Zinedine Zidane has announced that he will become Madrid’s new first team football director during a charity game organized by the program “Fútbol Cracks” to benefit the European Leukodystrophy Association today (Zidane is their ambassador).  However, he didn’t reveal what his work would consist of: “we’ll see.  Everyone asks me the same thing, but I’ll be there next Monday until the end of the season.”  Hopefully, we will find out, since no one ever told us what he was doing in his previous position either.  He also said that José Mourinho and FP had a lot to do with this.  Zizou also spoke about Raphäel Varane, saying “he has a tremendous future, and it’s good that he’s coming to Real Madrid at such a young age.  He liked the coach and that’s why he came.  He’s qualified to play on this team.  Although there are great defenders such as Ramos or Carvalho, Raphäel can help and become a starter in the future.”

Who won’t be joining Mou and Zidane – unfortunately – is Fernando Hierro, who some say is expected to become Málaga’s new director of institutional relations shortly (Emilio Butragueño fills that role on Madrid, and Fernando Hierro will take over from Fernando Sanz).  However, El Confidencial reports that Hierro has denied any type of agreement to them.  Málaga is the club that once told a young Fernando to forget about becoming a footballer.

Iker Casillas spread his perfect profile around Beijing last night, attending a Chinese Super League game last night between Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua.  He spoke briefly to the crowd during the half, in Spanish, English and Chinese (video here)!  Today, he attended a charity dinner organized by his own foundation and “The Next Generation” Foundation, in which various objects that he brought along with him, such as signed jerseys (both Madrid and Spain) or gloves, were be auctioned off.  He’s scheduled to visit the Great Wall on Friday and his campus on Saturday.

Raphaël Varane became the third new signing to arrive in Madrid early, after Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop when he arrived in the capital yesterday.  He’s started training with the others at Valdebebas as well, and like them, is also looking for a house.  In the meantime, they’re all staying at the Mirasierra Suites.  I wonder if they have rooms near each other, and if they’re hanging out at all together…  Meanwhile, Altintop was seen yesterday leaving the hotel for Valdebebas with x-rays of his back in hand.  AS caught him on the way back to the hotel, and he told them “I can’t do any interviews… but I’m happy and good.”  Sahin was also at Valdebebas yesterday, training.

These three players, plus Marcelo and Pepe, were all at Valdebebas this morning, to meet the 500 children taking part in Real Madrid’s campus “Summer Experience 2011.”

Nice of them to pose according to height…

I bet Marcelo and Pepe are already helping the others to integrate and involving them in their craziness!  And wait until Cristiano returns… plus, he’ll have competition in the gel department with Sahin.  We also got our first glimpse of the boys wearing this season’s new polos.  And since it’s still early, I won’t make any comments on their sartorial choices here.  More pictures here.

We finally get to see Soledad!  Álvaro Arbeloa tweeted this photo of him and his “super grandma” today.  Finally, we get to see the woman behind those now classic “Liverpúl,” “señora” and “¿eh?”

Álex and Dani Carvajal are on duty with the U-19 team, and Madrid’s web site photographed them at Las Rozas, and mercifully, there are no thumbs-ups, cameras or mirrors in sight.  I wonder why they didn’t include MFC Álvaro Borja Morata Martín in the session?  And it would have been nice to see Pablo Sarabia once more, even though he’s no longer part of us.  More pictures here.

Speaking of canteranos, it looks like Juan Carlos and David Mateos will also be leaving us, but unlike Pablo, they won’t still be in the same city.  MSFC and David are headed to Zaragoza, the former for €2.5 million with a buyback option for €3.5 million within two years, and the latter on loan, with Zaragoza having the right to buy him at the end of the season for €2.5 million.  And Eze Garay is apparently on his way to Benfica, after Madrid sold him to the Portuguese club for €5.5 million, though they will retain the rights to half of him, which Benfica can purchase at the end of the season.

And Becks is excited to face Real Madrid this summer.  I think he’s just excited to see Iker again.

They really did protagonize some great bromance moments back in the day, no?