In case you missed it – Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid [2012-04-17, Champions League semifinals, first leg, 2-1].
All I have to say is, there are another 90 minutes at the Bernabéu to be played, and I have complete faith and confidence in my team. With that said, how painful was it to see another last minute goal?
ONE. What came in pairs during this game? The tongue action…
TWO. The panning of the cameras up the bodies of the players waiting to take free kicks…
THREE. Even our cards came in pairs. Fábio Coentrão, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso and Gonzalo Higuaín will miss out on the Champions League final – if Madrid gets there – if they get carded in the second leg game at the Bernabéu, as each received a yellow card during this game, with Fábio and Xabi seeing cards on the same play.
And Iker and Sergio got warned on the same play to back off.
FOUR. Another thing that comes in a pair is – okay, I won’t go there!
FIVE. And then we had the two instances of players popping out of nowhere!
It didn’t come as a big surprise that Gonzalo and Raúl chose to sit together. After all, they do make a good pair, no?
SIX. A pair of poses, one intentional and the other not, but equally effective.
SEVEN. Unfortunately, the only thing that did not come in pairs was the goals, as we only scored one on the night, but Mesut’s goal may prove decisive in the end (fingers crossed!).
I loved how Mesut and Cris celebrated!
EIGHT. Arjen Robben was the recipient of hugs from his former teammates after the game. [I’ve been reading Más Secretos de La Roja, and it talks about how after the World Cup final, one of the last players to speak to the media was Sergio Ramos, because he had left Spain’s celebration to go to the Dutch locker room and console Wesley “Welly” Sneijder and Arjen, his “two great friends.” Sergio said at that time, “I was speaking with them in their locker room. There’s always time to celebrate, but football can be so unjust that in a few years’ time, many people will have forgotten about the fantastic World Cup they had. I wanted to spend some time with them to cheer them up because they were very upset. They are good friends of mine.” What a fantastic person Sergio is!]
NINE. We are so lucky to have a pair of wonderful, elegant, well-read midfielders who also happen to be excellent at posing.
And showing off some skin too, no?
We would have gotten to see more skin had Aitor Karanka not chosen to hold the notebook right there.
And if the shorts were more transparent.
Actually, make that a trio of midfielders, since this one still has a lot of game left in him.
TEN. After the game, Iker told TVE that he felt “rage” after Mario Gómez’s goal during the last play of the game, while Mesut Özil said he was “convinced that we will win at home… I’m convinced we will pass on to the final. We’ll be back in Munich.” Pepe, meanwhile, turned to Juanito to sum up what he was feeling: “as Juanito said, 90 minutes in the Santiago Bernabéu are very long.” Iker, Pepe and Sergio all defended Fábio Coentrão, who had been criticized for his performance in the game and blamed for the last minute goal. By the way, did you see Xabi doing a backwards roll after the Gómez goal?
ELEVEN. The Mou corner.
Mou told TVE after the game that “this is the first loss in the Champions League this season, but it’s not a defeat that has left me with negative feelings. The Champions League game we lost last season did, because we know why we lost. Today we lost a good game, a game we thought we didn’t deserve to lose, but we lost and football is like that… at the Bernabéu, we don’t have to make a historical comeback, we just have to have a normal one.” Mou also said he didn’t like the question about whether it was Coentrão’s error that led to the second Bayern goal, because “there are many people who committed errors during the game, and this boy had a difficult mission in this game and he was up to the task.”
Mou also spent the night trying to convince people of things. During the game, it was that the refereeing team had erred. After the game, it was for the bus driver to get his ass into the seat and take the team to the airport. The only problem was that not all the players were on board, and if the official had listen to Mou, Sergio Ramos would have been left behind (and Óscar Ribot as well).
TWELVE. Other things.
Someone broke into Madrid’s locker room before the game, and stole six pairs of boots and three shirts, those belonging to Cristiano, Mesut and Karim Benzema. The equipment managers had placed all the materials in the locker room during the morning, as is their custom, and then locked the door, giving the keys back to Bayern’s officials. However, when they re-entered the locker room at six in the afternoon, they found out that there were things missing. Luckily, they always pack more than they need and so Cristiano, who had three pairs of boots stolen, was still able to wear his own boots for the game. Madrid subsequently filed a formal complaint with UEFA, while Bayern Munich said they had no knowledge of what had happened. The local police have also opened up an investigation and are looking for witnesses.
The lucky madridistas at the game were fantastic, cheering their team on throughout the night. Here are a few of the chants and songs you should recognize.
A pair of awkward self portraits in the hotel room during the concentración. This has become somewhat of a tradition, no? The boys must really be bored during that time.
Plus, some fun moments from the trip to Munich the day before. I wonder what was on Cris’ phone? It’s not surprising that Marcelo and Pepe would be cracking up, since they obviously have the same sense of humor as Cristiano, and it’s not strange that Kaká is smiling as well, given that he and Cris have a special bond. But even El Pirata found it amusing! As for Pipita, he never stops talking, does he? Anyone who’s traveled knows how loud it can be on the tarmac, so I can’t imagine the volume of Gonzalo’s voice so that José can hear him over all that background noise and wind.
And Carol Célico tweeted this photo of the footballers’ parejas hanging out together in Munich. They’re all gorgeous, no? And I love that they’re all great friends! I also see that Nagore and Carlota got some shopping done at Theresa! I wonder if Carlota picked up any new things from Isabel Marant, as I’ve seen her in those sneakers several times, and she obviously loves them!
