crinkly_ears | A Hard Week For Madrid: Mesut Won't Speak Spanish (!) & The Levante And Racing Santander Match Spams (Reply)

A Hard Week For Madrid: Mesut Won't Speak Spanish (!) & The Levante And Racing Santander Match Spams

It was a difficult week for Madrid. Two games away from home in a row - one draw and one loss. Still, it's early days in the season and it's best to get one's losses and disappointments out of the way early on!

Most interestingly however, Mesut arrived in Levante, met up with supporters and was interviewed by German language students! This resulted in -

Mesut Being Too Shy to Speak Spanish In Public!

Translation from 1:08 onward (by me -

jenny_jenkins)

Child interviewer (reading from a German question he has written down): Can you speak Spanish?

Mesut (repeating the final word, because the child couldn't pronounce the 'ch' in "sprechen"): Sprechen. Speaking is a little more difficult. I understand a great deal by now. I also speak with my colleagues on the team. I've not come that far, but I'm still learning. (I hope the child isn't hoping to pick up grammatical tips!).

(Mesut then signs the t-shirt in Spanish)

From 1:35 onward.

Translator (although it is plain from his expressions that Mesut understood the question he was asked): Last season you were the best creator in the Liga. Which do you prefer? To make the final pass or to score yourself.

Mesut: Both because that is how we win games. Goals and assists make the team, and also me, very happy. It is my goal, of course, to score more goals and assist more often (Mesut takes a faintly panicked breath, possibly because he knows he's flubbed his lines a little) and we'll see how it works out this year.

(He then stands around biting his lip and shifting awkwardly between his feet while the translation is made)!

Pictures From Levante

Mesut only played 14 minutes or so of the game, but some photographs of him have still surfaced - sitting on the bench, chewing his nails, laughing at Cris's jokes and flirting with Pipita.

From a viewing perspective, a rather awful game!

This is one GQMF bench we have here...

Pipita looks like he can sense the impending doom...

Cris apparently told jokes all the way through the first half-hour.

And the boys kept getting excited about shots on goal.

Oh dear...down to 10 men.

Mesut in action for the last 14 minutes.

Racing Santander Match Pics

As for yesterday's game (away) to Racing Santander, It was pretty dreadful from everyone involved and the most important thing about it became clear 2 hours later, when Barca drew away to Valencia. Not only was that game about 100 times more entertaining than the game at the Sardinero (I'll have

miaina47 back me up on that - we watched it together), but it also means that where points are concerned, our dearest rivals in the whole wide world only have a 1 point cushion. Incidentally this makes Valencia CF enemy number 1 - apparently they haven't received the memo about La Liga being a two-horse league, and the least competitive in Europe. (Neither, sadly, did Racing)

Mesut as Penguin!

It was also, likely, Mesut's weakest game since January against Almeria, where he took rather vicious knock to the ground early in the game and never recovered. Everyone else was so awful though, it may simply have been an attempt to fit in. Xabi Alonso was so anonymous, I had to double check he'd played and Cristiano Ronaldo had been sneakily replaced by Emile Hesky wearing a Cristiano Ronaldo costume. Benzema was back to trying to be a winger and Mesut had the opportunity at one point in the game to show off his skills as a central defender (where the actual central defenders had disappeared to is still a mystery). I'd comment on the rest, but that would only depress those of you who were lucky enough to miss the game.

Lovely forearms on view for kateekates127

As you all know however, I prefer to look at the bright side! Namely: Mesut has gone back to wearing a black headband! Oh Joy! Now if only his littlest sister would get him with her scissors while he's sleeping...

Training Pictures

Happily, the lads didn't seem to allow their bad luck to affect their mood and it was all good humour this morning at practice.

And really, joking aside, the hair was looking quite magnificent. In the picture above, Mesut looked like had his own personal runway fan.

In the one below, it was looking perfectly lucious and gorgeous.

And really, he may simply be wanting to emulate style icon and next-door-neighbour Sergio Ramos -

At any rate, whatever shampoo he's using, I want it too. Look how glossy it is! Wouldn't you like to run your hands through it? Benzi is certainly giving it a predatory look!

Many thanks to

andriy_7 for the splendid photographic research.

Next game: Saturday at the Bernabeu, 20:00 hours local time. Good luck to the boys - because based on what we saw yesterday and on Sunday, they need it!

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