Fútbolita

Walking home from the Metro the afternoon before the World Cup final, I spied some busy bees across the street working along the Puente del Rey setting up a stage and scurrying about with purpose. I was so preoccupied with the final, I didn’t really pay it any mind. It wasn’t until later that I discovered that the entire Selección Española was going to be in front of my house Monday night after parading through the streets of Madrid in an open-aired bus… if they were going to be returning to a heroes’ welcome or not was still not known.

behind those trees is my piso!

The night before’s celebration was still haunting me and my hangover made me question if it is actually possible to die from a hangover (sidebar: what is it about children and their 6th sense? They always seem to know when you are the most hungover and choose that day to scream more than they ever have before.) How was Monday not declared a national holiday? Nobody deserved to work.

I scurried home and changed into my Futbolita shirt, prepared the botellón, then made my way over to my local bar for a quick pick-me up coffee… and my server told me that my Iker Casillas Futbolita t-shirt is la mas guapa camiseta she has ever seen. Clearly she has good taste.

And then we waited. And waited. And waited and waited. The botellón was long gone and I was growing weary of all the cheesy popstars performing on stage and the chanting. However eventually a DJ came on stage and livened things up a bit. Who knew they had raves alongside dried up river banks in Madrid?

Then at about 5 minutes past 11pm, amid screams like I have never heard, la Selección Española had arrived. Campeones!

Highlight of the night: Pepe Reina’s drunken rambling. Low point: unknowingly being subjected to a David Bisbal concert. eesh.

With Iker Casillas across the street from my house, I was wont to invite him over for a slumber party. But alas it was not to be. I stayed out partying and chanting in my street until about midnight, but the party continued under my balcony until well after 4am.

Heroes abroad, heroes in Spain. Welcome home Campeones!

Sure La Selección Española may have entered the World Cup as favorites, but after facing two formidable foes, Spain appears to be a half-drowned mongoose, desperate for a victory. Can the Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Tiki-Taka—Spain’s ball-handling style of quick, “touch-touch” passes—work against Chile?

Sid Lowe of the Guardian doesn’t seem to think so. Frankly, I’m torn. When Spain is ON, it is a beautiful sight to see. But even after a 2-0 victory against Honduras, we have yet to see Spain ON this World Cup. As Lowe says, “Spain have had more shots and corners than any other side, Alonso and Xavi have completed more passes, and Navas has delivered more crosses than anyone.” But what good does that all mean if you can’t finish?

Sure Spain is animated and well aware of the need to win, but will it be enough?
Theoretically, Chile is a team that allows play, but seeing what we have seen this World Cup and following their two wins—Chile will be no easy rival. Our defense will be working over-time to prevent the Chilean offense from scoring.

Tonight I’ll be braving lightening storms to watch the match outside the Bernabéu. Here’s hoping my frizzy hair won’t be for naught!

¡Vamos España!

Switzerland n.  A landlocked federal republic in central Europe. Notable for its neutrality and being the world leader in several sectors, including watches and other luxury items, pharmaceuticals and chocolate…” Note fútbol is not something one normally associates with Switzerland.

But that all came to a crashing end Wednesday June 16th when the Swiss National team defeated the reigning European Champions Spain—a team many regard as highly favored to win the World Cup.

(At the Santiago Bernabeu)

I arrived at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid early, full of high hopes and expectations. I wanted to soak up the atmosphere in its entirety. There were giant blow-up foosball, two giant television screens and thousands of screaming fans all chanting, “¡a por ellos!” It felt like I had flashed back to the frenzy of the Eurocup final at Plaza Colon in Madrid two years prior.

Santos Sisters for Spain

The mood was festive and no one doubted Spain’s chances of winning. However when Gelson Fernandes‘s goal came at the 52nd minute, it was as if someone had punctured the giant blow up screen and the entire mood at the Bernabéu deflated. Even the Spanish lag i had jauntily tied around my shoulders seemed to wilt.

¡Futbolita España!

(via Gettyimages)

Did Del Bosque make the correct substitutions? I dunno. Navas did play with persistence, but his work did not bear the fruit of expectations. The same goes for Pedro, who found himself repeatedly blocked by the Swiss lateral.

I predicted a 2-0 victory for Spain

As paulocoelho reminds us, “Life is like football: all you need is ONE opportunity to change everything.”

what do you meeeeean we lost?!

