Well, the starting line-up came as a big surprise to everyone, especially the inclusion of Pepe as a midfielder, the first time ever he’s played in that position in Madrid, but it worked out very well. We also got to see several habitual subs (Albiol, Garay, Arbeloa, Granero) start, and Kaká played a full 90 minutes, the first time he’s done that in more than a year. Okay, enough technical talk, because really, for me this game was about seeing my beloved boys AND my beloved lions, especially one Javi Martínez (!!!) together on one field.
ONE. The sidelines were where old friends were re-acquainted, and current friendships reinforced.
Before the game started, Sergio Ramos hurried over to the Athletic bench to hug his former coach Joaquín Caparrós, for whom he has “special affection.” Meanwhile, Xabi chatted with his former Real Sociedad teammate Igor Gabilondo as the two of them warmed up, with Xabi even holding onto Igor for support. And Marcelo felt the urge to touch Cristiano. Who can blame him?
TWO. You know, if you squint, that little hole in Iker’s hair disappears. I guess I will be walking around squinting from now on then.
THREE. Random moments, part I: Sergio, Pepe and Esteban congratulate Ángel on provoking the second penalty. Earlier, the wonderful and summer-like weather in Bilbao meant that Álvaro finally stopped wearing a shirt underneath his jersey, so that when he dried the ball with his shirt, we got to see his impressive abs.
Bonus Sergio abs!
FOUR. The bench last night had to be one of the most talented and expensive in history, as next to José Mourinho and his assistants were Jerzy Dudek, Marcelo, Ricky Carvalho, Xabi, Mesut Özil, Cristiano and Manu Adebayor.
FIVE. Random moments, part II: Cris wags his finger, and Ángel rolls and rolls (he might have exaggerated just a bit, no?).
SIX. The goals. The first and second goals were quite similar, in that Ángel di María’s efforts led to penalty calls, and Kaká converted, though he shot to different sides.
El Fideo is the footballer who has provoked the most penalties in the Liga, with six (Racing, Athletic, Getafe, Racing, and the two last night). Madrid has had a total of 10 penalties called in their favor this season.
The third goal was all Cristiano, and I loved the celebration, where he danced to the sideline to hug Marcelo, who was warming up. Pepe of course caught up with them and joined in the hug.
Next to Marcelo on the sideline were Adebayor and Özil, but of course they didn’t dare impose on that moment between these three best friends, or brothers, as Marcelo had described Pepe and Cris in his Real… interview. Instead, they just hung back and clapped politely. Love their big smiles! And it’s great to see that only a few Athletic fans don’t have class here.
SEVEN. The obligatory Iker moments. I’m squinting.
Iker got a very undeserved card. He said after the game, “I went to pick up a piece of paper that had been thrown and the referee thought I was wasting time, although that wasn’t my intention.” The referee also wrote up one of Madrid’s medical staff members, Daniel Martínez Oyamburu, for “entering the field in the 30th minute while play was stopped, without my authorization, to attend to a player [it was Pepe] who was lying on the field.”
EIGHT. Random moments, part III, starring Sergio Ramos. I’d like to see what other tricks he has up his sleeves, and I’m not just referring to on the football field.
NINE. I thought it was very cute how Pipita applauded his best friend Eze as he came out of the game. After the game, Madrid returned to the capital without these two players, as they had to stay overnight in Bilbao after they were chosen to be drug tested, meaning they couldn’t make it to Sondika in time to leave with their teammates. That wasn’t great for them, but at least they had each other’s company – unpleasant things are always more bearable when your best friend is right next to you, no? For Athletic, the two chosen ones were Fernando Llorente and Mikel San José.
TEN. More sidelines fun.
ELEVEN. José Mourinho made sure to give his assistant boss instructions before he checked in.
And as soon as Xabi entered the game, he began directing traffic, telling El Pirata what to do (it looks like Esteban already knew). And later on, during Cristiano’s goal celebration, Xabi had more things to say, even though Madrid had a three-goal lead and 2/3 of the game had already been played, and some were still celebrating the goal.
TWELVE. Kaká was fairly clean-shaven again, so he was looking like his normal self.
THIRTEEN. Other notes:
– some of the loudest boos came when Cristiano was subbed into the game, even though before the game, he was seen happily posing with children decked out in Athletic’s shirts. When Xabi checked in, there were also boos, but not as much, presumably for his Real Sociedad past and loyalty, and his Real Madrid present. And when Madrid scored on penalties, there was the famous “Así, así, así, así gana el Madrid!” chant.
