real madrid

Real Madrid’s Transfer Window Review… Don’t change the winning team or just over confident, Mou?

/ randyaria / Leave a comment

ok, musim 2012/2013 ini komposisi pemain Real Madrid tak begitu banyak berubah. Dalam artian Real Madrid pasif dalam membeli dan aktif dalam menjual haha. Strategi Jose Mourinho ini cukup aneh karena ga biasanya Madrid super pasif dalam mengincar pemain. Praktis sejak beres EURO 2012, Madrid hanya mengincar Luka Modric tanpa ada nama lain yg masuk hitungan. Plus Kaka yg santer sekali diberitakan hengkang akhirnya malah bertahan di Madrid. Oke deh mari runut dulu siapa aja yg masuk dan keluar dari madrid di musim ini :

TRANSFER OUT

1. Royston Drenthe

“Oh No! No one even remember where am I playing right now!!”

Ada yg masih inget pemain ini? Well, berhubung ga guna juga, mari skip aja haha. Drenthe di release on free alias dipecat manajemen krn tindakan indispliner nya sewaktu di Everton. Saya jg ga tau nih skrg doi main di klub apa. Terlalu malas untuk buka wiki haha

2. Hamit Altintop

“I’m sexy and I know it! You mad bro?”

Ini nih si pemain yg jadi joke no 1 nya di kalangan pendukung Madrid haha. Altintop layaknya unicorn yg membawa keberuntungan buat Real Madrid. Datang dengan status free musim lalu, Altintop ga mau digaji saat dia cedera loh! Luar biasa kan? Doi jg bisa main di banyak posisi meski kebanyakan ancur haha. Altintop dibantu oleh JM mendapatkan klub baru karena doi berambisi masuk tim reguler Turki dan ingin membawa Turki ke Brazil 2014. So, dijual lah doi ke Galatasaray dengan harga 6 juta Euro. Good business!

3. Fernando Gago

“Maybe JM is jealous with my silk straight hair, isn’t he?”

Gago bisa dibilang salah satu investasi Madrid yg sayang sekali gagal. Padahal dulu ketika datang bersama Higuain dan Marcelo, Gago dgadang gadang bakal menjadi penerus Fernando Redondo. Sayangnya berkat hantaman cedera tiada akhir, doi gagal bersinar dan dipinjamkan ke AS Roma musim lalu. JM sendiri nampaknya ogah menggeser Khedira dr pos DM dan akhirnya menjual Gago dengan harga murah, 4 juta Euro saja ke Valencia. Bad business! FYI, Gago dibeli dr River Plate seharga 10 juta Euro saat umurnya masih 19 taun ckckck

4. Esteban Granero

“Wherever I play, my heart is always be a Madridista!”

Ini nih transfer yg sangat disesalkan oleh seluruh pendukung Madrid. El Pirata dilego ke QPR dengan harga 6 juta Euro. Granero ini back up player yg main sepenuh hati karena doi cinta mati sama Real Madrid. Sungguh sangat disesalkan. All the best for him I wish 😀 Good luck Pirata, hope you enjoy your career at QPR! #halamadrid

5. Lass Diarra

“My name is Lass not Nacc dammit! But since you offered me lot of money, it’s okay”

Nah kalo yg ini yg sangat melegakan seluruh fans Madrid haha. Gimana ngga, Lass ini ngancem ga mau pindah dan ingin bebas transfer musim dpn. Akhirnya di last minute dia hijrah juga ke taipan Anzhi asal Russia. Kepindahan Lass ke Russia tentunya sangat diidamkan oleh pemain yg satu ini. Gimana ngga? Di Anzhi dia bakal dapat 7 juta Euro per musim, naik 2 kali lipat dr yg didapatnya selama 4 taun di Madrid gitu haha.

6. Nuri Sahin

“I trolled Arsenal fans and signed for Liverpool. You mad, Arsenal fans? HAHA”

Nah ini nih yg kepindahannya juga memicu polemik di kubu Arsenal dan Liverpool. Mou membebaskan Nuri untuk belajar di EPL selama semusim. Mou dan Xabi merekomendasikan Liverpool sebagai tmpt Nuri belajar. Nah si Nuri masalahnya udah menjalin kesepakatan dan sampe tes medis dengan Arsenal eh taunya besoknya malah belok ke Liverpool dan kubu Arsenal kebakaran jenggot lah haha. Dasar!

TRANSFER IN

1. Luka Modric

“I’m here to add the diversity of hairstyle on RM squad. Classy, isn’t it?”

Nah ini nih yg ditunggu tunggu. 50 hari rumor Modric ke Madrid beredar dan puluhan kali muncul berita Spurs menyepakati tawaran Real tp ga kejadian aja haha. Sampai Modric ngambek dan pulang kampung lalu dibekukan statusnya oleh Tottenham. Saga Modric berakhir dan akhirnya 40 juta Euro digelontorkan plus kesepakatan dr segi teknis dgn Spurs dilakukan oleh Real Madrid.

2. Michael Essien

“shut up Modric! I am classy”

Transfer Essien ini sebenernya ga begitu perlu dan ngedadak. Essien datang beberapa menit sebelum deadline transfer window dengan status pinjaman. Essien sebenernya versatile krn dia mampu main d pos DM dan RB sebagai pelapis Arbeloa. Asal dengan 1 kondisi, doi ga cedera mulu. Essien ini sejak Mou pindah, hobinya cedera ga berenti berenti nih

beberapa pemain lain yg masuk ke Madrid musim ini diambil dari RM Castilla. Mereka adalah Alvaro Morata, Nacho dan Jesus (GK)

Dilihat dari segi komposisi, jumlah pemain RM musim ini berkurang 2 personel karena nomor punggung yg masih kosong ada 3 lagi (16, 19, 23). Yah semoga aja keputusan JM untuk pasif d bursa transfer dan mempertahankan winning team ga berujung pahit ya. HALA MADRID!

Golazo!

/ randyaria / Leave a comment


hmmm, ntah mengapa tiba-tiba aja jd teringat gol ini.

27 September 2011, saat RM menjamu Ajax Amsterdam di matchday 1 UCL 2011/2012 lalu, sebuah Golazo (super gol dlm bahas Spanyol) terjadi. Coba dihitung berapa waktu yg dibutuhkan untuk gol ini dan berapa umpan tanpa putus yg dibuat oleh 5 pemain Madrid di sebuah counter attack dashyat ini.

16 detik, 11 sentuhan, 5 pemain (Ramos, Ozil, Kaka, Ronaldo, Benzema) dan terciptalah gol hebat ini 😀

Hmmm, kapan ya RM bikin gol kyk gini lagi musim ini? Let’s see lah 😀

Real Madrid 1-1 Valencia..What were you expect? 5-0 on the opening day?

