The Christmas greetings video has come out (the outtakes video, however, sadly remains unreleased), and our boys are, as always, adorable. It looks like the buddy system was used to make this video; who was your favorite pairing? And where was Mou? He probably had had enough after filming that boring video with the captains and el presi.
For some reason, Madrid’s web site offered up some quotes from the players that had nothing to do with what was said in the video, so here are the translations…
AA: Hello, I’m Antonio Adán, and I hope that all your dreams as madridistas, as well as personal dreams, come true in 2012.
JMC: Hello, I’m José María Callejón, better known as Calleti. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a 2012 full of hope and fulfilled dreams.
AA & JC: Happy holidays.
I love how José added the Calleti part! Sergio was probably watching proudly off-camera.
AK: Hello, I’m Aitor Karanka, and I want to wish all madridistas a Merry Christmas, and I hope that in 2012, all your dreams come true and that we can enjoy a lot of success.
JM: Hello, I’m José Morais, and I’m really happy to be here and have the opportunity to wish all madridistas a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas. I hope the upcoming year will be very, very full of happiness and joy.
Watch out for Aitor’s darting eyes, and for José not noticing the cue. Could it be more obvious that they were reading from a script?
KB: Merry Christmas to everyone.
RV: Happy 2012.
LD: Happy holidays.
Surprisingly, the player who has been here the least amount of time – Rafa – has the best pronunciation out of the three. On the other hand, that conclusion is drawn from the three to four words that each of them said, so… And jajaja, Lass was so enthusiastically waving – yes, Lass – that he almost poked Benz in the eye! Plus, I think Karim thought he was posing for another one of his Facebook pictures here instead of the Real Madrid web site…
HA: Merry Christmas.
NS: Happy holidays to everyone.
They obviously kept it short and simple for these two, but with Nuri already giving post-game interviews in Spanish, I’m sure he would have been up for something longer and more complicated, no? P.S. He says “to-do” just like Mesut.
GH: I’m Gonzalo Higuaín, and I want to wish all madridistas who are supporting us a happy holidays, and we’re very content to be here speaking with all of you. Now my enemy will say a few words, it’s very difficult to get a Brazilian and an Argentine together…
KK: It’s true.
GH: … but today we are united because we are a family.
KK: Very good, Pipa.
GH: Really?
KK: Yes, really. I want to wish you all the same, Merry Christmas, happy holidays to all the madridistas.
Remember how Raúl Albiol described Gonzalo as “talkative” and “he never stops talking?” We can totally see that here. I love the moment where Kaká thought he had finished speaking, and so he started talking, but Pipa wasn’t done yet. I also love the interaction between Gonzalo and Kaká, and how Gonzalo needed assurance, as well as his expressiveness. I think this was my favorite segment, for Pipa’s stellar turn.
P.S. Ángel di María had permission to miss out on the Christmas lunch and hospital visit, which is why Kaká is with Pipa and then later on appears with his namesake Ricky Carvalho. Don’t worry, however, Angelito got his Pipita fix later (don’t you wish you could get one too?) when they flew back to Argentina together later that afternoon.
IC: Well, we are Esteban Granero and Iker Casillas. We want to wish all the madridistas a happy holidays, we’re here to wish you the best at the end of this year for the new year and the new season. We hope 2012 starts off in the best possible way, we hope to bring joy to the fans and the madridistas football-wise. We want you to know that we are going to make a lot of effort to do this.
EG: There’s not much else I can add, as our capitán said, I want to wish all the madridista friends a happy holidays, and transmit to everyone that we are very hopeful that we will do things well and bring titles at the end of the season that everyone deserves.
IC: Happy holidays to everyone.
Everyone just loves saying that they are Esteban Granero, no? Last year it was Pipita and this year it’s Iker. Other notes: Iker’s face is twice the size of Esteban’s! I would have preferred to see a buddy switch between Iker & Esteban and Sergio & Xabi, so that the two captains (and bromance) can be together, as well as the mentor and protégé. Did Iker feel obligated to speak more due to captain? He and Esteban clocked in at 52 seconds, compared to Nuri and Hamit’s three seconds. And I love that Iker used “ustedes” (the formal “you”) to address the fans.
FC: Hello, happy holidays to everyone.
CR: Happy 2012 and Merry Christmas… to all the madridistas.
