This time, instead of The Marcelo Show, we had The Álvaro Show, The Xabi Show and The Altintop Show, all of which need more episodes immediately.
Álvaro couldn’t get Alberto Gambino’s “Purpurina” out of his head, as he was seen singing it, despite not wearing his headphones. At this exact moment, he was singing the lyrics “con aceite corporal nena todo se resbala, tú sacas tu estilo de tigresa de Bengala.” I wouldn’t mind if he were singing that to me! Meanwhile, check out Xabi’s gestures and expressions!
Over on the bench, Hamit Altintop was busy making fun of Esteban Granero for being obsessed with his phone, saying, “he has many friends, many (girl) friends.” I see he’s learning the important words in Spanish! And if he think Esteban’s obsessed, he obviously hasn’t spent enough time with Iker. Jesús and Rafa were also seen chatting; I wonder what language they used?
Ruud van Nistelrooy once again proved how decent a person he is, when the cameras caught him joking around with one of Real Madrid’s equipment managers, Manolín, before the game, in the smiley presence of Óscar Ribot. I’ve always believed that how players treat the staff around them really show what kind of people they are. Becks, for one, had the reputation for being polite and cordial to everyone, from his teammates to the security guards. Meanwhile, Mou didn’t seem to be too happy that he was all alone on the bench.
Did you know that Marcelo and Cris gave us a preview of the goal celebration earlier in the week? On Thursday at the karts event, they were already singing “Ai Se Eu Te Pego.” Here, Marcelo is singing the now famous line, “Ai ai se eu te pego” with Cris joining in in the back. This song is constantly running through my head now. The problem is that I don’t know Portuguese, so it’s just that line over and over again and the tune. It really is catchy.
At Monday’s training session, the boys were all bundled up, as autumn is really here and it was cold, windy and wet. Twenty-six footballers prepared for Wednesday’s game against Villarreal, the 19 healthy players from the first team and seven canteranos: Jesús, Denis, Martínez, Merchán, Mendes, Raúl Ruiz and Iván González.
Raúl Albiol was also back on the field, wearing his brand new protective mask. On the other hand, Sami Khedira lost the bandage, so he’s fully recovered. As usual, those players who had started the game worked out a lower intensity than the rest of the players.
Iker posted on his Facebook that his week had gotten off to a bad start, as he got stuck in a traffic jam (he wasn’t the only one) and arrived late for the training session, earning him a fine from Mourinho. Later on, in a tweet, Álvaro teased him, saying, “if Iker takes as long to pay his fines as he does with his debts, Mou should sit down to wait.” I want to know what the debts are from! Why does Álvaro always tease us with these things, and never fully explains?
On Tuesday’s session, the last one before the game, Nuri Sahin and Fábio Coentrão left the sick bay to rejoin their teammates. That means that only Ricardo Carvalho and Lass are still injured (though Lass was out on the field running laps), and José Mourinho had 22 players to order around (including Tomás Mejías). Pepe looked really cold, or else he’s going to be a ninja for Halloween and was trying out his costume. Meanwhile, how can Esteban see through that hair?
And Sergio tried on Raúl Albiol’s mask!! Plus, Xabi and his protégé posing together in the back? I don’t think the world can handle that.
In the end, however, Nuri Sahin is still not ready to play in a game, as he was left off the call-up (are they just playing with us by letting us have glimpses of him, so that we’ll believe the wait is finally over?), along with Esteban Granero (due to plantar fasciitis) and Raúl Albiol, plus the two injured players. That means the last was made up of:
Goalkeepers: Iker, Adán, Mejías.
Defenders: Ramos, Arbeloa, Marcelo, Varane, Pepe, Coentrão.
Midfielders: Özil, Di María, Xabi Alonso, Callejón, Khedira, Kaká, Altintop.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuaín, Benzema.
As mentioned earlier, there is no concentración before this game. Meanwhile, Villarreal has two of our former canteranos in their habitual starting XI: Diego López and Borja Valero.
Aitor Karanka spoke to the press on Tuesday afternoon, taking the place of José Mourinho. This is what he had to say.
on Nuri Sahin: he trained today for the first time with the team and we’re happy. He’s the happiest, because he’s near the end, but we need to have patience because he’s been out for a long time and it’s not going to happen tomorrow.
on Di María being less selfish: he’s getting to know the system better and the result is there. The players are molding to the team and that’s important. People spoke about Cristiano before, and now Ángel.
on rumors of the departure of Esteban Granero: he’s an exceptional player and boy. It’s normal for us to receive offers because he’s very good. We’re happy with him because he always contributes.
on the Ballon d’Or nominations: we weren’t told anything. It’s an individual trophy and here the most important thing is the group. If it were up to me, or to the technical staff, I would give out 24 Ballons d’Or to the players who train here every day. Casillas? He’s deserved it for many years. [Wait, who is the 24th player?]