We WILL bounce back, sin duda, but until then i call a boycott on Swiss chocolate. Although i could use some right about now to numb my pain. In search of an ice-cold tinto de verano I go!

post-game misery for España

Hasta la próxima Fútbolitas!

All week long it’s been wet and rainy in much of [allegedly always] Sunny Spain—perhaps one last ja! ja! from the weather gods before the unrelenting hot hot heat of a Madrileño summer—but that hasn’t stopped Madrid from becoming swept up in the storm of World Cup madness. Newspaper kiosks on every corner are selling la bandera Española for 1€ a pop and even Burger King has Spanish scarves on offer.

But with every World Cup that comes, we are reminded that Spain has suffered its share of heartbreak and disappointment—Michels’ “gol fantasma” in Mexico ’86, pobrecito Enrique’s broken nose in USA ’94 and the disallowed goals in Japan-South Korea ’02. For years Spain has been synonymous with underachievement and disappoint on the global playing field. However for the first time in recent memory, it seems the whole world is finally looking to Spain to win the World Cup—but ask anyone here what they think of la Selección Española’s chances are of finally bringing the Copa Mundial home after it has eluded us for years, and chances are it will be answered with typical Spanish circumspect character:

Says Juan of Madrid, quoting Deus Dixit of Manifiesto Futurista, ¡En pie sobre la cima del mundo lanzamos una vez más el reto a las estrellas! [Roughly translating to, Spain is at the top of their game at the moment, but once again we face the challenge of the other Soccer Superstars of the world.] Juan went on to say that he believes Spain to have the best team they have ever had, but hesitates when asked if Spain are the favorites—”nobody can say it’s going to be easy, nor has it already been decided.”

Jesús, also of Madrid, counters with: “I see Spain as weak—in the Selección Española there are very good players, but together as a team? I do not know how they’ll work together…” It goes without saying that Jesús later confided that he is not much of fútbol fan. Duh.

So how has Spain shaken this so-called perennial underachiever tag? Besides winning the Eurocup in 2008—our first major award in over 40 years—many point to the “Generation Barça”—players who currently play for Barcelona or have gone through the ranks of FC Barcelona’s cantera

Being the staunch Real Madrid fan I am, my cule primo cheekily asked, “Is your joy going to be ruined at all knowing it’s FC Barcelona winning for Spain?” To which I think I can speak for all of Spain when I say, “Barcelona, Madrid, wherever—we are all united during the World Cup.” Even Xavi agrees, proclaiming he is not just of Barcelona and will dye his hair the resplendent colors of the Spanish flag if Spain does indeed go on to win the World Cup. While I feeeeel Spain, I’ll stick to showing my love with my freshly painted yellow manicure.

In other Spain news, the prodigal son El Niño Torres has returned! Cannot wait to see the yin-yang of the strike force of Torres and David Vill, tempered by the ebb and flow of passes from Xavi and the infamous Spanish midfield. The rumored XI to start:

Villa-Torres
Busquets-Xabi Alonso-Xavi-Silva
Ramos-Piqué-Puyol-Capdevila
Casillas

How, pray tell fellow futbolitas, does that rank up in your ideal La Roja line-up?

So where do I plan on watching this first game? Good question. Will the match be broadcast on a giant screen at Plaza Colon in Madrid as it was done during the Eurocup 2008? I’ve called the city councils, I’ve called the television channels and I’ve called the press offices, only to be answered with the irresolute “I dunno.” Thanks for nothing.

Well one thing I DO KNOW for sure is, come Wednesday June 16th, you’ll find me wearing my CultZeros Fútbolita camiseta, waiting with baited breath at 15:59, ready to cheer on La Roja as they finally put to rest the underachiever tag with éclat.

¡A por ellos!

(Photo via AP)

While you were busy arguing that a 600,000€ bonus for winning the World Cup 2010 is no big thang, Iker, the rest of your team has been busy preparing for tonight’s Spain vs. Poland friendly to be played at Nuevo Condomina Stadium, in Murcia, Spain at 22:00 CET.

There’s been some rumblings the pitch at Nuevo Condomina Stadium is of inferior quality. How will that affect the play? And more importantly, will it aggravate the erstwhile injured players such as Torres, Fabergas or Pique?

Allegedly the starting line-up  of tonight’s match may give a hint as to who we can expect to see starting on June 16th when Spain plays Switzerland in their first World Cup 2010 match. Whispered to start:

Casillas
Arbeloa-Puyol-Pique-Capdevila
Xabi Alonso–Busquets– Xavi
Silva– Iniesta
Villa

pero, dónde está Sergio Ramos?