/ randyaria / Leave a comment

ok, gara-gara record-breaking season musim lalu dimana Madrid bisa dapet 100 poin dan 123 gol semusim, berat rasanya memulai musim baru ini dengan ekspektasi yg amat tinggi. Yoi lah, siapa sih yg seneng liat Madrid cuma menang 1-0, 2-0 atau imbang? Imbang malah mungkin bakal dianggap dan dicerca seperti layaknya kalah. Yup, that’s a bitter fact

Akan tetapi saya tersadarkan. Berkat hasil 1-1 ini mustinya kita sebagai fans RM ber-refleksi. Apa yg kita mau? Kemenangan 5-0? Inget loh lawan Madrid tuh tim peringkat 3, tim terkuat di La Liga kalau Barca-Madrid pindah ke BPL 😀
Lantas kalo kita seri trus Barca otomatis juara liga? Masih ada 37 jornada lagi di depan bung! haha

Ok lah review saja dulu. Turun dengan usual formation, JM menurunkan 4-2-3-1 lagi tp kali ini ada 3 perubahan dr staring XI musim lalu. Khedira-Benzema-Marcelo digantikan Coentrao-Lass-Higuain dengan alasan mereka lebih lama menjalani masa pre season.

Pellegrino, pelatih Valencia rupanya tipikal pelatih yg belajar dan menyerap ilmu dari tim lain dengan cepat. Valencia tadi malem menurunkan taktik sama 4-2-3-1 dengan pendekatan men behind ball dan langsung menusuk ketika menyerang melalui sayap andalannya si Jonas sama Guardado. Organisasi defense nya rapi banget plus Jeremy Mathieu sukses mengunci di Maria di kanan dan yg lebih pathetic, Cristiano Ronaldo ga berkutik dimatiin si Joao Perreira, junior nya di timnas Portugal. sumpah lah

Gol Higuain datang di menit 10 lagi lagi dr assist Di Maria. Tp yg hebat, Higuain butuh 3 shot beruntun ke gawang karena 2 shot sebelumnya diblok dengan dewanya ama si Diego Alves. Unggul 1 gol, Madrid seolah makin leluasa memainkan bola cuma ya sayangnya depannya masih ga jelas dan main sendiri-sendiri. Valencia perlahan tapi pasti mulai nyaman menerapkan taktik men behind ball dan counter kilat. Eh terbukti pas menit 40-an lewat counter mereka punya peluang tp harus digagalkan lewat pelanggaran. Free kick yg diambil Tino Costa sukses dimaksimalkan Jonas namun menyisakan insiden keras. Iker dan Pepe beradu kepala. Pepe diperban dan harus dilarikan ke rumah sakit sementara Iker kyk orang teler sepanjang pertandingan. Ramos pun beberapa menit sebelumnya diperban keningnya karena kena sabetan sepatu Feghoulli. Ah aneh banget lah!

Babak 2 perubahan radikal dilakukan JM. Setelah Albiol masuk mengganti Pepe, menit ke 55, Benzema masuk mengganti Lass dan Callejon mengganti di maria yg cedera juga #facepalm. Madrid tampil dengan 4 striker dan Valencia dikunci dan dibombardir habis sepanjang 25 menit tersisa di babak 2. Di sinilah Diego Alves beraksi. Tercatat 4 kali doi menggagalkan peluang Benzema, Callejon, Albiol dan Di Maria. Plus sebuah sundulan Higuain masih membentur mistar gawang.

Akhir pertandingan, JM pun mengkritik lemahnya penyelesaian akhir Madrid dan menuntut perbaikan menjelang Super Copa leg 1 di Camp Nou Jumat mendatang. Well, hasil seri ini menyesakkan karena kita jadi kalah start dari Barcul yg unggul 2 poin berkat pembantaian Sociedad 5-1 1 jam setelah Madrid main.

Ya sudahlah, hasil seri patut disyukuri. Untungnya ini masih laga pembuka jadi masih menyisakan banyak room for improvement.

Hala Madrid!

Real Madrid : 20 shots, 8 on target, 1 gol. guess who was the MotM?

gol Higuain pun terjadi setelah 2 tembakannya sebelumnya ditepis si kesurupan Diego Alves

Ronaldo, yg tak berdaya di hadapan bocah ingusan 20 tahun

Pepe dan Iker, malah berduel beradu kepala coba -___-

“Opening match is always hard, but there is always room for improvement”

Man of The Match : off course Diego Alves. he smashed everything today 😀

RM Players’ Rating

Iker (6) : cuma diserang 3 kali, 2 penyelamatan dan 1 kebobolan. Ga banyak yg bisa dilakukan di kapten apalagi pas kebentur Pepe

Arbeloa (6) : rajin maju ke depan tp sering kecolongan Guardado. beberapa kali Pepe kewalahan mengcover posisinya

Pepe (5) : reckless dan kesalahan elementernya berbuah gol Valencia. Cuma main sebabak dan musti dilarikan ke RS #animoPepe

Ramos (6) : Soldado resmi mati ama ini orang. Covering nya bagus dan well command banget di belakang

Coentrao (7) : akhirnya bisa jg kesampaian liat Fabio yg di timnas Portugal hahaha. Agresif dan cekatan membantu CR di depan. Tp sering kebingungan kalo nerima bola di kotak penalti lah -___-

Lass (6.5) : awalnya ga yakin Lass bakal main bagus, taunya lumayan lah doi buat nutupin Tino Costa jendral lapangan tengah nya Valencia. Dikorbankan demi Benzema di menit ke-55 setelah cukup membantu tim

Xabi (6) : Xabi kerepotan diganggu Gago terus menerus. Tercatat doi cuma beberapa kali melakukan umpan bahaya. Salah satunya ke Callejon yg telat sepersekian detik menyamber bola

Di Maria (6.5) : Yet another assist by the cungkring. Kebanyakan mati ama si Mathieu sih jd doi banyak bikin diagonal run ketimbang hold up flank. Diganti Callejon menit ke 60 karena cedera -___-

Ozil (6.5) : Kelemahan si Ojil ini ya tendangannya pelan banget. Doi dpt peluang emas di babak 2 tp tendangannya pelan dan mengarah banget ke Alves lah. Overall permainannya brilliant as usual dan bisa mengancam duet centre back Valencia bersama Higuain

Ronaldo (5) : Gak banyak yg bisa dilakukan CR di sini. Diikutin kemanapun ama si Joao Perreira. Tercatat cuma 2 kali melakukan shot on goal dan sisanya ga jelas lah

Higuain (6.5) : Gerakan Higuain sekarang lebih mending dibandin musim lalu. Doi udah bisa ngerti dan swap position bagus dengan Ronaldo. Sayangnya penyakitnya belum sembuh. Hayoh we offside mulu ckckck

——–

Subs :

Albiol (5)
Benzema (6)
Callejon (5.5)

Quick Review : Real Madrid Pre-Season 2012/2013

/ randyaria / Leave a comment

Okeyy, tak terasa besok musim 2012/2013 akan dimulai. Real Madrid akan menjamu Valencia di Santiago bernabeu sebagai langkah awal mempertahankan gelar La Liga musim ini. So, sebelum nonton pertandingannya besok, saya mau review kan sedikit deh perjalanan Madrid di pre season kemaren yg kebanyakan dilakukan di Amerika Serikat. Berikut jadwal preseason Madrid musim 2012/2013 :

EURO 2012 membuat pre season Madrid musim ini berjalan singkat dan padat. Yup, dengan 10 pemain yg dipanggil timnas masing-masing untuk memperkuat EURO, manajemen akhirnya memberi libur tambahan ketika yg tidak ikut EURO telah melakukan pemusatan latihan. Alhasil, 2 friendly match pertama (vs Oviedo dan Benfica) Madrid tampil dengan sejumlah pemain RM Castilla dan tanpa diperkuat 10 pemain yg berlaga di EURO 2012 lalu.