The Christmas lights shining on Cris’ head (in the video) makes it look weird, no? And why is Fábio the only one that gets a close-up? Maybe the cameraperson was sympathetic and didn’t want us to be overexposed to Cris’ belt.
MO: Merry Christmas to all the madridistas.
SK: Happy 2012 to all the madridistas.
I see the scarf twins (seriously, can’t you see them arranging their scarfs together in the restroom before this?) have not improved from last year. Mesut even got the same line as the year before! Fe-liz na-vi-dad a to…dos. I guess this is why there was no fist pump of success from Sami this year.
AA: Hola, how are you all? We’re here to wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy holidays, and as always, thank you for all your support. You all are the best, and I send you all a big hug.
RA: Merry Christmas, and thank you very much for the support that you’ve given us during the entire year. We hope that in 2012, we’ll be able to bring you all more joy.
AA: Merry Christmas!
RA: Merry Christmas!
AA: Bye!
This was definitely the most casual one, from Álvaro using the informal “you” to starting and ending with “hola” and “chao,” respectively. It’s more like a conversation with a friend, no? Plus, his booming voice! And the look he gives El Chori!
MV: Well, I want to wish all the madridistas a happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and I hope that 2012 will be great for all of you and full of health.
PP: I want to say happy holidays to el madridismo, and I hope next year will be full of joy, success and health.
MV & PP: Feliz 2012 para todos los madridistas!
I love the arm movements Marcelo used for emphasis. Pepe was so serious, which is unlike him. And I love that they chose to pose for the photo with a hug.
SR: Hello, in the first place, I want to wish all the madridistas a happy holidays, Merry Christmas. I hope this year has ended very well for you, and that the next one starts off in the same way. May 2012 be full of titles, love and peace for everyone.
XA: Well, my best wishes, enjoy the holidays, and let the year 2000, no, 2012 be full of celebrations and success for the entire madridista family. I hope we can enjoy that together. Regards and a hug for everyone.
I love that Xabi proved he is human by messing up. That somehow makes him paradoxically even more perfect.
RC: I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and I hope the new year is good and full of love and health.
KK: Here I am again, with Ricky Carvalho, to wish you all a lot of health… and for us as well, no?
RC: yes, we need that too.
KK: … in the upcoming year. I hope that we’ll be free from injuries, and well, Merry Christmas and happy holidays…
RC: … everything good.
KK: … and everything good.
RC: Thank you.
It was hilarious how Kaká started with, “here I am again!” And his little laugh that made his eyes disappear when Ricky was speaking Portuguese (it was more Portuguese than Spanish) was adorable! I love the little exchange between them as well, and how polite is Carvalho, ending with a thank you?
RF: I wish all madridistas a Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
SL: I hope that 2012 is full of titles for Real Madrid.
What is with the coaches and their shifting eyes? Did they not get any time to practice?
Anyway, it’s a good thing our boys are so adorable, because the “feliz navidad” intro/outro before and after each segment was so annoying (watch the video here to be annoyed)! Plus, it wasn’t at the same volume as the rest of the video, which made it all the more grating. So I edited the video to remove those segments; here it is (the sound is not perfect, but I think it’s still preferable to the original). Be sure to turn on the snowflake feature!
As for the cantera, the captains of Castilla and RMC were also made to film a video with their holiday greetings for the fans. For the photographs, they were made to participate in a game too – touch the ornament (very preferable to the thumbs up).
Hello, I’m Nacho Fernández, captain of Castilla. In the name of the entire cantera, we wish you all a happy holidays, and we hope that 2012 will be full of good health and sporting success.
Hello, I’m Juanfran, captain of Real Madrid Castilla. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy 2012, I hope it bring success to the two filial teams.
Hello, I’m Dani Carvajal, captain of Real Madrid Castilla. In the name of the entire cantera, we wish you all a happy holidays, and for 2012, we hope that no Real Madrid canterano will be injured.
Hello, I’m Andy, captain of Real Madrid C. I wish you all a happy holidays, and I hope this new year will be full of success for La Fábrica.
Hello, I’m Álvaro López, captain of Real Madrid C. I wish all the madridistas a happy 2012, and may it be full of titles and joy for everyone.
Hello, I’m Kamal, captain of Real Madrid C. I wish all madridistas a 2012 full of titles.
Watch their video here.