Haidar, You With The Stars In Your Eyes* , Christmas Catch Up & More

While it was nice to end our year with a 3-1 win today, there were moments of sadness. First, no Pirata and most upsetting, Jailbait! tore his ACL for the third time and was carried off on a stretcher. I’m absolutely gutted for him. He’s like the Spanish Stu Holden. 😦

Laughter In The Rain, A Model, A Birthday & Checking In With Some Past Players

Cristiano appears to not be letting the rain and the criticism get to him. Stay strong, Commander! We need your magic on Sunday for El Clasico.

Match Recap: Real Madrid Vs. Real Sociedad

Was anyone else super nervous about this match? We lost to La Real early in the season and I was terrified of similar results. You know how I get… Anything but a win is unacceptable!

Cena Pirata II

The luscious and always missed Esteban Granero held his second annual Cena Pirata dinner in San Sebastian  on December 29. 20 children from shelters in the province of Gipuzkoa were invited to attend. Last year’s event was a big hit and this year appears to be just as successful.

Match Recap: La Liga – Real Sociedad v Real Madrid

Do you know what I love? I love the start of the regular season. Do you know what I love more? Starting the season with a home win, which is exactly what Los Blancos gave us because they love us like we love them. Like The Ramos loves El Niño. Like Stevie loves Xabi (*sigh*). Like Lozil loves Zlatan.

Oh, right… That was LAST week against Cordoba. That was the match I wrote a recap for TWICE then forgot to send to Lozil. FAIL.

First Training Of The Week & A Visit From The Eternal Captain

If the rumors of Xabi leaving for Bayern Munich are true, I’m going to go into a mourning period beyond that of when Mesut took off for Arsenal and I was nearly inconsolable for a month. Xabi, listen, I’m fulfilling a life long dream of seeing Kate Bush live next week. DO. NOT. HARSH. MY. ETHEREAL. KATE. MELLOW.

Presenting The Pirate

Esteban, looking for all the world in that picture like he was just asked to listen to Matchbox 20 b-sides, was presented today at Anoeta.

Mazel Tov: El Pirata Returns To Real Sociedad

Tan bonita como siempre. http://t.co/nw2TqzW9Kn—
Esteban Granero (@eGranero11) July 27, 2014

We knew the news was probably imminent when he posted this picture from his apartment in San Sebastian (and Marca was reporting it to be a done deal) yesterday, but 15 minutes ago, he put the following picture  up.

Rest & Recovery Before La Real

Today saw a little r n’ r after the thumping of Dortmund.  Iker, DLo & Jesus worked with Villam Vecchi while Morata, Illarra, Nacho, The Baby and Casemiro were on the pitch.

Sergio Canales Presentation At Sociedad

Jailbait! is now a txuri-urdin. He was presented on this rainy Monday at Anoeta.

In the first video, he attended his first team training and El Pirata was there to greet him. They shared a hug and some quiet conversation (starts about 1:09). The videographer also kindly took us into the massage room and we got to see Jailbait! meet several of his new teammates in their underpants. Nice.