Oia dr 6 friendly yg disusun oleh manajemen, 4 yg terakhir digelar di AS dalam rangka Herbalife World Football Challenge. Ok, langsung aja deh ku-review-kan

1. 24 Juli 2012 vs Real Oviedo  (5-1)

Nah tgl 24 Juli 2012, RM resmi memulai pre season pertamanya dengan menyambangi markas tim Segunda, Real Oviedo. Minus 10 pemain yg berlaga di EURO 2012, Madrid turun dengan membawa banyak sekali pemain Castilla. Babak 1, pelatih JM masang banyak sekali pemain Castilla. Dr mulai Morata, Denis Cherysev, Lucas Vasquez, Nacho dll. Rupanya mainnya RM Castilla keren loh. Mungkin lawannya Oviedo juga kali ya makanya berasa keren 😛

Lucas Vasquez membuka skor melalui run off the ball dan memanfaatkan umpan jauh Varane. Disusul Cherysev yg tampil dan mencetak gol sebagai orang Russia pertama yg berkostum Real Madrid! Gol ketiga hasil kerja keras Lucas yg dicongkel ama Granero. Madrid kebobolan lewat kesalahan lini belakang nih. Klasik banget.  Dan baru babak kedua, JM memasukkan beberapa nama pemain inti yg ga ikut EURO semisal Di Maria, Kaka, Higuain, Callejon dkk. Hasilnya Di Maria ngegolin berkat blunder kiper Oviedo. Oviedo dpt penalti tp Jesus berhasil menepis bola keluar lapangan 😀

Dan Di Maria menutup skor 5-1 setelah memanfaatkan kerja keras Gonzalo Higuain 😀
Hasil yg sangat luar biasa bagi RM Castilla 😛

2. 27 Juli 2012 vs Benfica (2-5)

Kekalahan yg sesungguhnya diprediksi, tp ga nyangka juga sampe dibantai habis gini 😛 Tajuk friendly kali ini adalah Eusebio Cup dalam rangka memperingati dan mengenang aksi sang legenda hidup Benfica, Eusebio.
Kali ini hanya Benzema dan Coentrao yg bergabung sedangkan 8 pemain EURO 2012 masih dalam masa liburan. RM kembali tampil dengan banyak pemain Castilla. Namun JM mencoba mengkombinasikan pemain senior dan junior dalam 2 line up yg berbeda. Cuma kiper (Antonio Adan) yg ga diganti dan kebobolan 5 biji 😛

Witsel membuka gol lewat kesalahan klasik bek RM mengantisipasi bola mati. Hebatnya Jose Callejon langsung membalik skor melewati sebuah gol hasil dr umpa silang Di Maria dan umpan terobosan Higuain. Nah ga lama malah langsung dibales lagi oleh bek binaan Madrid si Javi Garcia memanfaatkan sepak pojok. Lagi lagi kesalahan antisipasi bola mati -___-

Setelah skor 2-2, pemain-pemain Castilla nampaknya kelelahan dan mental mereka belum siap untuk bermain 90 menit di bawah tekanan hebat pendukung tuan rumah. Mulai deh kesalahan elementer mewarnai gol ke-3, 4 dan 5 Benfica. Gol ketiga gol indah memanfaatkan kesalahan positioning si Adan. Gol keempat dan gol kelima murni kurang koordinasi di belakang nih.
Benfica pun menang telak dan menyabet gelar Eusebio Cup. Sementara Madrid pulang dengan kepala tertunduk habis dibantai. Arghhh

3. 2 Agustus 2012 vs LA Galaxy (5-1)

Ok, liburan berakhir dan semua pemain RM yg bermain di EURO telah bergabung di tim untuk pemusatan latihan di LA. Nama-nama seperti Ozil, Ronaldo, Khedira, Casillas dan Ramos sudah muncul saat training session. Kali ini lawan yg akan dihadapi adalah si juara MLS, LA Galaxy di kandangnya Home Depot Centre.

Line up unik diturunkan JM di sini. Doi membagi skuad menjadi 2 yang dimainkan di tiap babak. Bruce Arena (pelatih LA Galaxy) pun melakukan demikiann.

Babak 1 : Iker ; Nacho-Varane-Albiol-Coentrao ; Khedira-Lass ; di Maria-Kaka-Callejon ; Higuain
Babak 2 : Adan ; Arbeloa-Ramos-Pepe-Sahin ; Xabi-Granero ; Morata-Ozil-Ronaldo ; Benzema

Hasilnya? Babak 1 RM menggila. Full determination dan memainkan sepakbola tempo tinggi dan pressing ketat. Nyaris LA Galaxy ga dikasih peluang coba, Kalo bukan Beckham kyknya LA Galaxy ga bisa golin deh 😛
Baru jalan 4 menit Higuain udah menjebol gawang LA memanfaatkan assist emas di Maria. Eh beberapa menit kemudian Di Maria malah golin lewat sebuah tendangan keras ke tiang deket. Nah udah gitu Becks beraksi deh. Umpang free kicknya dipantulin striker LA Galaxy dan Iker pun ga bs berkutik sebelum bola diceploskan beknya LA Galaxy. Jose Callejo memperlebar jarak dengan memanfaatkan umpan terobosan Higuain. Di babak 1 ini, Varane, Callejon dan Di Maria bermain sangat bagus.

Nah masuk babak 2 keliatan banget nih penurunan performa. Pemain 1st team turun dan keliatan sekali mereka kedodoran di segi fisik. Ronaldo lemah abis, Ozil apalagi haha. Sebenernya peluang banyak tp ya finishingnya jelek dan kiper cadangan La Galaxy bagus banget. Gol keempat lahir dari Morata yg memanfaatkan umpan sakti dari Granero. Ga lama kemudian Morata diganti oleh Jese Rodriguez dan hebatnya lagi Jese langsung nyetak gol lewat 1st touch nya :))

Hasil 5-1 ini membuktikan skuad Madrid sangat siap dan sudah full throttle karena kembali diperkuat pemain-pemain intinya.

