I have a soft spot for many ex-Madrid players, and one of them is Santiago Solari (it doesn’t hurt that he is very good looking and was once crowned the most “guapo” player in La Liga. He is now with Mexican club Atlante, who will play Barcelona in the semis of the FIFA Club World Cup, another reason to cheer him on.
Some thoughts from El Indio on Madrid…
These are from a chat hosted by El País back in March.
He sido muy feliz en Madrid y en el Real Madrid. A Madrid voy continuamente porque es mi casa, al Bernabéu ya me toca ir como aficionado.
(I have been very happy in Madrid, and in Real Madrid. I go to Madrid all the time because it’s my home, and it’s time I start going to the Bernabéu as a fan).
Extraño mis amigos, mi casa, el cielo, el frio con sol, la gente, el jamón, De María…
([Of Madrid] I miss my friends, my house, the sky, the sunny cold, the people, the ham, [the restaurant] De María…)
Del Madrid actual quedan muy pocos compañeros pero tengo buena relacion con todos, Raúl, Guti, Míchel Salgado… De “mi” Madrid con el que más hablo es con Luis con quien compartí los últimos tres años en el Inter.
(The current Madrid team has very few of the teammates from my time, but I have a great relation with all of them, Raúl, Guti, Míchel Salgado… Of “my” Madrid, the person I talk the most with is Luis [Figo] because we were together three years in Inter).
César Sánchez fue un buen compañero, compartiamos el sentido del humor. Tengo un gran respeto profesional por Raúl, un fuera de serie.
(César Sánchez was a great teammate, we had the same sense of humor. I also have a great respect professionally for Raúl, who is very special).
Raúl es un guerrero. Siempre se puede contar con él. No hablaré de cualidades futbolísticas porque son evidentes. Los que más me impresionaron por talento puro han sido Ronaldo y Zidane.
(Raúl is a warrior. You can always count on him. I won’t talk about his footballing skills because that’s obvious. Who impressed me the most with their pure talent were Ronaldo and Zidane).