Poland may not be competing in the Copa Mundial and they may be a mere blip on the World Radar of Football, but Spain shouldn’t underestimate the Bia?o-czerwoni and expect they won’t provide much challenge—uhh, Spain vs USA in the Confederation’s Cup anyone? This is still a decisive match for us if we want to keep the momentum going as we approach the commencement of the World Cup. La Furia Roja should expect that Poland will attack aggressively and play hard—what have they got to lose?

And I’m off in search of bar in Madrid playing the match. Always more fun to cheer on your country with your fellow countrymen—and a nice cold tinto de verano, wouldn’t you say? ¡Vamos España!

Un beso!
Christina

Yes dear amigas, we had the honour of speaking to a Futbolita Favourite : Senor David Villa himself last Friday! And he knows about all you passionate chicos & chicas and spoke about everything about La Seleccion to his two adorable daughters Zaida and Oyala. Here are excerpts from our interview with him including bits on his love for Valencia and Nando Torres. As usual, we’ll post the full version later. Esperamos que os guste!

On Futbolitas 

“I think it’s wonderful to see more women attending matches every time. Football is a universal sport for both men and women. I think women are very passionate when they are encouraged (to play) on the pitch so it’s also positive for us.”

On his Family & La Seleccion

“I would love for my daughters to come along and see me at the World Cup but that is not possible. Olaya only turns one in the summer and I don’t think it’s good for them to travel so far just to watch me. But I still dedicate every goal I score to them and my parents might come and watch me in South Africa.”

“I think Spain (is in) a tough group as all other groups. When you go to the World Cup final phase, there is no easy group and no easy opponents. We’re playing a few games within a short time and will have to do very well to beat any team. Hopefully, we can win and achieve something important!” 

 On his David Villa Camp

“It’s one of my personal projects. To me, education is very important to children. So from day one, I wanted to build a campus, where we can educate children on the values of coexistence, respect and solidarity. This year marks the third year and we have many people from all around Spain and even abroad,” he explained.

On Loving Valencia

“I only have good things to say about Valencia and its people. I have been here in this city for five years and from day one, I was received with open arms and the fans have shown me their affection every day,” he said. “So yes, they make me feel at home and it is true that this is my second home. I just want to show my appreciation by putting in my best efforts.”

Photos via Reuters & AP / Interview © Futbolita

NOTHING excites us more than meeting a fellow chica who plies her trade in the truly madcap world of the football media.

So when Futbolita encountered Kay Murray, the fresh face of Real Madrid TV (which telecasts on Sky TV and Digital in Spain), it was a bit like talking to a long lost hermana. From running halfway across Osasuna’s home ground for an interview with Arjen Robben to being drenched in the rain and jostling in the mixed zone area for her sound bytes (or perhaps not), the 29-year-old broadcast journalist from Middlesbrough has done it all… And yes, it does all seem very, very familiar!

“On a normal day we are usually at the studios, writing, cutting and producing news pieces or reports for our programmes. I record Real Madrid Life, the show that I present, every Thursday. It’s a nice day, as I get pampered by my make-up artists and stylists before I go on set!” Murray enthused.

And although she doesn’t get to share a lunch table with Florentino Perez (“He is a very busy man!”), Murray’s job with Real Madrid TV means that she boards the same plane as the Madrid boys when they travel to away games and also enjoys exclusive sit-down interviews with them.  And in case you were wondering, that list includes Kaka and Ronaldo.

Read the rest of this entry »

Aaaaand Raul Albiol appears to be impressed with Nando’s penchant for descriptive storytelling! A proud papá moment, indeed and you know rapaz asked everyone (including Raver Ramos) to be Nora’s godfather.

Anyway, la seleccion have lost David Villa to injury and Madrid’s youngster Alvaro Negredo has been called up to replace him. “This is the happiest day of my life. The chance to go with the national team doesn’t come around often. It’s been a long time coming. I am so happy, and for any player this is the ultimate,” he declared.

Meanwhile, the Spanish football Association celebrated their 100th anniversary yesterday and Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero finally received a jersey of his own. It’s about time… seeing that Lula probably has a dozen stored away! He also launched the “1 Goal Education For All” international campaign with Puyolita yesterday, which promotes education for everyone and Titipo Henry also supports the cause. The prime minister also scored a penalty against Iker Casillas yesterday – and obviously, Wedgie let the ball through… duh!