4. 5 Agustus 2012, vs Santos Laguna (2-1)

Kali ini si jawara Meksiko yg menantang Madrid di LA. Santos Laguna hadir dan di luar dugaan bermain apik banget! Pemain inti RM masih dalam fase recovery dan staminanya masih kedodoran banget. Kali ini JM merotasi lini depannya. Babak 1 para 1st team yg diturunkan dengan striker Higuain. Babak 2 di rolling dan Benzema masuk sebagai lone striker.

Santos Laguna lebih berbahaya dalam penyelesaian akhir. Madrid bermain cukup rapi tp depannya payah banget. Sampai musti menunggu Xabi Alonso melakukan long range shoot yg berbuah gol untuk membuka skor. Ga lama, peluang pertama Santos langsung berbuah gol dan mereka nyaris membalik skor coba.

Babak 2 permainan rada mendingan. Pemain-pemain yg staminanya masih payah diganti. Lebih trengginas dan berbahaya tp finishing masih cupu. Menjelang akhir pertandigan, umpan atau tendangan Benzema dengan epik nya dipantulkan Khedira pake idungnya dan berbuah gol kemenangan haha. Yo wis hasil menang tipis sudah lumayan lah ketimbang gagal menang 🙂

5. 8 Agustus 2012, vs AC Milan (5-1)

RM berpindah dari LA ke New York demi meladeni runner up Serie-A AC Milan di sana. Sesuai prediksi saya sih, Milan yg kehilangan 10 pemainnya musim ini bakal dihajar Madrid. Tp ya skor 5-1 agaknya kebangetan 😛

Tampil kembali dengan mixed line-up, JM berhasil menerapkan winning strategy dalam merepotkan AC Milan. Milan dipaksa main cepat dan dihajar pake counter kilat coba 😛 Di Maria membuka skor melalui tendangan indah ke jala Abbiatti. Ga lama Robinho menyamakan kedudukan lewat peluang satu satunya AC Milan di babak 1 :))

Babak 2 Ronaldo menggila. Umpang terobosan Lass dimaksimalkan dengan tendangan kaki kiri yg membuat Amelia ga berkutik. Setelah gol CR ini, AC Milan seolah jd samsak tinju Madrid. Dihajar habis-habisan. Run Higuain di sayap kanan dan umpannya ke Kaka dimaksimalkan Kaka dengan menyentuhnya ke arah Ronaldo yg tanpa ampun menyontek bola mudah. Kaka kembali memberi assist. Kali ini lewat corner ke arah Sergio Ramos. Damn, udah lama banget rasanya ga liat Sergio nyetak gol corner 🙂

Kaka kembali menjadi bintang dan menghukum AC Milan yg itungan banget buat ngedatangin doi. Kali  ini lewat sebuah assist brilian nya ke Jose Callejon yg membuat skor menjadi 5-1. Sebuah skor brilian untuk mendemonstrasikan kekuatan RM musim ini.

6. 11 Agustus 2012, vs Celtic (2-0)

Penutup rangkaian pre season RM kali ini ada di Philadelphia saat menjamu jawara SPL, Celtic. Ga banyak yg menarik di pertandingan ini mungkin karena JM juga banyak mengutak-atik pola permainan dibanding waktu melawan AC Milan. Kali ini Benzema berhasil menceploskan gol pertamanya di friendly dengan solo action nya di sisi kanan pertahanan Celtic. Insiden sempat terjadi saat Nuri Sahin menyikut secara tak sengaja pemain muda Celti yg sempat pingsan ditandu keluar lapangan.

Sebelum gol Benzema, Callejon mengukuhkan diri sebagai top skorer RM semasa preseason dengan torehan 9 gol :))
Gol nya memanfaatkan kelihaian Higuain mencongkel perangkap offside tp nendang bola ngasal banget si Higuain haha.

Dan skuad Madrid pun pulang ke Madrid dengan mengantongi gelar juara Herbalife Football Challenge untuk yg kedua kalinya berturu-turut :))

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ok,  memasuki musim baru, mari kita lihat jersey milik Madrid kali ini 😀
Sukur alhamdulillah, Adidas keren banget dalam mendesain kaos, ga kayak lapak sebelah yg cacad abis hahaha

Tak seperti musim lalu yg berkerah dan didominasi emas, jersey home Madrid musim ini didominasi hitam dan ada nuansa turquouise alias biru langit di dalamnya. Classy dan tetap eye-catchy 😀

Model body-fit dan guratan kain garis-garis mewarnai baju putih ini. Yg beda, di lengan kiri terdapat logo 110 Anos alias 110 tahun berdirinya klub di tahun 2012 ini. Dan yg lebih penting lagi, setelah 2 musim hadir dengan font aneh (digital dan 3D), musi ini font nama dan nomor d baju Madrid kembali “normal” 😀

Kostum away Madrid musim ini kembali berwarna hitam namun berbeda dengan musim kemarin yg didominasi emas yg classy, musim ini jersey away hadir dengan nuansa hijau stabilo yg menyala. Modelnya simple dan standar sih sebenernya tp warna hijaunya itu yg bikin eye-catchy tp ga sakit mata cem jersey sebelah :))

Nah untuk baju kipernya sendiri, setelah musim kemaren Iker memakai baju kuning menyala dan dijuluki San Banana, musim ini doi bakal memakai warna oren menyala seperti layaknya wortel hahaha. San Carrot 😛

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Line-up pemain Madrid musim 2012/2013 ini pun telah dirilis oleh manajemen berikut nomer punggungnya. Untuk musim ini terdapat 2 perubahan nomor punggung. Yang pertama adalah Raphael Varane yg pindah dari no.19 ke no.2. Yup nomor yg dipakai selama 10 taun oleh legenda Michel Salgado. Semoga doi kelak jadi legenda Madrid juga ni bocah 🙂

No.2 sebelumnya, Ricardo Carvalho pindah sementara ke nomor kutukan 16. Yup karena doi hampir pasti hengkang makanya diberi nomor sementara yg terkutuk 😛

Yg kedua, tukar nomor antara Sahin dan Coentrao. Sahin yg selangkah lagi bergabung ke Liverpool, akan pindah ke no.15 dan Coentrao akan mendapat nomer favoritnya di timnas Portugal yaitu 5. Zinedine Zidane si pewaris nomer 5 terakhir nih. Moga-moga Coentrao bakal menjelma menjadi salah satu legenda Madrid 🙂

1. Iker Casillas (Captain)
2. Raphael Varane
3. Pepe
4. Sergio Ramos
5. Fabio Coentrao
6. Sami Khedira
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
8. Kaka
9. Karim Benzema
10. Mesut Ozil
11. Esteban Granero
12. Marcelo
13. Antonio Adan
14. Xabi Alonso Olano
15. Nuri Sahin
16. Ricardo Carvalho
17. Alvaro Arbeloa
18. Raul Albiol
20. Gonzalo Higuain
21. Jose Maria Callejon
22. Angel Di Maria
24. Lassana Diarra

Nomer yg belum berpenghuni di Real Madrid adalah nomer 19, 23 dan 25. Morata dan Jesus didaftarkan di RM Castilla dan mereka akan mengenakan nomer 29 dan 35 di tim utama.

