I'm in Madrid on business, and managed to fly in a few days early so I could see Real Madrid thrash Racing de Santander 6-1 at Estadio Santiago Bernebau, with four goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. Some impressions:
- The first couple of minutes were actually pretty sloppy from both sides, but then Real got their first two within about fifteen minutes and the rout was on.
- I have no idea if the TV cameras caught this, but Ronaldo's second goal started with a failed attempt that ripped up a piece of the Bernebau turf in Racing's eighteen-yard box. Ronaldo spent a good ten or fifteen seconds -- maybe longer -- replacing the divot and tamping it back into place while the play was up near midfield. When things move back toward Racing's goal, the defenders seemed to ignore Ronaldo because he's offside, but either their movement pulled him back, or Higuain's cross cut backwards instead of forwards, and he's wide open right in front of the net to tap it in. You wonder if anyone else could get away with that. Audacious.
- Not just on that goal, but across the board, Higuain's crosses from the right side were wonderful. You don't see that in American soccer, that's for sure.
- Watching them play together, I can't imagine what goes through defenders' minds as they have Ronaldo, Higuain, Ozil, and now Di Maria running at them. I'd crap my pants, and it looked like Racing's defenders did, too.
- Xabi Alonso is such a controlling presence in the middle of the field. I'm starting to think every single bit of Liverpool's struggles in the last year and a half stem from his departure.
- I have to say, the crowd seemed almost non-plussed by the goals. They'd cheer, sure, but almost not as much as when someone did something artful on the ball. Reminded me of Bulls crowds in the 90s just a bit.
- While I'm comparing things to Chicago, the neighborhood right around the stadium has at least a few things in common with Wrigleyville. Lots of bars, tons of pedestrian traffic before and after games. I may take a walk around the area later in the week, since my hotel is pretty much down the street.
- It sounded like just a single drum in the supporters' section, but you could here it throughout the stadium. Most of the songs were incomprehensible, but then again, I don't speak Spanish.
- I was in the third tier of seats, but it was just a short flight up from the street-level entrance -- the stadium is built pretty far into the ground.
- Not much in the way of amenities within -- just some unadorned concession stands sprinkled throughout with a couple of TV screens showing other matches. The Emirates was the same, except that case struck me because that stadium is so much newer. Then again, the experience is about the game here, so you don't need distractions. Mark Cuban would never understand.
- Pictures will come later. Not sure where yet, because uploading photos to this site remains a pain in the ass.