One. First, a fun video from Cuatro showing how Mou basically called over everyone on the bench to give directions.  That included Rui Faria, Dr. Hernández, Dudek, Benzema, Di María, and as we saw before, Lass and Granero.  He even made other people pass on directions, so we see Di María asking Özil if he could continue playing, as well as give Benzema some tactical commands.

Two. Next up, a leftover picture from the Athletic game of Sergio Ramos patting the ass of Cristiano Ronaldo.  It’s probably right after Cris told Sergio to go ahead and take the penalty, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Sergio does this more than once during games.  Also note all the chalk all over Cristiano’s right elbow and hand.  That’s not surprising, because he’s been spending a lot of time on the ground – he gets fouled three times for every foul that Messi receives.

Three. Now that we’ve gotten the game out of the way… Sergio has been a busy boy lately, because he’s almost as much in demand as Xabi Alonso.  His latest photo shoot was in support of children with Down’s Syndrome, and those who are cancer-stricken.  What do you think of Sergio in almost all white?  Can you imagine him getting married like that?

Here starts the nostalgia!

Four. The peña Mazacotero held a celebration for their 27th anniversary yesterday in Torrijos (Toledo).  Some former madridistas were among the special guests, including unamadridista favorite Fernando Morientes, and Iván Helguera.  I see that Iván still favors ”outlandish clothes.”  It may be hard to believe, but that belt just may be worse than anything CR has ever worn.

Five. Zizou spoke with Madrid’s web site yesterday, saying he was happy with his new position and his new life, and that he felt like the club had signed him.  His functions at the moment are to travel with the team during Champions League games (such as today to Amsterdam), and to be with the team when they’re at Valdebebas.  The goal is for him to be close to the team, and the other functions will come as a result of this.  Meanwhile, JM said that Zidane “is going to be a great help to everyone… we’re all happy that Zidane is returning to football and his club.  That’s something we all wanted… the club, the president and myself, and I’m sure the fans as well.”

Read Zidane’s interview here and Mou’s here.

Six. And on the subject of former madridistas, here are a couple more who have been in the news recently.

As you probably know, Raúl scored a hat trick Saturday against Werder Bremen for Schalke in their 4-0 victory (Metzelder scored the first goal).  Raúl revealed that the goals were dedicated to his children:  Hugo because it was his birthday that day, and the twins because they had just celebrated their birthday (so they each got one).

And in a recent interview with L’Équipe, our former “7” said that it was the best decision to sign with the German club, because he didn’t know if he would have been able to get playing time in Madrid, and his body needed that.  He added that Madrid is still in his heart and that he still considers himself “merengue.”

Seven. And Marca headed to Istanbul to check out Guti’s new life there (as in, is it anything like Crackòvia imagines it to be?).

Guti tells the newspaper that his life in Turkey is like that of a university student studying abroad.  This is his daily schedule:  he gets up, makes himself some juice, goes to his team’s training grounds and eats breakfast with his teammates.  Then, there’s the training session and lunch in a restaurant on the training grounds.  There’s also a dormitory, and each player has his own room, so Guti sometimes takes a siesta.  Then it’s back home (where he lives alone) to watch Spanish TV and talk with his family.  And most afternoons, he plays the guitar.  When he decides to go out, he goes to a mall near his house to go shopping and eat at an Italian restaurant there.

He says he misses his family the most, and on the walls there are five frames with pictures of his two kids.  And pobrecito, he says that not a lot of people call him anymore, and that “now you know who your true friends are.”  Guti watches all of Madrid’s games, and keeps up via his contacts in the club – employees, teammates…. and also via the Internet (video chats with Sergio Ramos, perhaps?)  He’s learned a few words of Turkish to help communicate on the field (Nihat helps him out), but prefers to use English, because most everyone on the team speaks it.

What a difference from his life in Madrid, no?