Friday’s edition of ‘The Real Links’ features updates on Real Madrid players on international duty, Angel Di Maria says he nearly joined Barcelona, and some crazy fan antics in Greece. Let’s jump in!
Goal of the Day
I know it’s nothing special, but this goal has huge implication in the World Cup qualifying playoff. In the opening leg of the playoff with Greece, Luka Modric expertly put away this penalty to open the accord just 13 minutes in.
Luka was phenomenal playing as an attacking midfielder, finishing with an 8.2 match rating as his Croatian side rolled to a 4-1 win at home.
Props to the midfield maestro, Luka.
Real Madrid Links
Sergio Ramos calls out Cristiano Ronaldo for comments about team
Uh oh.
Could there be a bit of turmoil brewing in Madrid? A couple days ago Cristiano Ronaldo made a comment about Real Madrid missing the likes of Pepe, James Rodriguez, and Alvaro Morata.
“I do not agree with Cristiano,” he told Cadena SER. “I think it’s an opportunist opinion. When we won two Super Cups [UEFA Super Cup and Supercopa de Espana], nobody missed anyone.”
“I would place more of the emphasis on injuries. The team is stronger when we’re all together. I don’t miss anyone. No one. The squad has changed, of course, but some contribute some things and others have another role.”
Yikes.
Zidane, Del Piero, Xabi Alonso and Kaka meet up in Russia
This is just the best group of guys I’ve seen in one picture together.
So many feels.
Alguém a fim de uma peladinha ⚽️??? pic.twitter.com/qxDi3sBe6v
— Kaka (@KAKA) November 9, 2017
Eden Hazard wants to play for Zidane at Real Madrid
Much like David de Gea, the rumors of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid never seem to go away.
Early Thursday, the Chelsea midfielder said it his ‘dream’ to play under Zinedine Zidane. Especially at Real.
“Everyone knows the respect I have for the man,” he said. “For the player he was and for the coach he is, he was my idol. Of course, I don’t know, what will happen in my career in the future, but to play under him would be a dream.”
The 26-year-old was quick to backtrack on his comment, finishing with: “At this time, though, I’m happy at Chelsea. I still have a lot of things to do at Chelsea, and I’m focused on Chelsea.”
We will see about that Mr. Hazard.
Documentary about Bernabeu premiers at the stadium
President Florentino Perez and the director of the film Ignacio Salazar-Simpson attended the premiere of the documentary, Bernabeu, Thursday night at the stadium named after the man who was the president of the club for 35 years.
Projected onto four giant screens and with fans filling one half of the stadium, received incredible support and is set to be released today.
I’ll have to go check it out.
La Liga Links
Angel Di Maria admits he nearly joined Barcelona
A link that really grinds my gears is this one.
Former Real Madrid winger and current PSG forward, Angel Di Maria, told ESPN that he nearly joined FC Barcelona over the summer.
“I was close to joining Barcelona in the summer and yet far away at the same time. It is hard to complete moves to these clubs. I never lost hope of it going through but in the end, it didn’t happen. My Madrid past wouldn’t have been an issue as I’m not a Madrid fan and I always point that out whenever I’m asked about it.”
Although I saw the rumors, I didn’t believe them. Apparently, the rumors were true.
Well, Angel, I guess we aren’t fans of you anymore either.
Joaquin about to resign with Real Betis
The hero of Real Betis, Joaquin, is set to sign an extension with his current club Real Betis which would keep him at his current club until 2020.
Joaquin began his career at Betis playing in the youth academy before leaving for nine years. He returned in 2015 to a hero’s welcome and so greatly enjoys his time in Seville he wants to stay for two years longer.
Props to Joaquin for his loyalty.
Antoine Griezmann has more game-winning goals than CR7 and Messi
Crazy I know!
But the stats don’t lie. Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann has scored more game-winning goals in La Liga over the last two season than both Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi.
He has scored 20 game winners, with Messi second with 19, and Ronaldo with 16.
Although he is in an awful run right now, he has been one of the most consistent scorers in the league over the past two years.
Champions League Links
The Ring of Fire!
The ‘Champions League Link’ section will feature almost no UCL links but just some other links that I think are pretty cool.
We start in Greece where fans of Greek side, Aris, created a ‘Ring of Fire’ in the crowd prior to their friendly match against Argentinian side Boca Juniors on Wednesday night,
Check out the video below.
My first thought when I saw this was how are they allowed to do this, and once I got past that, I was awestruck. The passion from the fans prior to a friendly match is mind-blowing.
What a display.
Facepalm of the year
Okay, this looks like me trying to play soccer with my dog who is not athletic in the slightest.
Come on, guys!
Reporters think Jose Mourinho has become weak
This is not going to make Mou very happy. Take a look at this article about how Jose has lost his greatness.
So much so the media are calling him out.
Next: Glorious Real Madrid comebacks under Zidane