Hala Madrid!

First Training Session of 2012/2013

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Akhirnyaa penantian panjang itu berakhir 😀

Real Madri resmi memulai latihan perdananya di Valdebebas pagi tadi. Meski belum diperkuat pemain-pemain yg berlaga di EURO 2012 dan Marcelo yg ikut Olimpiade, namun latihan perdana ini lumayan dihadiri oleh beberapa bintang semisal Kaka dan Higuain.
Di latihan perdana ini, Jose Mourinho memasukkan beberapa pemain Castilla (Real Madrid B) untuk bergabung bersama para pemain senior buat nambahin pengalaman gitu 😀

Berikut nih foto-fotonya :

Alvaro Morata (kiri), datang paling pagi. maklum lah paling junior 😛

Sahin’s new hairstyle. Terlihat agak garang haha

Higuain liburan dan sepertinya balik-balik menggendut 😛

Kyaa kyaa..Kaka!

Granero, Di Maria, Kaka, dan Higuain. Udah sebulan rasanya ga liat mereka nggocek bola 😛

(Deltroy) Di Maria. Smoga musim ini doi ga cedera mulu dah

Calleti! 😀

Aitor Karanka dan si bos Jose Mourinho 😀

El Pirata (Granero) dan Joselu 😀

Senangnya liat Kaka dan Nuri Sahin ada di Valdebebas 😀

Most anticipating buat musim depan apalagi nih kalo bukan debut nya Alvaro Morata yang baru dipromosiin JM ke tim senior 😀
Siplah, sekian dulu report dari Valdebebas buat latihan perdana Real Madrid. Rencananya minggu depan Benzema dan duo tim panzer (Ozil-Khedira) bakal bergabung selepas berlibur di AS 😀

Hala Madrid!

110 Facts About Real Madrid CF on Their 110th Anniversary

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From the club’s formation years to the unparalleled records decade after decade, a catalogue of 110 key milestones in Los Blancos’ illustrious history!

On March 6, 2012 Real Madrid celebrated another landmark as they ushered in their 111th year.

With over a century of football, history, triumphs, records, controversies, dramas and star players, there has certainly been no shortage of highlights to choose from to commemorate the club’s 110th anniversary.

So as we reach the end of the week of festivities for the Spanish side, Goal.com compiles 110 interesting facts you may or may not know about Real Madrid.

1. The first direct incarnation of the club was known as Football Club Sky formed in 1895. In 1900, the club split into New Foot-ball de Madrid and Club Espanol de Madrid. The latter club’s president Julian Palacios eventually led a breakaway to help create Sociedad Madrid FC on March 6, 1902.

2. Madrid CF’s first two official club presidents were both Catalans. Joan Padros Rubio presided over the board from 1902 to 1904 and was succeeded by his brother Carles Padros Rubio from 1904 to 1908.

3. Three years after Madrid FC was formed, they won their first official title after defeating Athletic Bilbao to lift the Copa del Rey in April 1905.

4. Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano became the first player to win the Pichichi award four times in a row from 1956 to 1959. He has five wins in total.

5. Real Madrid are the only club to win the league five times in succession. They accomplished this feat twice, the first between 1961 and 1965, and the second between 1986 to 1990.

6. Madrid have never won the treble. But they have achieved the double (either La Liga plus Copa del Rey or La Liga and the European Cup) six times in the past.

7. Madrid’s all-time top scorer is their iconic former No. 7 Raul with 323 competitive goals, 228 of them in the league, which is also a club record.

8. Real’s biggest defeat in La Liga was against Espanyol when they lost 8-1 in 1929-30.

9. Real have been European champions on nine occasions. Their biggest win in the competition was a 9-0 victory over Danish side Boldklubben 1909 in 1961-62.

10. Cristiano Ronaldo scored Real Madrid’s fastest hat-trick when he took just 10 minutes to bag his treble in the 6-2 win at Sevilla in May 2011.

11. Madrid’s biggest victory in La Liga was an 11-2 win over Elche on 7 February 1960. Their biggest victory in any competition was against Barcelona when they beat the Catalans 11-1 in a Copa del Rey (known then as Copa del Generalisimo) semi-final in 1942-43.

12. Ferenc Puskas scored a total of 12 goals in the 1959-60 European Cup campaign, the most goals a Madrid player has scored in a single season in the tournament.

13. The first ever Clasico was played on May 13, 1902. Barcelona defeated Madrid 3-1 in a friendly match.

14. Between 1961 and 1980, Los Blancos were so dominant in Spain that they won 14 La Liga titles in 20 seasons. Between 1961 and 1990, Madrid won 19.

15. Miguel Munoz is the club’s longest-serving coach, totalling 15 years and 604 competitive matches. He won 14 titles during that span.

16. Madrid have qualified for the Champions League in 16 seasons, the joint second-best record in the competition behind Manchester United with 17.

17. On December 17, 1922, Real Madrid saw Juan Monjardin become their first Spanish international when he played in a match against Portugal.

18. Madrid have claimed the Copa del Rey on 18 times and there was an 18-year gap between their last two victories, in 1993 and 2011.

19. The first-ever competitive Clasico was on May 19, 1902 in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, which Barcelona won 3-1. It was also to be Madrid FC’s first official game.

20. Fifa named Real Madrid the ‘Best Club of the 20th Century’.

21. Madrid FC’s first game after its formation was a match between the club’s members. One team wore blue and the other red. They eventually adopted their all-white shirts from London-based club Corinthians FC in 1902.

22. Madrid have appeared in the semi-finals of the European Cup/Champions League 22 times, a record in the competition.

23. David Beckham won just two trophies in his four-year spell at Madrid, claiming the Spanish Supercopa right at the beginning of his time at the capital club, and adding La Liga in his very last game for Los Blancos.

24. Raul’s final competitive game in the famous white shirt was on April 24, 2010 in the 2-1 La Liga win at Real Zaragoza.

25. Real Madrid players have won the Pichichi award a total of 25 times, a record in the league. The club’s first La Liga top scorer was Manuel Olivares in 1932-33 when he netted 16 goals in 14 games.

26. Madrid participated in the European Cup 26 times prior to the tournament being renamed the Champions League.

27. The 1953-54 La Liga campaign was Alfredo Di Stefano’s first season as a Real Madrid player. He scored 27 goals in just 28 appearances.

28. Angel Di Maria is the first player to score a goal for Madrid in a red shirt, the team’s third-choice kit this season. A red-coloured shirt had only been used on three previous occasions, but Los Blancos never managed to score.

