And still more excerpts from El Macca!

– “‘The previous season, 1999-2000, was our best year in terms of the group of players,’ insists Iván Helguera… ‘Everyone got on exceptionally well – and that was the key to us winning the eighth European Cup.  In terms of team spirit it was the best year I have experienced at Real Madrid.  For example, after training Manuel Sanchís would come and make a paella at my house and the whole team would come round.  We had an unbelievable spirit, a great bond.'”

– Michael Robinson, in November 2000: “I was at the Bernabéu, televising the game, when Steven finally came on as a sub.  Almost a hundred thousand people stood up to applaud Steven McManaman because they knew what he’d gone through.  He had been a fundamental member of the team who gave us our eighth European Cup, and he scored a goal.  The madridistas don’t forget that.  He was given an amazing standing ovation because he had never moaned, never had a go at anybody, always smiled and said he just wanted to play for Real Madrid.”

– [Luis Figo is] “relaxed, good company and a loyal friend…  He trains very well, and enjoys a laugh and a joke on the training field… He’s keen on his rippling muscles!  He likes to dress well and “does” his hair, but he’s low-key and consistent in the way he looks.  He’s not experimental like Helguera or Guti, who get skitted for their outlandish clothes.”

– [Figo’s] “oldest daughter Daniela is a tomboy, and very friendly with Raúl’s son Jorge.  You would sometimes see them mucking around together in the car park after training… they would clamber over the chairs together during games.”

– [after a game against Oviedo in January 2001, when Macca scored a rocket of a goal]:  the next day, “the buzzer [at his house] started going maniacally.  So then I’m in the street outside my house, and [Marca/AS is] going, “How did you kick it?”… they started taking photos of my feet, in normal shoes, to recreate the goal second by second.”  [Sound familiar?]