Benzema day
Karim Benzema counted down the hours until his official unveiling as a Madridista at 21:00 at the Bernabeu. Here is a brief summary of everything he did before and after the event.
Karim Benzema arrived in Madrid close to 11 am. Several fans gathered at Madrid Airport’s Terminal 2 building to greet him. Benzema was delighted with the reception and made his way to the Mirasierra Suite Hotel, where he will stay until he has his medical examination at Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital.
After arriving in the Spanish capital, Karim Benzema was driven to the Mirasierra Suites Hotel, where in the lounge he met his new coach, Manuel Pellegrini. The player and coach chatted for several minutes, during which Benzema expressed how eager he is to beginning work with his new team. After the discussion, the French striker headed to Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital for his medical checkup.
Karim Benzema is fit for action according to Real Madrid’s medical servics at Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital. Benzema passed all his tests with flying colors and has been cleared to sign his six-year deal with Real Madrid later this afternoon.
Benzema fulfilled one of the highlights of the day: his visit to the Santiago Bernabeu. After a brief tour of the stadium offices, Benzema granted his first interview as a Madridista to Real Madrid’s official media outlets.
After getting familiar with his new stomping ground, Karim Benzema had lunch at Puerta 57 located within the stadium itself. The player sat down with Sporting Director, Miguel Pardeza and Director of Institutional Relations, Emilio Butragueño. Shorlty after finishing, Benzema returned to the Mirasierra Suites Hotel, where he will stay unitl returning to the Bernabeu to sign his contract as the newest Madridista.
Karim Benzema is officially a Madridista. Shortly after 20:00, the French striker walked into the Board Room alongside President Florentino Perez and signed a six-year contract with Real Madrid. Benzema was very excited and anxious to experience his official presentation.
FIRST VISIT TO THE DRESSING ROOM
Karim Benzema could have been more ecstatic as he set foot in his new dressing room for the very first time. After donning the Real Madrid kit, the striker proudly posed for photos before making his way out onto the pitch where he was welcomed by thousands of Madridistas.
Karim Benzema was unveiled by Real Madrid President of Honor, Alfredo di Stefano and President Florentino Perez as the fourth signing of the summer following Kaka, Albiol and Cristiano Ronaldo. More than 30,000 Madridistas welcomed the French striker.
In his first press conference as a Madridista, Karim Benzema said he was very happy about signing for the Club and that he hopes to improve as a player while at Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo day
Last night’s event at the Santiago Bernabeu had all the makings of an historic evening. At 21:00 CET, thousands of fans welcomed the newest idol of the Madridista family. Hours prior to even landing in the Spanish capital, Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival had generated so much hype that hundreds of fans already gathered around the confines of the stadium to ensure they are one of those lucky enough to witness the unveiling of Cristiano.
By 9:00 dozens of fans already lined the walls of the Santiago Bernabeu. The crowd had grown to hundreds only two hours later. Flags, shirts, signs and everything else you can think of to welcome a player who even before his official presentation has become an idol of Madridismo.
Cristiano Ronaldo has arrived Madrid, the city in which he will live for at least six years. The player came in a private flight and landed in Torrejon close to 12:30. He will then head to Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital to have his medical examination prior to visiting the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Hundreds of members of the media and dozens of fans gathered at Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital to greet Cristiano Ronaldo prior to his medical checkup. According to Carlos Diez, Chief of Real Madrid’s Medical Services, the player is “in perfect condition and looking forward to the beginning of the season.”
The expectation couldn’t have been any greater as hundreds of sign-carrying, flag-waving Madridistas welcomed Ronaldo to the Santiago Bernabeu. Once inside the facility, he met with Director General and Presidential Aide, Jorge Valdano.
Ronaldo sat down for lunch at Puerta 57, one of the three restaurants located inside the stadium, alongside fellow countryman, idol and friend, Eusebio. The best Portuguese player of all time was invited by Real Madrid to attend Cristiano’s presentation and have lunch with the several members of the Ex Players Assocation including Alfredo di Stefano, Amancio, Butragueño, Pachín, Zoco and Santamaría.
It’s been a long day but the heat didn’t stop thousands of fans from waiting patiently for the doors to open. At 19:00, Madridistas decked out with all their paraphernalia and signs swarmed through the gates in orderly fashion to fill the Santiago Bernabeu, which took only a matter of minutes.