29. Madrid received their ‘Real’ (royal) title on June 29, 1920 from King Alfonso XIII.

30. Vicente del Bosque spent 30 years in total at Real Madrid (first team and reserve team). He won nine trophies as a player, and seven as a coach.

31. Real Madrid are the record champions in the Spanish top flight, finishing first in La Liga 31 times. Their lowest-ever league placing was 11th in 1947-48.

32. Madrid went unbeaten on their way to their first league title in 1932, winning 10 games and drawing eight in an 18-round campaign, finishing three points ahead of runners-up Athletic Bilbao.

33. Real Madrid played their first match at the Santiago Bernabeu (then named Nuevo Estadio Chamartin) in a 3-1 victory over Os Belenenses. Sabino Barinaga scored the first-ever goal at the renamed ground.

34. Although now 34, Alberto Rivera is the youngest player to debut for Madrid’s first team in the league at 17 years and 114 days, beating the previous record set by Raul by just 10 days. Rivera also became the club’s youngest goalscorer in La Liga when he netted in the 2-0 win over Celta Vigo in June 1995 in that same debut game.

35. Santiago Bernabeu was Madrid’s club president for almost 35 years from September 1943 to June 1978. During his tenure, Los Blancos won six European Cups, 16 La Liga titles, 6 Copas del Rey, and one Intercontinental Cup. He is also credited with revolutionising Real, starting with the signing of Alfredo Di Stefano.

36. Santillana, who is the club’s third-highest all-time goalscorer, retired from football at the age of 36.

37. Madrid’s first-ever European Cup match was a 2-0 win over Servette on September 8, 1955.

38. Hugo Sanchez scored 38 goals in La Liga in 1989-90 to tie a Pichichi record set by Athletic Bilbao great Telmo Zarra in 1951 and which stood until the 2010-11 season.

39. Ferenc Puskas was almost 39 when he played his last season for Real in the 1965-66 campaign.

40. Cristiano Ronaldo set a new La Liga record in 2010-11 by netting 40 goals in a single season.

41. However, Marca, who awards the Pichichi prize, claimed it was 41 goals, including a free-kick which had deflected off Pepe against Real Sociedad although officially, the referee had awarded it as an own goal.

42. Madrid sold Robinho to Manchester City in 2008 for €42.5 million, the highest transfer fee Los Blancos have received for a player.

43. Real Madrid won the inaugural European Cup on June 13, 1956 by beating Stade Reims 4-3 in the final.

44. The exact time on the clock was 44 minutes and 36 seconds when Zinedine Zidane scored his left-footed volley for Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden Park.

45. Ronaldo joined Real Madrid from Inter for €45m in the summer of 2002, fresh off his heroics for Brazil in the World Cup in Japan-Korea.

46. Jose Mourinho is the 46th different coach to have taken charge of Real Madrid. Their first was Arthur Johnson.

47. Ferenc Puskas scored 47 goals in 38 competitive games for Madrid in 1959-60, the most he scored for the club in a single season.

48. The first Real Madrid office was a boutique called ‘Al Capricho’, and it was at No. 48 in Alcala.

49. Raul’s last competitive goal for Real Madrid came in the 49th minute in the 2-1 victory over Real Zaragoza.

50. Real Madrid legend Emilio Butragueno holds the Liga record of successive games unbeaten. He did not lose for 50 consecutive league matches in the 1980s.

51. Los Blancos were the first-ever club champions of the world when they defeated Penarol 5-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup back in 1960.

52. One of Madrid’s nicknames, Los Merengues – in reference to their all-white kit resembling a cake made entirely of egg white – was first coined in the magazine España Sportiva on January 3, 1917.

53. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a club record 53 goals in all competitions in the 2010-11 campaign.

54. Madrid have qualified for 54 out of 56 Uefa club competitions. They only missed out in 1977-78 and 1996-97.

55. It was in January 1955 that the club decided to rename their stadium in honour of then president Santiago Bernabeu.

56. Prior to the Santiago Bernabeu/Nuevo Chamartin, Madrid’s previous grounds included the (original) Chamartin, the Velodromo de Ciudad Lineal, O’Donnell, Desmontes de Moncloa, La Estrada, Explanada de la Plaza de Toros and Hipodromo.

57. Luis Figo scored 57 goals in 239 games in all competitions during his five-season spell at Real Madrid. He only scored 45 in 249 with Barcelona.

58. In 80 seasons and 2,534 La Liga matches, Madrid have a 58.2 win percentage, having claimed 1475 victories and losing 538. They have scored 5,285 goals and conceded 2,915.

59. The Bernabeu played host to the Euro 1964 final, the 1982 World Cup final, the European Cup finals in 1957, 1969 and 1980, as well as the 2010 Champions League final.

60. Luis Figo infamously joined Madrid from Barcelona for €60 million in the summer of 2000. He is the 15th player to switch directly from Barca to Los Blancos. The first was Alfonso Albeniz.

61. Madrid defeated their own ‘B’ team Castilla 6-1 to win the 1980 Copa del Rey.

62. During his time at Madrid, Mesut Ozil has already changed his shirt number four times. He was given the No. 26 upon his arrival and throughout pre-season, but changed to No. 19 for his official debut. He then took over the No. 23 left vacant by Rafael van der Vaart’s departure, and at the start of the 2011-12 term, he inherited the No. 10.

63. Real Madrid were the first club in the Spanish top flight to win back-to-back league titles, successfully defending the crown they won in 1931-32 the following season.

KEY MILESTONES
1. Julian Palacios helped form Madrid FC, known today as Real Madrid.
3. Madrid won their first title in 1905, three years after their formation.
20. Named by IFFHS as the Best Club of the 20th Century.
32. They clinched their first La Liga title in 1932.
35. Santiago Bernabeu served as club president for 35 years. He signed Di Stefano and kick started Real Madrid’s revolution
43. Madrid won the inaugural European Cup in ’56, beating Stade Reims 4-3.

64. Ronaldo made his Real Madrid bow as a 64th-minute substitute against Alaves in October 2002. He scored twice on his debut in the 5-2 win.

65. Current supremo Florentino Perez, who turned 65 on March 8 – two days after the club’s anniversary – is the only man apart from Adolfo Melendez to have served two separate stints as Los Blancos’ president.

66. The Madrid that won the 1966 European Cup were known as the Ye-Ye team. This was because they had a young all-Spanish generation of players starring the likes of Amancio Amaro, Pachin, Pirri and Manuel Sanchis. The name Ye-Ye comes from the catchy chorus of the Beatles song ‘She Loves You’ (yeah yeah yeah) – and the team earned the nickname after four players famously posed for Marca wearing Beatles wigs.

67. Predrag Mijatovic’s 67th-minute goal in the 1-0 win over Juventus in the 1998 Champions League final gave Madrid their seventh European Cup to put an end to a 32-year wait from their last triumph in 1966.