Goldilocks and co’ have arrived in Rustenburg, South Africa for the Confederations Cup which kicks off this weekend! And in the photo above, hombre looks pretty sly. Did Pujjjjol spot a hair salon by the corner? Oh, and it accepts international credit cards too!

Anyway, Spain will be playing New Zealand on Sunday (yes, they have a football team) and Grandpa Del Bosque would rather sit back and enjoy himself.

“We’re here as reigning European champions, but we have the utmost respect for our opponents. We’re taking on the role of favourites, and we will give our all, but the main thing is that the fans enjoy the tournament,” he said.

Techno raver Sergio Ramos looks genuinely excited about that mobile phone and Olala’s husband, Stable Boy Torres‘ facial expression just screams B-O-R-E-D.

We’re trying to grasp the concept of “Spaniards Gone Tribal”. At the moment, it has proven to be a difficult task. Oh, there’s a tinge of Spanish Sporting Pride towards the end. You can’t get any cheesier than adding Fernando Alonso and Rafael Nadal to a video about the Confederations Cup.

An oldie, but a goodie!

SPAIN. Deserved campeons of Europe… I must say. Nothing else justifies the 44-year drought better than this sweet win. It was unbelievable to see Iker lifting up the trophy man… Spain have fought hard for the last six years and you can see it in the way they’ve played at every single International match. They were unlucky in Korea, unlucky again in Portugal.. but this time, they really got it!

About the match, everyone is saying Torres goal didn’t do justice to the “huge” celebration. Well, admittedly, Germany dominated in the opening ten minutes and the Spaniards looked beside themselves. It must’ve been the nerves because later, Ramos managed to execute his flank runs (again) and although Fabregas was clamped in midfield, he did deliver the balls that Torres needed, no matter how fast they were. Everything about yesterday’s game wasn’t in Germany’s favour… and it’s pretty obvious (well I’d put it this way) that Spain were meant to win it. The referee was a little dodgy I must admit… but the odds were never against Spain throughout the 90 minutes. Germany fought long and hard but in the end, they couldn’t match up to us. I’d give them credit in that they’re fighters and when you’re 0-1 down, that’s all that matters.

The Man of the Match award went to Torres, but I think we must all give credit to David Silva, Ramos, Casillas and Senna for their outstanding performance throughout the game. Ramos even paid tribute to his Sevilla team-mate and good friend, Puerta who died last year. Overall, I think Spanish football deserved what it has gotten. We truly are the best league in the world (the next time someone tells me about the deft and swiftness of the EPL, I will stuff a cow into their mouth).

Viva La Espana!

WE’RE IN THE FINALS!

WHAT A MATCH. Fabulous Fabregas came in and totally changed the pace of the game when Aragones fielded him. Spain’s strength throughout the tournament has been their slick passing (omg have you seen that). And they’ve continued this run. It’s like magic. Ramos was constantly running up and down the flanks, pulling a Real-Madrid-Brasil Roberto Carlos in his prime years. David Silva and Marcos Senna were at right place at the right time. Casillas did some of the most incredulous saves I have ever seen in my frickin’ history of watching him play. You know all that matters is that Spain deserve to be where they are right now. They were always good on paper, but luck has never been on our side.

We meet Germany in the finals, and we’re going to need a whole lot more than just luck. They will always be the best team in Europe, with the best football. You’d better believe the Spanish play the best in that continent.

Yes, I did it. I ditched the second half of Germany-Turkey to finish up some work. That’s some boring shit right there… where’s the excitement we got from the quarter-finals? Or maybe it’s just an unfair hatred towards the Germans. They are really cunts.

Thanks to procrastination, I am not at the stage I’d like to be right now. Also, RecycloFashion got invited to give a talk next Friday at a cool event called Pecha Kucha and there’s free beer (not that I care), so we’re preparing the slides now. Except that the format’s straying away from your conventional 6p and we’re going to make it image intensive. Do come and say ola! Also, there’s an eco-launch this Friday we’re supposed to attend and the dress code is ‘Design Chic’. Interesting… so you can come with a vintage stool over your head and everyone’s going to smile at you and say that it looks completely natural.

Work on the fashion show has started officially, after a month and a half of throwing ideas around. The school wants us to do one as well except the people handling the event we’re featuring in are complete idiots with their utter unprofessionalism etc.

