Now, onto the celebrations!
Gold stars go out to Pepe, Mesut, Sergio, Pipa (an extra shiny one), Sami, Xabi, Esteban, Karim, Raúl, José and Cristiano. And twitter/Facebook. I think you know why.
On the field…
The hugs started as soon as the final whistle blew, such as this one between our two midfield wonders, or this one between our two defensive stalwarts.
Quickly, the players gathered in a circle to jump around…
… but not before Mesut and Nuri shared a tender hug. Of course, Marcelo had to jump into the circle! And then the team applauded the Madrid fans who had turned up for the game and cheered for their team tirelessly throughout the game. ¡Somos una piña!
Then, much to everyone’s delight, the shirts started coming off, as some of the players, including Sergio, threw them into the crowd as signs of gratitude towards the fans.
Then another group formed, this time with Mou in the very center. Even the more reserved players, such as Rafa Varane, joined in to jump for joy. At one point, Kaká, reached out to tousle Sergio’s hair (he did it twice, can you blame him for wanting to run his fingers through it?), and Sergio retaliated by trying to do the same to Ricky.
Mesut’s abs! Xabi’s tongue!
You know how we often talk about how perfect Sergio’s hair is? Well, his skin is the perfect complement. Look at how it is just gleaming there, the muscles rippling underneath, if only we could just reach out and stroke it… Anyway, there were a lot more hugs during the celebration, and such enthusiasm from Mou! And Meji really is a giant!
I just have to add, I thought Mou was extremely rude with La Sexta’s sideline reporter, Susana Guasch. When she approached him for an interview, he cut her off with a terse “no” and then walked away without even looking at her. He may not like journalists, but he should at least show a little respect, since she was just doing her job.
One of the highlights of the celebration was of course the manteo. Despite José Mourinho’s resistance, the players managed to subdue him and toss him up in the air three times. On the third attempt, Mou flipped over in the air (he had some help from Antonio and Sami) and fell on top of Sergio, who luckily did not drop his coach. I wonder if Mou was worried when he saw that Sergio was amongst the crowd of players trying to throw him up in the air?
I bet this is the only time the players would ever dare to touch Mou’s ass.
A short while later, while the rest of the team was dancing away in the locker room, Iker returned to the field of San Mamés, because he wanted to take another look at the goal where he debuted 13 years ago. In this video, Iker says, “hello, it’s 12 something at night, we’ve just become the champions of the Liga, and right now I’m walking through the hallway of San Mamés, on my way to the field. I really want to take a picture on the field where I debuted, and where I won my most recent Liga with Madrid. There’s still a lot of people out there…”
Out on the field, he filmed this video where he says, “we just became the champions of the Liga in San Mamés, and I’m going to do a report as I walk towards the place where I debuted. I hope you all like it, even if they turn off the lights, but that won’t matter to me. This is the field where I was born, in terms of football, and I have a lot of affection for it, especially since I also won my fifth Liga here. I’ll let you all take a look at the field. This goal here is where I made my debut, where I played my first 45 minutes, and where today we achieved a Liga. Thank you to all of you, the madridistas, for this moment, I hope you all enjoy it and I hope that next year, we’ll be able to take things one step further… last year, we won the Copa del Rey for the first time in 17 years, we’ve won the Liga again and so next year we hope to conquer Europe. Thank you, I hoped you liked this, and a big hug.”
And here’s a photo of Iker shooting the video! I loved how intimate the videos were, how you could hear his footsteps and the little sounds he made with his mouth!
In the locker room…
I think this is quite possibly the highlight (and we’ve had so many, from the “not an easy party” to the “cronies”) of Iker’s relationship with Facebook, the numerous photos he posted of him and his teammates celebrating in the locker room! After all, Iker managed to get a picture with Sergio, Sami, Kaká, Antonio, Esteban, Raúl, Álvaro, Xabi, Gonzalo, José, Tomy, Nuri, Fábio, Pepe and Mesut! He also left us some gems such as “‘naink funk linea gounj,’ jajaja jajaja!! That’s my improvised German!!” or accompanying a photo with Kaká with the caption “maravilloso tío joder!!!” and one with the canteranos with “canteranos al poder!!! Viva la cantera!!!!” Yes!!