68. In 163 El Clasico encounters in La Liga, Madrid have won 68, losing 64 with 31 meetings ending in a draw.

69. Amancio Amaro won the 1969 Pichichi award by scoring just 14 goals.

70. Fernando Morientes is the last Madrid player to score five goals in a single La Liga game. He bagged his quintuple in the 7-0 win over Las Palmas in February 2002.

71. Raul is the Champions League’s all-time top scorer with 71 goals; 66 of them were scored for Real Madrid.

72. Los Blancos have won 72 major titles overall in the following competitions: La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercopa, European Cup/Champions League, Uefa Cup, Uefa Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup.

73. Madrid’s 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1959-60 European Cup final is the highest-scoring final in the competition’s history. The victory gave Real their fifth consecutive continental crown and they were thus allowed to keep the trophy.

74. Zinedine Zidane was signed by Madrid from Juventus for €74m, currently the second-most expensive football transfer in history.

75. ‘Zizou’ joined Juve in 1996, a year after they had won the Champions League. The Frenchman went on to play in two losing finals with the Old Lady before eventually lifting the European Cup in 2002 with Madrid.

76. Jose Mourinho’s current 76.77 win percentage for Real Madrid is the best of any of the club’s coaches who were in charge for more than one game.

77. Iker Casillas is the only remaining player from the Galactico era and the only current Madrid squad member who has won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, Intercontinental Cup, Uefa Super Cup, Spanish Supercopa, as well as a European Championship and a World Cup with Spain.

78. Former Madrid playmaker Guti had the name ‘Guti.Haz’ on the back of his shirt from 2007-08 onwards. The H in the ‘Haz’ stands for his second surname Hernandez, the A is for his son Aitor and Z for his daughter Zara.

79. In 2010, Real Madrid became the first club in any sport to generate a revenue of over €400m in a single year, according to Deloitte.

80. In 146 league encounters against local rivals Atletico Madrid, Real have won 80 times, losing 35 and drawing 31.

81. The current La Liga edition is the 81st. Real Madrid have taken part in all 81 seasons, the only club in Spain to do so along with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.

82. In the 82nd minute of the 4-2 win over Almeria on December 5, 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo saw his penalty saved by Diego Alves. That was the last time CR7 failed to convert a spot-kick and he is now on a run of 21 successful conversions in La Liga, just four behind the all-time record of 25 set by Barcelona’s Ronald Koeman.

83. In the 1982-83 season under coach Alfredo Di Stefano, Madrid completed a ‘bridesmaid’s treble’ when they finished runners-up in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners’ Cup.

KEY MILESTONES
44. Zidane’s 44th min goal gave the club their last European Cup triumph in 2002.
73. Madrid’s 7-3 win over Eintracht, regarded as the best football game ever played, clinched the club’s fifth successive European Cup.
81. Madrid have never been relegated and have taken part in all 81 La Liga seasons.
89. Miguel Munoz scored Madrid first goal in the European Cup. Di Stefano scored the club’s first in a final.
94. Madrid signed Ronaldo for a world record €94m.
101. Arthur Johnson scored Madrid’s maiden goal. He went on to become the team’s first ever coach.
84. In the 1984-85 campaign, Madrid went nine games without a victory in the league, the club’s worst winless run.

85. This season after 25 rounds of matches in La Liga, Madrid have already scored 85 times at an average of 3.4 goals per game. At this rate, they will score 129 goals by the end of the campaign.

86. In 217 official Clasico matches against Barcelona in all competitions, Madrid have won 86, losing 85 and drawing 46. Los Blancos have scored 364 goals and conceded 351.

87. During the 1987-88 season, Madrid won a club record 18 out of 19 league games at home. They would go on to repeat the feat in 2009-10.

88. Kaka has made 30 appearances in all competitions so far this season for Madrid and has provided 11 assists in total, just three shy of his all-time high in a single campaign which came in 2008-09 with Milan.

89. Miguel Munoz has the honour of scoring Madrid’s maiden goal in the European Cup. Alfredo Di Stefano was the scorer of the club’s first goal in a European Cup final, after his side had gone 2-0 down against Stade Reims in the 1956 showpiece event.

90. Xabi Alonso is the most expensive Spanish player that Madrid have signed. He cost the club €30m when he joined from Liverpool in 2009. Sergio Ramos is the second-most expensive at €27m.

91. With 96 La Liga goals from 88 appearances, Cristiano Ronaldo has a league-record ratio of 1.09 goals per game. The second best is Telmo Zarra with 0.91 goals per game.

92. Jose Mourinho’s famous unbeaten home record in league games ran for nine years and two months before it was ended by Sporting Gijon’s 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu on April 2, 2011.

93. Real Madrid’s own record unbeaten streak at home spanned nine seasons, lasting 121 matches from 1956-57 to 1964-65.

94. Madrid paid Manchester United a football transfer record of €94m for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

95. Alfredo Di Stefano currently holds the record for making the most consecutive La Liga appearances for Madrid. He played 171 league games in a row spanning five years and 148 days.

96. Manuel Pellegrini set a new points record of 96 for Real Madrid in 2009-10, but it was not enough to win La Liga, nor to save him his job.

97. In the 1997-98 season, Madrid kept a club record seven consecutive clean sheets in La Liga.

98. Ferenc Puskas and Santillana are Madrid’s joint-top scorers in Copa del Rey matches with 49 goals each.

99. On September 1999, Iker Casillas made his first-team debut as a substitute for Bodo Illgner in the 2-2 draw against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.

100. On their 100th anniversary, Madrid famously lost the Copa del Rey final at home to Deportivo La Coruna.

101. Arthur Johnson scored Madrid’s first-ever goal on May 13, 1902 in a 3-1 defeat to Barcelona. Jaime Lazcano scored the club’s first-ever La Liga goal. Their 1,000th club goal was scored by Pahino. Gento scored their 2,000th, Juanito their 3,000th, Ivan Zamorano their 4,000th and Guti grabbed the team’s 5000th.

102. Apart from Madrid’s first-ever goal, the club won all of their matches when they netted their landmark goals above.

103. From September 24, 2011 to December 7, 2011, Madrid strung together 15 victories in succession in all competitions, the club’s longest winning streak. Their record winning run in La Liga is also 15, set in 1960-61.

104. Despite a glorious era as the club president from 1943 to 1978, Santiago Bernabeu had only eight games under his belt as a Madrid coach, winning five matches and losing the other three.

105. Cristiano Ronaldo took just 105 games in all competitions to reach a century of goals for Madrid.

106. Luis Molowny was appointed Madrid coach on four separate occasions (either permanently or as caretaker), more than any other coach at the club.

107. Madrid hold the Spanish record for most goals in a league campaign, with a haul of 107 under John Toshack in 1989-90.

108. Alfredo Di Stefano’s first stint as Madrid coach lasted 108 competitive matches from April 1982 to April 1984. He won 63 games, drew 23 and lost 22.

109. Di Stefano returned to the Madrid hot-seat from November 1990 to March 1991 and picked up his only silverware as coach when he won the Spanish Supercopa.