Madridista news: in an interview with El País, golfer Sergio García was asked his opinion of José Mourinho. His response: “I like him, because he has very clear ideas. Yes, sometimes he makes mistakes in saying certain things. But he says what many people dare not to say. That shows his personality. I don’t want to say that what he says is the absolute truth, as it may not be politically correct, but he knows very well what he wants.” Below is a cover he has for one of his golf clubs.
I quite liked this editorial by Frédéric Hermel in Monday’s AS: from the moment that Cristiano signed for Madrid, people have tried to criticize him, to slight his achievements and look for defects. As if having one of the best players in the world in Spain wasn’t good for our Liga. First: he was criticized for costing €96 million. But then he showed that he was a great football and economic investment. Second: they called him arrogant. But then honest people realized that Cristiano’s attitude on the field had to do with his extraordinary motivation and his hatred of defeat and not with a negative aspect to his personality. Third: they’ve also called him egotistical. But then, the stats he’s accumulated in his three seasons in white have contradicted this generalized opinion. Cristiano is a generous footballer that looks for the other forwards on his team and gives them passes that end up in goals. And in the last several days, when he had gone three games without scoring, certain sectors talked about a mini-crisis. But he answered with a hat trick in Málaga just a little before Leo Messi, his chief rival for the title of number one, failed a decisive penalty against Sevilla in injury time. I don’t know what they’re going to come up with now to attack the immense Cristiano Ronaldo. But in reality, we don’t care. Because he knows how to silence them with facts…
(Me) The newest attack on Cris has to do with his quote after the Málaga game, when he was asked in the mixed zone why he wasn’t carrying the game ball with him, as it’s tradition for the scorer of a hat trick to come away with the game ball. Cris responded, “it’s because I don’t have space.” As he said that, he gestured at his backpack. And he added, “I’ll receive it in Valdebebas,” meaning the equipment managers would bring the ball back for him and give it to him on a later day. However, some media outlets are just reporting the first quote by itself, saying that it refers to Cris’ trophy cabinet, and that Cris is insinuating that it’s not important to him because he’s already scored so many hat tricks. Only Cris receives this kind of treatment, and it really isn’t fair or ethical.
Remember the FIFA World Coach of the Year trophy that José Mourinho received and recently donated to be auctioned off to benefit the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation? Well it fetched about €30,000, the highest bid of the night, and slightly more than 10 percent of the total funds raised.
Sergio Canales, pobrecito, was injured in this weekend’s game between Valencia and Athletic, suffering a torn ACL in his right knee. In light of this diagnosis, Valencia decided that he should be operated on this Thursday, which will mean that he’ll be out for the next three months. However, Real Madrid, as they still own Sergio, wanted to proceed with more caution, and said Sergio would undergo more tests on Thursday to determine the size of the tear. If it’s big, they’ll implant an artificial or donated ligament, which will see him out for six months. If it’s small, he’ll be out for three months. Update: Sergio will undergo an arthroscopy on Friday, and the amount of time he’ll be out won’t be known until after that surgical procedure.
He received a lot of support from the madridista family, of which he is still a part: Iker wrote, “Ánimo Canalitos!!! Be strong, crack! How unjust is football like this!!! We hope you recover soon, chaval!!!” Álvaro and Esteban Granero also tweeted their support for their friend Canales, saying that they were sure he was going to return soon and stronger. Sergio Ramos did too, for his “tocayo” (person with the same name), wishing Sergio C. “tranquility, hope, confidence and strength.”
The boys of the cantera also tweeted their support: Álex, Fernando Pacheco, MFC ABMM, as did non-current canteranos Juan Mata, Juan Carlos, Fran Rico and David Mateos. I love being part of the familia madridista. Good luck to both Sergio and Carlos Gurpegui as they recover from their injuries!
Speaking of injuries, MFC Álvaro Borja Morata Martín’s right foot injury was not as serious as it seemed, as tests ruled out a fracture. However, he’ll still be out for two weeks.
Our sporting director Zinedine Zidane has concluded his visit to Mali in his capacity as UNDP goodwill ambassador, to help spread the message of the drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. During his visit, he met with women that run an engine that provides power, a women-run shea butter factory and adorable students. He saw first hand the results of a program to help women with low income and minimal access to energy, as it has reached about 1.5 million people in Mali and three million in West Africa. And of course, he also participated in a sports event with 3,000 youth in Bamako, and met the president of the country.
A couple of bonus Getafe moments, full of madridistas, from their game against Real Sociedad. At the team waited in the tunnel to emerge for the second half, Miguel Torres demonstrated something to Pablo Sarabia. After the game, Miguel gave a high five to his Peter Lion. And wow, those kits are bright, no? If we thought Iker looked like a highlighter in his yellow outfit, what do you think of these shirts and shorts?
