Madrid extended its pre-season unbeaten streak, rolling past Hertha yesterday.  And since this game meant a return to Germany for Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil, let’s start with them.

ONE.  At one point during the game, Sami ended up lying on his back.  Doesn’t it look like he suddenly remembered there was a game going on, and so he popped right back up?  And I love how Ozi raised his eyebrows while smiling during the third goal celebration!  Adorable.

TWO.  Pepe and Marcelo gave each other a triple high-five while they were waiting in the tunnel to go out onto the field, and I loved how the cuddly team mascot Herthinho (why does he have a Brazilian name?) stood at the end of the receiving line and got high-fives from the players (but only one from Marcelo).  There’s more Herthinho at the end of the post… maybe it’s because he’s a bear in Germany, but he kind of reminds me of the Haribo bear.

THREE.  Prior the the game, a moment of silence was held for the victims of the Oslo shooting and bombing.  Both teams also wore black armbands to commemorate the victims.

In Germany, online gambling companies are prohibited from advertising, so Madrid got to wear logo-free shirts, which I much prefer, since they are los blancos and it’s nice seeing them like that, in immaculate white.

FOUR.  Why are there four referees?  Oh wait…

FIVE.  You’ve got to love the cameraperson for the panning up and down of Kaká and Marcelo Sunshine’s bodies.

SIX.  Was the sun in Sami’s eyes, or did he just get a glimpse of Iker/Antonio Adán in their all yellow outfits?

SEVEN.  The wonderful sun made Xabi’s kit even more transparent.  Yay!  But Nacho decided to end things before they could even get started, by wearing a t-shirt under his jersey.  You’re a bad boy, Nacho.

EIGHT.  I love this photo of Mesut with the sun lighting up his head.

NINE.  Poor Iker, the sun (and not the Marcelo Sunshine variety) was in his eyes throughout the first half.  Hopefully he got a bit of color though.  And at the end of the first half, we have a rare moment of failure for our saint.  That ball is going to be banned from heaven.

TEN.  Remember how I said I hoped someone would be taking care of Rafa Varane?  Well, it looks like Ricardo Carvalho and Pepe are doing their part, high-fiving and hugging Rafa as he checked in.  Mou did his part too, yelling instructions at Rafa as the latter did the throw-in.  However, Rafa didn’t acknowledge Mou, other than a side-eye glance when he was already on his way back onto the field.  I love it!

ELEVEN.  Some artistic photos from the game that I like.

TWELVE.  Whatever Mesut has been doing, it’s working because he’s much more cut in the ab area than he was last year at this point.  And Ricardo Carvalho looks great, even though he’s the oldest guy on the team, no?

THIRTEEN.  Apparently, the water bottles in Germany are easier to open than those in Spain, because Marcelo was already drinking water by the time Cristiano was subbed out and came to the bench.

FOURTEEN.  Some random moments: Marcelo passing on the captain’s armband to Raúl Albiol, and Mou high-fiving his players as they stepped off the field.

FIFTEEN.  Post-game declarations: Sami Khedira returned to action in this game, playing the entire second half.  He was satisfied with his performance, since “the sensations have been positive,” and happy to return home: “I felt a lot of joy, I remembered my origins.  In addition, playing in a stadium like this one fills you with pleasure.”

Karim was happy with his two goals and the victory: “I feel great and I’m working to be Real Madrid’s starting forward.  The míster and the club have confidence in me and that’s very important, I’m always going to work hard to play.”  He also had a few words for Zinedine Zidane: “it’s special having him close by because he helps me, he speaks my language and he gives me a lot of confidence.”  Whatever Zizou has been doing with Karim, it’s working!

SIXTEEN.  The Xabi Alonso pose section.™

The posing started before the game had even officially begun…

… and continued throughout the game…

… culminating with a perfect runway turn.  He knows the field is his runway!  Xabi’s not a one-dimensional model, he has a whole repertoire of poses AND he can work the runway.  What a boss.

SEVENTEEN.  The Mou corner.

After the game, Mou praised Karim Benzema, saying, “today, Karim thinks about football like I do.”  High praise indeed.  Mou went on to say, “Benzema has everything in place to have a great season.  He’s much better than he was last year at this point.  I believe I’ve succeeded in persuading him.”  Perhaps that’s also due to Gonzalo Higuaín’s imminent return, as he and Ángel di María are rejoin the team before the two friendlies in China.

More close up with Mou than you’ve ever wanted.

EIGHTEEN.  As Herthinho said on his Facebook page, he took it upon himself to personally greet some of the Real Madrid team!  Why couldn’t our players and coach at least have cracked a smile (thank you Cris)?  Ozi has no expression whatsoever, Mou also has a blank stare and Iker looks like he’s at a funeral.  Maybe it’s because their thumbs were sticking up in the air.

Question of the day: if Madrid had a mascot like Hertha or Mallorca, what would it be?  I say it should be a mini-Iker.

NINETEEN.  Reader LaBlanca was at the game, and she lamented the whistling at Cristiano Ronaldo, says that Iker could have used some sunglasses in the first half, and observed that like the announcer in the San Diego game, the one in Berlin made a lot of mistakes.  He announced the entrance of a “Fernando Sánchez” and said that number 18 Sami Khedira would be entering.  Instead, Raúl Albiol, the holder of the “18,” came in (Sami wore the “6”).  She also sent in these lovely pictures!

TWENTY.  In other news, the boys trained again this afternoon.  As for Castilla, they played their first game of the pre-season, a friendly against Parla that ended 1-1.  Cristian scored the goal for Castilla, who had the bad luck of conceding a goal in the last minute to go away with a tie instead of a win.  José Antonio Ríos, Castilla’s new signing, made his debut, and he had a good game.

TWENTY ONE.  (Sticking this in here) Fernando Gago married Gisela Dulko on Wednesday in Buenos Aires in a civil ceremony, which was followed by a party for 400 guests at the Tattersall de Palmero establishment.  Up next is a honeymoon, which both will use to recover from their respective injuries.  Fer and Gisela met in 2009, when she was playing in the Madrid Masters Series.  It appeared to be love at first sight for him, because he then got her phone number from some common friends and invited her to go out.  And two years later, they’re married!  ¡Felicidades!  I’m happy that Fer kept his hair short and slick for this big day!  A mullet just wouldn’t have been appropriate for this occasion!  And Gisela looks gorgeous, no?

And a note: it’s finally vacation time for me, yay!  It feels like I’ve been waiting the entire year… anyway, I’ll try and continue to update things, but don’t worry if I don’t, it’ll just mean that I’m having a great time!