I don’t want Spain to get killed off by Russia. Arshavin, you look like you can be Russia’s Next Top High Fashion Model. Please go and live that dream. All that guy needs is a shitload of face powder and he can be the face of Dior Homme. VIVA LA ESPANA. And Ramos better defend to his death tomorrow.

Helloooooooooo there.

Spain were the better team. We played the best football I’ve seen so far in this tournament. Yes, even better than Portugal. It’s almost as if Valeron and Raul were back in the squad, except our midfield engine now consists of a certain boy whiz named Fabregas, Brazilian Marcos Senna and another occasionally overly-ambitious lad named David Silva. Casillas has matured way beyond his age. He is clearly the goalkeeper of our generation and handles the ever-heavy ‘el capitano’ responsibility now, which is what everyone in Real Madrid fondly used to call Hierro and Raul. Alas, we have broken the June 22 curse.

Luca Toni was once again, a joke. Every time the ball slipped past Puyol or Ramos, he hardly posed a threat. I wonder why he’s even in the starting line-up, seeing how that moustache makes him look like a gourmet chef. Seeing Pirlo cry was pretty sad though. After all, he is a Milan player and part of the Rossoneri. But I trust Kaka to do the consoling and invite him over for tea and scones while they talk about their sons. I must say, however, that Torres was pretty quiet last night and I realise now, that if he puts on a bit of blush, he can potentially look like a court jester. Also, if you add colourful bands to his hair while he keeps his wrist band on, he will be transformed instantaneously into a raver. One hell of a sexy one. Oooh yeah!

Anyway, we’ll be meeting Russia and the annoying cunt Hiddink in the semis. That asshole will surely be up to his dirty tactics again and I’m sure he’ll make the fans defend too if they had to. The ref had better not be the one we got in Korea… who disallowed a total of four legitimate goals Spain scored .Clearly, there was no offside in Morientes case but the money South Korea paid him must’ve been a hefty sum. Enough for him to probably retire and get a house in Hollywood Hills, right next to Hugh Hefner.

While I’m at it, the Turkey-Croatia game was a fast-paced spectacle to watch as well. There was never a dull moment even when it came to extra time…and the Turks managed to numb the entire Croats attack, which is something even Brazil had difficulty doing. They had only themselves to blame, however, but no one could see the equaliser coming… from a good 35 yards! That was like Kaka’s opening goal (one shall never forget things like this) at Germany. What a goal! The commentator sounded like he was about to have a heart attack.. bless his soul.

Here’s a great picture.

And I should be writing other things now but post-match commentary is always necessary in the case of football. It’s good practise, from what I have been told. Ha-ha. Except I just need to work on the biased views. Also, the school wants us to do a fashion show and the concept document is pretty amusing. Last but not least, I am going to write a book on how to combat insane-football-hours and launch it in South Africa. Contributors are welcome for all 12 chapters.

So Portugal’s Euro 2008 dream is effectively over. And as Brazil’s former colonial brothers, it was almost like seeing the Selecao themselves eliminated from a championship. Portugal had a hundred chances but didn’t make use of it like they should’ve. Germany only had three chances and converted all three of them into goals. And in the end, you wonder why the Germans had so much space at the flanks to roam. Deco’s run-ins came too late, and Scolari decided to field Gomes as the lone striker at such a crucial time.

The Germans are known for their incredibly boring defensive tactics and relying on 1) Corner kicks 2) Tap in goals 3) Man-marking to death. They did just that last night. Playing the most boring football in the world as usual, just like England. Scolari could’ve at least fielded Nani from the very first minute. Gomes is like Portugal’s answer to Luca Toni. Both have been firing blanks and making the midfielders do all the work for them. I’ve never seen Deco and Ronaldo create more perfect through-balls than yesterday.

You know what’s funny was I had the longest sleep after that and dreamt that Portugal won 5-4 on penalties. Deco scored the winning goal. In my dream, he was actually running real fast and the commentator had gone absolutely berserk. Waking up was a bitch.

On hindsight, many things have changed about this Portuguese squad. Ronaldo, four years ago, was like the 18-year-old Kaka in Korea/Japan. He’d cry or blame the referee for every small decision that was made. But yesterday, he played the role of a very composed young captain, even when Portugal was two goals down. Very impressive for a player I loathed for his utter arrogance. And yes, if the reports are true and he does come to Real Madrid to play for his ‘childhood dream club’, I may actually not harbour such hatred for Cristiano Ronaldo. Every player knows they need to get the hell out of Manchester United at some point of their professional careers. Ronaldo wants to come to Spain because they have Ibiza and Club Pacha where he can carry out all his dodgy activities there. Who cares, just win us titles man!

