in the meantime…

It’s starting to feel like summer, and that means… the sleeveless training shirts are back!

Training sessions and player appearances.

On Wednesday, the team returned from their mini-vacation to start preparing for this season’s last official game.  I can’t believe it’s already the end of the season!  But at least this summer, we have the Eurocopa and the Olympics to help get us through the days, so we won’t miss football too much!  Only six players from the first team – Iker, Sergio, Arbeloa, Coentrão, Sami Khedira and Mesut – participated in the session, which was why Jesús Fernández and a bunch of RMC players – Molero, Andy, Álvaro López, Fran Sol, Sobrino – were called up to train.  We have such great captains!

Also on Wednesday, Esteban Granero was spotted at La Caja Mágica for the Mutua Madrid Open, alongside his friend, the singer Leiva (also half of Pereza).  They sat right in front of Iván Helguera and family, and caught the match between Rafa Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko.  Leiva could pass for Esteban’s brother, no?

Iker, meanwhile, was present at the Ciudad de Fútbol, where he helped to present the football that will be used in the Eurocopa, the Tango 12.  The act focused mostly on his role as captain of the Spanish national team, although when it came time for the question and answer session, he was asked several things about his club team.  He said that his ambition to win titles is still intact, even after all these years: “you only have to see how I celebrated my fifth Liga, I was euphoric and I went absolutely wild.”  Iker also admitted that he was envious of Atlético and Athletic playing in the final of the Europa League, and that he would watch the game.

On Thursday, before the training sessions, a handful of our players participated in various clinics organized by sponsors.  Sanitas had Carvalho, Altintop, Sahin and Callejón; Movistar got Albiol, Pepe, Marcelo and Pipita; and Coca Cola counted on Sergio, Adán, Arbeloa and Granero.  The lucky fans who won contests sponsored by the companies got to play with and against our players, and of course walked away with photos and autographs. For some reason, Sergio’s arm hair really fascinates me – maybe because I wish I could touch it – so I made this gif.  The other one is self-explanatory, since it’s Álvaro Arbeloa celebrating his goal like Cristiano, by flashing his thigh!  Yummy!  And jajaja!!!!

And this was obviously the part of the clinic where the participants learned how to pose like Xabi Alonso.

Which group would you want to be in?  I would say Coca Cola, so I could cozy up to Sergio and ask for hair tips, but Movistar had Marcelo Sunshine!

The team trained again on Thursday afternoon, with Jesús once again joining the first team.  I wonder what the three amigos were whispering about?  Hopefully, it’s something devious.

There was a surprise (at least for us) visitor at the training session, Luis Figo!  He expressed his happiness over the team’s success this year in the Liga, and also said he had been looking forward to seeing his friends, both the players and club employees, and the míster.  As for his compatriot Cristiano, Luis said, “each year, he plays at a high level, showing the quality he has and breaking his own personal records.  You never know when he’s going to stop.  His stats don’t seem to be real… I’m sure he will set more records.”  It was great seeing Luis, but I hate the shorts.

How sad is it that only Iker is left from Luis’ playing days?  Aitor doesn’t count since he’s not playing anymore.

Other things.

I loved that Sergio took the time out to tweet his best wishes for Carles Puyol!  He tweeted, “good evening!  I don’t want to end the day without sending all my encouragement to Carles, and wish a speedy recovery for him!  Ánimo Puyi!!”

Madrid has also announced that it will play a friendly in Kuwait in its first ever visit to the country on May 16, at 20:15h Spain time (19:15h local time).  They’ll take on the Kuwaiti national team.

In other news, the Spanish media reported that Raúl had stepped up and saved his childhood club, San Cristóbal de Los Ángeles, from disappearing.  The club, located in the neighborhood of the same name, had said several weeks ago that if they weren’t able to come up with €4,000 by June 30, they would cease to exist.  Raúl, upon hearing this, spoke to his agent Ginés Carvajal and he handled all the pertinent matters, so that the club received the money and was able to cover its debts. Club president Pedro Albares Iniesta said, “Raúl is everything to this neighborhood.  We want one more thing from him.  We would like him to come here so that we can give him a hug, speak with him, remember old times…”  Raúl is a LEGEND.

Several videos for your viewing pleasure.

Ángel di María and Marcelo spent their vacation together (with wives also present) in Tenerife, where they were spotted at the Siam Park Tenerife, a water park.  Here are two videos, sneakily shot by other patrons, of Marcelo and Ángel, and you can also see Clarisse (in a very Brazilian swimsuit) and Jorgelina (love the Argentina-inspired towels) there as well.

The players appear around the three minute mark in this video, with their lunches!

By the way, apparently Sami Khedira and Lass both spent their vacation in Marrakesh.

Jot Down has released two more videos of Xabi Alonso looking very delicious and IN BED.  Did I just ruin your concentration for the rest of the day, and perhaps tomorrow?  Sorry!  I can’t wait for the interview!  It’s going to be fantastic!

And this video by Coca Cola shows how great madridistas are.  The premise is this (the scene has been set up): a Barcelona fan’s car breaks down in front of the stadium on the day that Madrid took on Bayern Munich, April 25.  He asks madridistas (I suppose he chose the ones decked out in the team’s paraphernalia or carrying bags from the store) to help him to push his car, making sure that they would see all the Barça objects in the back.  Not a single one of the fans refused to help him.  Warms the heart, doesn’t it?