110. As they celebrate their 110th anniversary, Madrid are first in La Liga, 10 points clear at the top and have won their last 10 Primera Division matches. They are also chasing their 10th European Cup/Champions League success this term.

 

source : goal.com

 

Raul Gonzalez Blanco – How He Made Me Love Football

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full credit from this site : http://footballspeak.com/post/2011/10/15/Raul-Gonzalez-Blanco-How-He-Made-Me-Love-Football-.aspx

Well, baca artikel ini bener-bener terhenyuk dan merasa kalo isi artikel ini juga mirip dengan latar belakang dan sejarah saya suka klub Real Madrid dan Raul Gonzalez ckckck

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It all seems like yesterday.

June 2nd, 2002. A kid, merely 10 yrs old, sat in front of the TV, watching the World Cup group stage match between Spain and Slovenia in his neighbour’s home. Beside him was a 13 years old friend – and the one whose house he was in.

Suddenly, the 10 year old kid pointed at the TV and shouted, “Hey! I saw this guy somewhere before! Who is he?”. The older kid smiled and said, “He is Raul. You saw him only days back on the TV”. He was referring to the 2001-2002 Champions League Final when he said ‘days back’ (coincidentally, both of them watched that match together, too).

“I think he [Raul] is the greatest player to have ever played the game. He walks on the turf and astounds. It is utterly amazing.” – Luis Figo.

hen Raul scored. The broad smile on the innocent face of the 10 year old kid was priceless. It was as if he knew Raul for a long time and has been a big fan of him, which he didn’t and wasn’t. But from that point onwards, the 10 year old kid became a huge fan of Raul. And because of Raul, he became a big fan of Spain, Real Madrid and Football from that point.

That 10 year old kid was none other than this writer – me.

Now let us go back to October 29th 1994. A 17 year old Raul subs in for Emilio Butregueno – another Club legend – and puts up a splendid performance on his debut, creating a goal for Ivan Zamorano. The very next week in his home debut, Raul scored his first ever goal for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid – which was also his youth Club.

I was not fortunate enough to watch his first ever goal for Real Madrid live as I was exactly 2 years and 2 months old at that time and didn’t even know what Football was. Raul went on to have a stellar career since then, winning 3 Champions Leagues and 6 La Ligas with Real Madrid. His leadership, work ethic, unmatched determination, charisma, calmness, composure, finishing, sportsmanship and almost everything made me, and many people around the World, a huge fan of his.

Real [Madrid] buy these big players like Figo, Zidane and Ronaldo but I think the best player in the world is Raúl.” – Sir Alex Ferguson.

Even now, at the age of 34, he continuously keeps running for 90 minutes – and scoring, too. But what hurts me a lot is that he never won anything with the Spanish National team.

When Spain were knocked out of the 2002 FIFA World Cup by South Korea, I thought to myself, “will I ever see Spain win the World Cup?” – I did. I did see Spain win the World Cup 2010 and Euro 2008. But deep down, I was gutted. Gutted because Raul wasn’t in the Spain squad in any of those 2 tournaments – and perhaps he will never be. Perhaps it was not in his fate to win anything with the national team – his peak not coinciding with the Golden Generation of Spain’s Football makes that point stronger.

But the worst and the most painful day, however, was June 25th 2010. That was the day when I and many Madridistas cried our eyes out. That was the day when our captain left Real Madrid to join Schalke 04.

That was the day when the commentator’s prediction came true, the commentator of the match between Zaragoza v Real Madrid on April 24th 2010 – which was Raul’s last match as a Real Madrid player. When Raul scored in that game, the commentator said that this might be Raul’s last goal as a Real Madrid player. He was right; that was Raul’s last goal as a Real Madrid player. Raul, who was going to be substituted by Karim Benzema, jogged into the box and poked a Cristiano Ronaldo pass into the net, And I was lucky, and honoured, to see that goal live.

It was hard. Hard to see Real Madrid without its symbol. Hard to see Real Madrid without its son. Hard to see someone else’s name on the number 7 shirt. Hard to know that Raul will not be retiring from his playing career at Real Madrid.

But now, we have to see it all.

Raul may have left Real Madrid, but his memories will stay with me till I die. 16 years at Real Madrid … so many memories, so many moments of glory, so many moments of joy. Looking back at his career, I feel very sad that those moments have passed away and we will never get them back again. He graced the Bernabeu and the Footballing World with his charisma. There won’t be another Raul.

His first goal, signaling the Camp Now crowd to keep quiet, his goals in the Champions league final against Valencia and Leverkusen, his goals in Clasicos,

 

celebrating his goal by kissing the right ring finger, breaking Alfredo di Stefano’s record to become Real’s highest goal-scorer, his last goal for Real Madrid … the memory remains. A lot of people have many wishes, I have some, too. And one of them is to meet Raul. If that wish comes true, my life would be honoured and I could die in peace and without any regrets.

Viva Raul!

They Really Are Lovely

/ randyaria / Leave a comment
by unamadridista

Looking at these portraits, the only conclusion to be had is that we have such a great and great-looking team, no?  Which one is your favorite?

And what do you think they were thinking while the photographer was snapping away?

Here are my guesses.  If you have better ones, and I’m sure you will, since you all are a very creative bunch, leave them as comments so we can all enjoy them!

Iker – here we go again, kids!

Carvalho – yes, here we go again.

Pepe – that would be the perfect trick to play on Crís and Marcelo!

Sergio – I hope my hair looks good.  It did take me two hours to style it this morning.

Sahin – I hope I don’t get injured taking a picture.

Khedira – what does “patata” mean?

Cris – my hair has to be higher than Callejón’s.  And I have to be tanner than Mesut.

Kaká – so if Isabella marries Cristiano Junior, that would make me and Cris…

Benzema – I have a certain je nais se quoi, no?

Özil – it’s the new and improved Mesut – a tan, a six-pack…

Granero – Hemingway, Bob Dylan, Vonnegut, Murakami, the Beatles, Springsteen, Poe…

Marcelo – bafao, bafao, bafao, bafao…

Adán – I wonder how many more of these I’ll be in?

Xabi – … I’m not even posing.

Coentrão – so if Vitória marries Cristiano Junior, that would make me and Cris…

Altintop – ok, just tell me when… wait, you already took the picture?

Arbeloa – I really should tweet about this.

Albiol – I really should be on twitter.

Varane – this time last year, I was taking my school photos and now I’m at Real Madrid…

Higuaín – hey you, tienes msn?

Callejón – my hair has to be higher than Cristiano’s.

Di María – I wonder if they’ll let me make a heart with my hands for the photo?

Pedro Mendes – I cannot believe I’m here.

Lass – a thumbs-up?  Are you kidding me?

Mejías – maybe if I just stare straight ahead, they won’t be able to tell that I’m nervous.

source : http://unamadridista.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/they-really-are-lovely/