Spain’s next and we have a lot to look forward to in their match against Italy, whose key players will not be playing due to suspension. Oh well, the sexiest team in Europe better work it! I’d be really sad if they were out. Euro has never been a better tournament.

VILLA VS TORRES MID-THIGH AIR SHOWDOWN

Another football-filled post is coming your way. Pretty unvoidable because we watched the World Cup Qualifiers between Singapore and Saudi today. Ok, we’ve been going for all the Lions matches as of late (this year), but I beg to differ from those who think they’re underperforming or ‘wasted their money’ on tickets. Why the hell even bother to turn up in the first place, then? You should just stay at home and rot next to your Maggi pot. STFU if you don’t even know our starting line-up. Quite honestly though, it isn’t all about winning in football.

Saudi played against the likes of Brazil and Germany at the World Cup, got thrashed 8-0 and 11-0 respectively and we merely lost by a two goal margin to them. What’s the big deal? That’s bloody good for us! Although it looked like complete a mess on the field, how our defenders were all over the place trying to pull off a “total defence/attack ala Dutch army” scenario and how our strikers were firing total blanks (hello old men like Duric, it’s time for tea and biscuits). We expected total humiliation. But losing out like that wasn’t so bad after all. All we need to do now is to play more teams like these so we can work on our weaknesses. At the mo, it’s the striker support which we’re not getting much of and our defense… which has been a problem of course.

There was some eye-candy at the game as well and it all got a little exciting I must add, although it’s impossible for me to actually look presentable at a football game. Either hurling vulgarities or screaming my fucking head off.. which really counts as a no/no. But who cares. It’s all for football. Which comes first. All the time.

My fascination with Spain has resurfaced again ala 2002. Goodness, those Raul and Morientes days! Resa is making LOL again with her exciting post-match commentary and she’s currently arguing AT FULL FORCE with a Swedish fan. Euro is making everyone go absolutely insane. The Swedes were totally going for legs out on the field today. Elmander went for Villa’s legs in penalty box, Cesc was man-marked like there was no tomorrow and Ramos made some tricky decisions. He tried to help the defensive midfielders but had to drop back when he was needed and didn’t necessarily execute all this smoothly. But VILAAAAAA‘s goal in extra time…absolutely genius!!!

All this talk of football has reminded me that the to-do list is going mad! An impending sports TV script, new corporate site to work on, articles to craft and our RecycloFashion show to plan for and execute…. GAH. I put football before all these. Honestly though, watching football takes away all the pain, heartache and problems in life even if it’s just for 90 minutes. It’s the best therapy in the world, by far.

I sign off with a picture of a fit who may have betrayed Atletico to join the lamest league in the world, but will always be Espana’s boy. Mi encanta Torres! HAIR TWINS FOREVZ.

YES PLZ.

Euro is fucking up my procrasination level. It really is making everything a lot worst, but you know you can’t say no to really good football action. And as much as I hate Pussynaldo a.k.a MoonFace, he really did manage to break the Czech wall of defence a few times today. I think even Petr Cech was surprised. Deco had great first touches when he got the ball and managed to tease his markers. Pepe was quiet (after that opening goal, c’mon man!) but top marks go to Simao for dropping back time and time again. Great counter-attacking by Portugal too, although I think they’re second behind Spain in this one (they aced that against Russia!). Honestly though, the Czechs were pretty rough today and our guys were rolling in pain half the time. Can’t attribute that to fine-acting. And Nuno Gomes has been relatively quiet the past two matches. Maybe that’s why he gets subbed and snubbed by Scholari. He’s fit but the equivalent of a himbo out there (sorry Bek!).

Back to Spain, I hope that with Raul out of the squad, they’ll actually manage to get somewhere in the tournament this year. Let’s face it, Raul has been instrumental in the whole I’m-captain-please-respect-me shit, but the best thing Aragones did was to drop him. He performs however he wants to and his goals are too infrequent! No no, David Villa is rocking the field so hard right now and so is Torres who needs to book a hair treatment appointment with me PRONTO. Casillas was solid last night too, reaching for goals from mid-air and heart-stopping corner kicks.

Ok, the end. I need to catch-up on my unfinished work now. Argh!