FIRST STATEMENTS TO CLUB MEDIA
Cristiano Ronaldo held his first interview for the official media outlets of Real Madrid. The Portuguese player said he is “experiencing a spectacular day” and fulfilling “a huge dream. I have said on several occasions that I always intended on playing for Real Madrid. I wanted to be here, at this house, to contribute all that I can to this team.”
Cristiano Ronaldo officially plays for Real Madrid. The Portuguese international signed his contract at 20:00 CET in the Board room of the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez congratulated the player and wished him the best of luck.
Never in the history of any football club had the presentation of a player been so anticipated. Today, over 80,000 fans gathered at the Bernabeu to greet Ronaldo as a Madridista. The player was received with a wild roar. He said a few words and greeted many fans on the stands.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave his first press conference as a Real Madrid player following his presentation. The Portuguese star highlighted that it had always been his dream to play for Real Madrid and that he was overwhelmed by the reception the fans had given him.
How fair is it to expect Real to win it all this season?
Morning all,
It has been a tremendous week for Real Madrid. Following Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raúl Albiol is the young French international Karim Benzema who will be at the Bernabéu for the next six-seasons. We have now spent over €200m and that just isn’t the end. Florentino says two more signings are on their way. One of them might just be Franck Ribery who has just done the maximum a player could possibly do to join Real Madrid. And the other hopefully should be a defender. At this point anyone could join Real Madrid. ANYONE. And that is what makes this club so special. At one point we were loaning in mediocre players like Julien Faubert just to give a shot at the title and now its players like Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema who are giving out an SOS for us to go and get ‘em. But are these the players whom we really need to get, if not better, then at least to equal Barcelona’s feat last season? There can be no doubts when it comes to the quality and the temperament of each player we have bought. The likes of Kaka and Ronaldo have done it all. But my question at this juncture is whether their strengths will get added or be nullified in the course of playing time.
The Galacticos, the real ones, didn’t succeed too well when they were overloaded with stars. When that era began it was only Zidane, Figo, Raul and Roberto Carlos and it was then that we won the Ninth title. (Luiz) Ronaldo joined and was crowned the Pichichi in his first season itself. We went only till the last 4 of the Champions league but still we managed to win the league. Hierro and Del Bosque were then sacked and that brought the demise of Real Madrid as a European super power. What Florentino failed to do at that point was get a real good replacement for the hole left by the two. He tried for Ayala and failed so he got players like Walter Samuel and Jonathan Woodgate who failed miserably. He tried out several managers and all of them were poor. The whole fiasco ended with the eventual resignation of Florentino Perez.
This time around he has brought in similar players. Kaka, probably the only person who can be compared with Zidane, then Ronaldo, definitely as good if not better than the great Luis Figo himself and a huge Ronaldo fan in Karim Benzema. We have the real Raul and a potential Roberto Carlos in Marcelo. Well, Marcelo is not bad. The change this time comes in with the signing of young Albiol and the presence of Pepe and Eze G (who was signed last season). This squad is definitely stronger overall than the one we had back then. And the rebuilding is still not over yet. Florentino has planned two more signings for us which means four more players will be sold.
The two upcoming signings will be the most crucial ones but and might just involve our players as a part of the trade. The two major rumors have been Negredo plus cash for Xabi Alonso and Robben and Van der Vaart/Sneijder plus cash for Franck Ribery. Personally, I oppose both the moves. I like Alvaro Negredo a lot and I can see him getting us the goals we need in the league. Also I don’t think we need Xabi Alonso. Arjen Robben though injury prone is just an amazing player. Rafael van der Vaart is just settling down and Wesley Sneijder is just out of form. So I really hope the two players aren’t Ribery and Alonso though Ribery looks sort of inevitable. Florentino wants him, he wants us, well it just has to happen. There are other rumors about the arrivals of Alvaro Arbeloa, Maicon and Ashley Cole as well. Both are cunts. So I’d be against them even if they do join Real. We’ll just have to wait and see.
With Javier Saviola and Jordi Codina already leaving the club the others who are likely to leave are Royston Drenthe (mostly to Fiorentina on loan), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Tottenham, Besiktas, Lyon are all after him), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Milan have him as their backup target), Christoph Metzelder (to Besiktas) and Gabriel Heinze (they said Liverpool but there is nothing concrete on that). Ruben De la Red being ruled out for yet another season might just see lesser number of midfielders being sold.