– coincidentally, the last game that Gonzalo Higuaín started was against Athletic.
– Esteban Granero received his fifth yellow card of the cycle, meaning that he’ll miss next week’s clásico.
– Real Madrid basketball beat Regal Barcelona 77-72 last night in the Caja Mágica, and they’re now tied for first place in the ACB. What a great week they had! And let’s hope the football team does the same!
FOURTEEN. After the game, I felt all happy inside when I saw the boys of La Roja hugging. Here, we have Fernando Llorente with Álvaro, Xabi and Iker, and later Andoni Iraola hugged Álvaro and Esteban. Too bad my Javitxu (!!!) was already on the bench by this point, and no shirts were removed!
FIFTEEN. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™
I’m so disappointed there wasn’t a camera in front of Xabi. It looks like he had some trouble putting on his shirt!
The section is a bit sparse today, because Xabi didn’t play too many minutes.
SIXTEEN. The Karanka/Mou corner.
Aitor Karanka spoke to the press after the game, where he complimented Pepe (he had a partidazo as a midfielder), Kaká (impressive) and Di María (when he plays, he plays at 120 percent. His speed, dribbling and verticality opened up the game). Karanka revealed that Mou had known for some time that Pepe could play well in the center of the field.
When asked why he was talking to the press instead of Mourinho, Aitor explained, “this isn’t the first time that I’ve spoken, this is the 10th time that I’ve given a press conference. We have a different way of working than other clubs. The míster is not disrespecting anyone, much less an institution such as Athletic.”
And Joaquín Caparrós, furious with the referee, alluded to Mou when he said after the game with regards to the refereeing performance: “I could take out a piece of paper now” (with the errors that the referee committed). He talked about 23 errors, though later on in the press conference, it increased to 25. Curiously enough, the day that Mou did that back in December, the referee was the same as the one in this game, Clos Gómez.
SEVENTEEN. Other postgame declarations: Kaká thanked José Mourinho “for all that he’s doing for me. He’s helping me to grow as a footballer and he’s a great coach.” Meanwhile, Iker reflected on playing once again in the stadium that saw him debut: “it’s been many seasons since I debuted here, the time has flown by but it’s always different to play on this field. After the Bernabéu, this is the most special stadium, with a special public. Whenever Madrid plays here, the game is considered a final, which is good for us because it helps us to concentrate and not relax from the first moment.”
EIGHTEEN. Tweets: Álvaro tweeted this photo of the A-team on the bus after the game.
He also revealed today that it’s been 100 days since he last drank Coke!
NINETEEN. Looking ahead: Madrid began preparing for the Champions League quarterfinals second leg today, with a training session at 11h.
Meanwhile, Castilla plays the leaders of their division, Lugo, at home today at 17h, in their most important game to date in the Toril era, as this game could help them solidify their playoff chances or even bring them closer to winning the division. This is the equivalent of next week’s Madrid-Barcelona game in Division 2B!
SPECIAL BONUS SECTION.
As I had said earlier, I was súper excited about this game, because there are several leones that I love very much, and cover extensively over on my other blog, and the Madrid-Athletic match-up meant that I could write about them here without feeling guilty or off topic!
So, here’s the special bonus section on two of the Athletic players that I have a lot of admiration (among other things) for, Javi Martínez (!!!) and Fernando Llorente. There are loads of other Athletic players that I love, but I’m focusing on these two, since they should be more familiar to you, and because they’re the best looking guys on the team.
Although I have to add, I lost a bit of interest in the game in the 61st minute, when Javi (!!!) was subbed out. I missed his pouting (look at his lips over there on the left!), his marking and his thighs, a lot.
Indeed, there were several (!!!) moments.
Yes, Javitxu (!!!) was so fantastic last night.
Too bad the rules of the game meant that he had to wear a shirt and shorts.
Javi (!!!) received a yellow card for complaining. It was his fifth of a cycle (and his 10th of the season), meaning he has to serve a one-game suspension, and the game he’ll miss is one I’m sure he doesn’t want to, as it’s against his old team, Osasuna, and at his old home, the Reyno de Navarra.
Once he was subbed out, he spent his time on the bench looking despondent and biting his nails. I’ve never paid so much attention to an opposing team’s bench in my life.
Fernando Llorente didn’t have a great game, but he did look good, though I’m sure that’s not any consolation for him.
The hair was perfect, as usual.
We’ll end this post with this wonderful picture, between Fer’s hair and Iker’s smile lines.