Others, including Álvaro, Mesut or Cristiano, for example, also posted photos, and since I can’t replicate all of them here, I’ve chosen the best ones (the ones with the most exposed skin).
I can’t possibly choose a favorite.
And with all the dancing going on, I really missed Manolito!
More photos…
It’s hard to tear your eyes away, isn’t it?
Álvaro Arbeloa also tweeted that since they were champions, “Xabi Alonso can now retire tranquilly,” and called Aitor Karanka “a great among greats.”
On the bus…
The Portuguese media outlet Sic Noticias was the only one Mou allowed on the bus, so they got to speak with Mou and the three Portuguese players. While Pepe was being interviewed, Cris and Fábio decided to act like five-year-olds and sneak up behind him to make faces and get on the camera. Later, Cris fooled around with Fábio while they spoke to him. I wonder if they’re like this during their carpool rides?
Mou, meanwhile, was already planning the schedule for the next several days, instead of joining in the revelry.
It was on the bus that we finally got a glimpse of Álvaro’s famous “Robocop” body, when he gave his shirt away to the crowd. Pepe had also stood at the door to the bus to throw out bufandas and the like, while Xabi sipped on a beer.
Then things got serious for a moment when Mou spoke with Xabi about the planning.
On the plane…
The fun continued on the plane…
… and the moments when Mesut responded “me?” with a look of surprise when Sami said he was in a class of his own as well as when Gonzalo started speaking English and cracking Nuri up were some of my favorites.
I love this team so, so, so much that sometimes I feel like my heart is going to explode.
There was also dancing, and luckily, Iker and his trusty iPhone were there to capture all the moments. Álvaro started out dancing to his favorite “Purpurina,” after being encouraged to do so from his teammates, who chanted “Maradona, Maradona” and then “Diego, Diego” as he danced. Then Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” started blasting (now we know why it was the song featured in the “training with… Álvaro Arbeloa” video!) and Alvarito began his best Michael Jackson imitation, including moonwalking!
Sergio needed no encouragement, and got up to do his own moonwalk (yay!!), while Iker looked on with some amusement. Cheers for our players having no inhibitions! But I’m sure there were many moments that weren’t documented, or at least available for our viewing pleasure. That’s too bad, no? We need to see more!
More of the boys being adorable!
I think everyone in the world knows by now that this was Iker’s fifth Liga and Sergio’s third.
At the airports…
At the airport in Vitoria (which happens to be Aitor Karanka’s hometown), the fans mobbed Cristiano Ronaldo, and he literally had to fight his way into the airport, with the help of local police. Back in Madrid, Marcelo and Pepe posed for Iker’s cameras. I loved that Marcelo carried around the speaker all night like a boombox!
More fans were at Barajas as the team made their triumphant way through the terminal…
… and they also decided to wake up some sleeping travelers! Jajaja!!! Of course Marcelo and Pepe were involved, but so were Cris and Antonio Adán! Can you imagine, you’re taking a nap because your flight has been delayed, and suddenly some shouting and nudging wakes you up, you open your eyes and there is Cristiano Ronaldo? I wonder if the poor (or lucky) guy thought he was dreaming. And then we had Xabi posing on the escalator, while his teammates waved bufandas around.
And in Madrid…
It was around three in the morning when the team finally arrived back in Madrid. From Barajas, the team boarded their bus, which took them to Valdebebas. After changing, they left the training complex to head back into the city, where the destination was the disco Moma. By then it was around four in the morning. At Moma, the team was greeted with Madrid’s himno and the players didn’t hesitate to sing along and dance to it. Guti was also there, since, what’s a party without Guti, no? Two hours later, the celebration finally ended.
I hope the players who weren’t called up for this game were able to join in this celebration, since they missed out on the one in San Mamés!
Meanwhile, several thousand fans congregated at the Cibeles plaza to celebrate the team’s win, and many motorists joined in the celebrations too.
¡Hala Madrid!
More to come but it will take some time, so please be patience…