If Drenthe, Heinze and Metzelder leave as rumored then we will definitely have to strengthen our defense. Ivan Marcano from Racing was a good option, but Villareal have scooped him. We definitely need a reknown left back because I too see Marcelo as a potential left winger and not as a defender though he was brought into the club as one. Miguel Torres is a special player. His crosses for Raul’s goal against Sevilla and Van der Vaart’s goal against Villareal proves that he has a fairly good left foot. He has played on the left even under Capello two seasons back and it all depends on Manu Pellegrini as to whether he would continue to play the Lahm like right-footed left-back role. Center of defense will be a problem in case Metzelder leaves. We’ll be left with two proper center backs till Pepe comes back. And in case someone carries an injury crisis will strike. Gary is good but immediately into the starting line up would be too much of an ask from the young Uruguayan. St.Iker is there. But for the King’s Cup games and other lame ass games we might need a decent keeper. I’ve heard quite a lot about Antonio Adan. So I hope they bring him up through the ranks. Right back won’t be much of a problem. Jack of all trades Lass and Sergio Ramos are there to take care of the position. My only hope is that Sergio Ramos attacks lesser now that we’ve added that much needed flamboyance in attack. To sum it up we still need reinforcements, more so in defence rather than up front. I just hope the ‘two more signings’ Florentino hinted about is fills the holes in our team rather than overloading the already filled ones.
Now coming to the question that I posed initially as to whether it is fair to expect Real to emulate what Barca achieved last season this coming season I would say it is a big NO. No because the team has been shaken right from its foundation. It has been given a new lease of life by getting in players galactic by nature. To expect it to perform tremendously well as though it is an automaton that takes an input has five world class players and gives three trophies as output is simply ridiculous. But expectations will be there. I’ve just listed a few here…
- First a better Champions League story which means going farther than a first knock-out round exit or being throttled in the last 16.
- Next a little more care given to the Copa Del Rey in which we have been one of the poorest sides in Spain. Now that there are better players, players from last season can be given Copa Del Rey duty along with some bright youngsters and I’m they’ll fare well.
- Top two in the league has now become mandatory especially because of the lack of talent present in Spain at the moment except for a maximum of 5 or maybe 6 clubs.
- The icing on the cake would be a double on Barcelona (in which we clobber them 7-0 in one leg and 8-0 in the other) and a massive win at The Riazor (18 years due).
- One of strikers shoul get the Pichichi which I deem would be tough only because we have too many of them and the goals we get will split.
- And finally depending on our defense the Zamora Trophy for St.Iker. Am I expecting too much?
I’m not expecting the team to fulfill all six either. The last three are just something the fans would love to relish whereas the first three are the ones which we really have to look at achieving.
So basically to answer the question asked in the title of this post, I’d say that it is natural to expect such a dream team (on paper at least) to perform but we must understand that though supreme by talent they possess they too are humans and they will definitely take a little to acclimatize to their new home esp when three out of four are players coming in from other leagues. So patience, something that we Madridistas generally lack, is what is required. Florentino has done all that he can to pump in new blood to a team that was suffering severely and left in the dust by the previous office but we cannot expect the recovery to be magical. We will succeed if not now very very soon. Its destiny.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Albiol day
Albiol was born in a small town in Valencia. Rafa Benitez gave him the chance to debut at the age of 18. Valencia loaned Albiol to Getafe the following season in order for the player to gain experience in Spain’s top flight. He suffered a serious car accident that same year and his spleen was removed, forcing him to remain inactive for two months. But Albiol made a full recovery and returned to football. He is now an unquestionable starter for La Roja. His list of accolades includes one La Liga, one Copa del Rey, one UEFA Cup and one European Championship. Now Raul Albiol begins a new chapter of his life. Beginning at 21:00 CET when he is officially unveiled in the Santiago Bernabeu, the tall, fast and strong centre back will be new player of Real Madrid. A long day awaits. A magical day is in store.
After landing at Terminal 2 of Barajas International Airport from his native Valencia, Albiol expressed how happy he was to be in Madrid and how excited he is to become a Madridista. The player, who was joined by his father, wife, brothers and baby daughter, was driven to the Mirasierra Suites Hotel to get a good night’s rest before his big day.
