Well, for the first time in a long time, we’re in the Champions League semifinals, and against Barcelona no less! So, get ready for the three weeks of clásicos, starting this weekend with the Liga game, and then the final of the Copa del Rey, and the Champions semifinals to cap it all off, if you’re still alive and breathing at that point.
ONE. Who is Sergio thinking of?
TWO. Pepe traveled with the team, even though he had to sit this match out. Cristiano seemed happy that he was there. And Zizou was looking fantastic, as usual.
More anecdotes before the game – Cristiano threw a little kid’s tantrum after his kick went wide of the goal, while Sergio tried to get Iker’s attention, and then reverted back to his favorite pose.
As the teams took to the field, Cris was only worried about his hair. And it appeared that everyone just ignored the Champions League theme as it played.
THREE. Speaking of Cris’ hair, he showed up for this game with his hair plastered to his scalp, the work of a very liberal amount of gel (several of the game summaries I read all mentioned that his head was “bien engominada”). I like this style on him!
You just know that Mesut is going to get yelled at after the game for touching the hair. After the game, Cris said “whoever laughs last laughs the best,” and like an obedient soldier, he refused to talk about the provocative statements/gestures from the Barcelona camp.
FOUR. Poor Cris – 10 seconds into the game and he was already down on the ground, having received a kick in the culo.
Sami and Sergio would share the same fate during the game.
FIVE. What a great picture, no? Raúl, Sami and Álvaro are all claiming innocence. Or else they’re being held up.
SIX. I love seeing the team during moments where we don’t usually get to see them, such as waiting to get back onto the field after the half.
SEVEN. I can’t be the only one that was disappointed that Marcelo was out there playing and not on the bench, right, after his antics against Bilbao? Me, my friend, eat, my God, my papagayo!
EIGHT. The obligatory Iker shots.
It was Iker’s turn last night to flash the thigh, like countless teammates of his had done in the past.
NINE. We got lucky with the goal (not that we really needed it) and I think Iker felt a bit bad for Heurelho Gomes, as he knows what a goalkeeper who has made a mistake feels like. Gomes, incidentally, looked just like Iker had last year, in his all orange, carrot-like outfit. He and Iker can make a salad!
Cris celebrated with his customary claws. For Ricky?
TEN. I love the purple kits, but I didn’t like Cris’ purple-but-not-in-a-complementary-shade boots (Ozi wore the same ones), or the sheer purple shirts that Kaká and Granero wore under their long-sleeved shirts. Too much purple can be a bad thing.
ELEVEN. Random moments: Mesut and Sergio nearly collide while playing defense; Álvaro gestures madly; Karim looks bored as Karanka flips through like ten pages of notes for him to learn before he checks in; and the bromantic hug.
TWELVE. This isn’t the first time that Cristiano has shown concern for Sami Khedira! Maybe Sami can mention this endearing trait the next time (and it will be soon) a German journalist asks him what Cristiano Ronaldo is like.
THIRTEEN. Rafa, just because. He certainly has an interesting way of drinking water, no?
FOURTEEN. Despite Madrid winning the game and advancing to the semis, Pipita still felt the urge to bite his nails at the conclusion of the game.
He also went out onto the field with his best friend Eze Garay to hug Rafa. Mou was also there on the sidelines, shaking hands and high-fiving all of his players and those of Tottenham, including Rafa, who got a hug. Iker ended up with Gareth Bale’s shirt, and Manu Adebayor also traded shirts (Kaká did as well).
FIFTEEN. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™
I love how Xabi poses even while receiving medical treatment. Look at the arm go up to his waist!
I wish I could examine Xabi’s mouth that closely. Examining would be the first step, and then…
A couple of Xabi’s customary poses.
Xabi said after the game, “¡A por ellos!” referring to the semifinals against Barcelona.
His teammates also imitated him.
SIXTEEN. The Mou corner.
In his postgame press conference, Mou advised that “we can’t force cards. They will sanction me if I do that while others can do that, so Carvalho won’t play the first leg, but he will be there for the second leg. We are not allowed to create situations that others are allowed to… One of the keys (against Barcelona) will be to end the game with 11 players. For some reason, someone always ends up expelled when we play them.”
SEVENTEEN. Other notes:
Ricardo Carvalho will miss the first semifinal match, as he got a yellow in this game and is suspended for the following match. That leaves Sergio Ramos, Raúl Albiol, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ángel di María as the ones in the “danger zone.”
Mesut Özil was the player who clocked up the most distance yesterday, as he ran 11.9 kilometers over the course of the game. Sami Khedira (11.8) and Marcelo (11.4) rounded out the top three, while for Tottenham, Rafa van der Vaart ran 12.8 kilometers.
Madrid will train this afternoon at 15:30 to begin preparing for Saturday’s game.
Meanwhile, in the other Champions League quarterfinals match on Wednesday, Raúl’s Schalke eliminated defending champions Inter Milan, possibly setting up a final with “his” Real Madrid. As Rulo said after the game, “I hope we pass and that Real Madrid, my Real Madrid, wins the other semifinal, and we see each other in London.” I don’t know how I’d feel about that.
Some amazing stats: according to Mister Chip, Raúl has played more CL matches (139) than the rest of his fellow Schalke starters (99) yesterday. He’s scored more goals in the tournament than all Belgian, Danish, Uruguayan, Scottish, Swiss and Austrian footballers combined. And if he were a country, he would be one of the top 20 goal scoring countries in the history of the CL (88 countries).
EIGHTEEN. Other news: Juvenil National League Group 12 winners Juvenil B got a pasillo during their game against Rayo Majadahonda last night. The game ended 1-1, with Rai scoring for Madrid.
