The Spanish trophy’s derided trip to Jeddah sees Barcelona fans buying just 300 tickets and Valencia shifting as few as 27The sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo last week offered advice for football fans travelling to Spain’s new, revamped Supercopa, which begins with Valencia v Real Madrid on Wednesday night and Barcelona v Atlético on Thursday before Sunday evening’s final between the winners. The fourth of an eight-point checklist informed them they would not be allowed to take ham or any pork product, “even if it is vacuum packed”. A couple of days later one Barcelona fan told the radio show El Larguero that he would be doing so anyway but not many will defy the rules – if only because not...
A thrilling finale left honours even but Valencia on their knees after the Real goalkeeper headed upfield and caused mayhem“I’m two metres tall; that frightens people,” Thibaut Courtois said. It was late, it was loud and he had nothing to lose, so there he was: Real Madrid’s goalkeeper, up the other end, running into the Valencia penalty area for one last shot at saving this, the fear he said his opponents felt about to become real. “It was his idea,” Zinedine Zidane admitted, and it was an idea that had been going around his head since the moment Carlos Soler had given Valencia the lead with 12 minutes left on Sunday night. “I thought: shit, the game’s escaping us, I...
The banner is a laugh. And yet, importantly, the Welshman surely knows that most in Madrid wont find it funnyIt was Pedja Mijatovic who started it. One night on the radio, the former Real Madrid player and sporting director said he hadnt spoken to Gareth Bale but the impression he got was that his priorities were Wales, golf, and Madrid and in that order. That sounded pretty good to Wales fans, already on his side. Songs followed swiftly and so did the flags. One of them found its way on to the pitch and into the players hands as they celebrated reaching Euro 2020. Dancing about and grinning right behind it is Bale, enjoying the silliness of it all, the...
Week six had been marked by kids, born after 2000, but also by two veterans at the other end of the scale“I like the goal, yeah,” Zinedine Zidane said, “but I like controls more, and his control was the hostia.” Which was one, pretty good way of putting it. The hostia is the body of Christ, the holy host, the consecrated bread, and bloody brilliant – a Spanish equivalent of the dog’s dingly-danglies – and Real Madrid’s manager was right. What Rodrygo had just done was special; where he had done it and when he had done it was, too. It was 10.30pm on Wednesday when James Rodríguez’s long, high diagonal reached him way over on the left. His first...
The former Chelsea player has the skill and the attitude to succeed at the Bernabéu even if the club is still a little infatuated with the former owner of the No 7 shirtEden Hazard’s first start for Real Madrid on Wednesday night was always likely to be a fascinating subplot for anyone who followed his progress in England.Predictably Hazard was miles off the pace in Paris. This was his first start in a proper football match since June, and his first outing in the full white-noise glare of Champions League-issue Real Madrid. Related: For decadent, deficient Real Madrid the problems start in midfield | Jonathan Wilson Related: Real Madrid relieved to hold on for nervy win after Levante fightback Continue...