Raul Albiol passes his mandatory physical this morning prior to being unveiled at 21:00 CET tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu. The player was put through several tests including a bio-mechanics exam at Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital. According to the Chief of Real Madrid’s Medical Services, “Raul is in phenomenal shape. All the results were satisfactory. He is perfectly fit for whatever the coaching staff asks of him. He can begin preseason training with absolute normality.”
After passing his medical earlier in the day, he went to the Bernabeu and was received by Director General and Presidential Aide Jorge Valdano. Sporting Director Miguel Pardeza and Director of Institutional Relations Emilio Butragueño also welcomed the footballer. Albiol toured the facility and took time out of his hectic schedule to meet several club employees.
Despite waking up early for his medical and with a long day ahead, he has yet to wipe the smile off his face. During his visit to the Santiago Bernabeu, Albiol didn’t miss out on the chance to overlook the pitch from the Presidential Balcony and greet club employees. Even during one of the most intense days of his life, he managed to fit in a visit to Realmadrid.com, where he took particular interest in how the website is produced and all the news being written about him on his special day.
LUNCH AND REST
After and interview with Realmadrid TV and a walk around the Santiago Bernabeu, Raul Albiol sat down for lunch with Jorge Valdano, Miguel Pardeza and his agent, Manuel Garcia Quilon. Following lunch, the center-back will be taken back to Mirasierra Suites Hotel to rest before heading back to the stadium at approximately 19:30 for the start of his presentation rituals.
BACK TO THE STADIUM
Shortly before 20:00, Albiol returned to the Bernabeu to sign his contract and be officially unveiled as a new member of Real Madrid.
Raul Albiol is officially a Real Madrid player. The international defender signed a five-year contract alongside president Florentino Perez. The event took place in the Board Room of the Santiago Bernabeu minutes prior to the player’s official presentation on the turf of the Madridista stadium. Also on hand were President of Honor, Alfredo di Stefano, Jorge Valdano, Miguel Pardeza and several Board members.
Before entering, Raul commented on the four previous times he had entered the visitors’ dressing room. “With Quique, Koeman and twice with Unai. Once for La Liga and the other for the Super Cup,” said Albiol. He never made it while playing for Getafe “because I joined the team for the second half of the season and they had already played here.”
The Santiago Bernabeu hosted its third presentation of the season following that of Manuel Pellegrini and Kaka. This time it was Raul Albiol’s turn. Filled with emotion and taking in the momentous occasion, Albiol made his way through the tunnel and appeared before his new fan base. His speech was cut off several times by raucous fans who had gathered for the event. “I will do everything I can to return the confidence that has been placed in me,” were the first words out of the new Madridista’s mouth.
Raul Albiol was clearly delighted about his signing during his first press conference as a Real Madrid player, during which he said that playing for the Club is a dream come true.
It will be Real or nothing.
Guess who said that? Nope not me. Not any simple Madridista. Its Franck Ribery! YES…
FRANCK RIBERY
Franck Ribery has told Bayern Munich that he wants to leave the club and join Real Madrid. Ribery told L’Equipe:
I have made up my mind, I want to leave. It will be Real or nothing. I am waiting to see how things will evolve. Then, I would like to have a talk with Bayern’s hierarchy.
But Bayern’s general manager Uli Hoeness insists that Ribery’s announcement does not alter their stance. He said:
Franck wants to join Real? That doesn’t change anything to us. Real never did us any concrete proposition. The Real officials wanted to come to Munich, but we told them it was useless and they should save some plane tickets. We don’t need their money, and we will keep Franck come hell or high water.
That SOB. Anyhoo, I don’t have much time on hand right now, so I’ll quickly move on to my next topic. It has officially been announced that Ruben de la Red won’t be a part of next season’s injury because of that injury he sustained last season. The official statement read:
Real Madrid C.F. wishes to announce that Ruben de la Red will not rejoin the first team squad following the rigorous medical exams he has undergone over the last several months. Although the medical reports discourage De la Red from playing sports, Real Madrid C.F. will continue to search for solutions and has offered the player its assistance both personally and professionally speaking.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, according to MARCA, is set to move to Lyon.
Till later,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
