Hey guys, I saw Madrid in Philadelphia. Here are some of my observations:

1) On Friday night, they were flying from San Diego to Philadelphia. I waited at the wrong hotel for 4 hours. The hotel outright lied to me when they confirmed Madrid was staying there. There were other fans there who also got wrong information. Madrid published on their website where they were staying AFTER they checked into the hotel.

2) I went to the right hotel Saturday day time. If I had gotten there earlier, I could have met some of the players as they were entering/leaving the hotel. Main lesson here to all you people is to just book a hotel wherever they are staying. Instead of spending tons of money on front row seats for the match like I did, invest that money in the hotel. Front row seats did not add much to my experience in the match. You aren't close enough to the players to interact with them. I was right behind Iker. If you book at the hotel, you can roam around in the lobby/floors without being bothered. You can even have the concierge send up your shirt to get it signed by the players. If you are a beggar like me and waiting outside, you won't get any action.

3) I was in the lobby and I shook hands with Emilio Butragueno! Believe it or not he was walking around and all the fans didn't even know who he was except me. He was very friendly and gave me a firm hand shake and smiled. It was almost like he was appreciative somebody recognized him.

4) Jose Mourinho and his coaching crew decided to take a walk across the street to FYE music store. One bald guy in the coaching crew didn't let anyone near Jose. I yelled Jose's name but the douche didnt even acknowledge his many adoring fans. Pretending like we don't exist. I tried to take a picture of him while he was picking out a CD on my phone. Then that bald trainer rushed me and PHYSICALLY ROUGHED ME UP. He told me to pull up the picture and delete it. It was a serious invasion of my privacy (I recognize the irony of that statement as I was invading Jose's right to roam around unbothered). I wish the music store caught the act of violence on camera so I can report that to Real Madrid. I don't want a signature or a photo with Jose. I just want to shake his hand and wish him well.

5) In the music store, I did get to meet Aitor Karanka. Again, he was very friendly and almost appreciative that somebody recognized him. I smiled to him and said "Hala Madrid" and then "Quiero La Decima". He smiled. Meeting him and Butre were the best parts of my stalking experience.

6) Back at the hotel, I saw the legend himself Zidane leave the hotel and go for a ride somewhere. I yelled Zizou loudly but he was mad shy. I was 5 yards away from him! Another fan who was there long before me actually got his signature. He had a 2000 French Euro kit that Zidane noticed. Another lesson: IF YOU WANT A SIGNATURE OF A PARTICULAR PLAYER, GET A KIT THAT THEY WILL RECOGNIZE AND WANT TO SIGN FOR YOU.

7) I was also part of the fan fare when the players loaded the bus to go to the match. The coaching staff typically goes first. Again Jose was a total douche and didn't even acknowledge the fans even though we were screaming at the top of our lungs. Only Chendo appreciated the attention and came within touching distance. The first two players that loaded were Khedira and Ozil. KHEDIRA IS MAD TALL. All the players are a lot taller than you think on TV. So was Ozil. Everybody got a lot of cheers except the canteneros like Callejon and new player Varane. Marcelo and Pepe were the most interactive. And even when they were in the bus they waived to the fans. I was right next to the bus and I can swear Pepe waved to me as I was jumping up and down and saying his name. Ronaldo got the loudest cheers but Kaka was next. Everybody was screaming Kaka but I was the only one saying Ricky. He was really shy and just looked down the whole time. Even after he loaded the bus, his seat was right next to wear I was standing. He just looked down the entire time and looked like he was praying or something. Anyway, I know I didn't get to actually meet or touch the players, but I was literally 3 feet from Kaka (he was on the bus and I was right next to him on the ground). What a rush. After 12 hrs of pointless waiting, it felt worth it to be part of that crowd when they were loading the bus. You simply realize you are not the only supporter of this club even though it feels like that living in the USA.

The game was meh. You all saw it probably. I will just point out one thing. I love Kaka to death but he is done. He is fatter, SLOWER, and sluggish. Just take it from me boys, without his speed, he is just an average player. I always used to believe his link play in counter attacking was valuable. But the way he is now, being outplayed by the Philadelphia Union, that was embarrassing. We have to cut our losses with this guy. Varane was awesome and he is going to be the best signing of the season. Marcelo and Coentrao are ridiculously fast and thats going to be fun to watch on both wingback positions.


Anyway, if you're lucky enough to be near Madrid, my advice is to book a hotel, buy unique shirts, and don't dress in fan/tourist gear, be patient, and plan to spend every second in the hotel, especially early in the morning.

I also wanted to add, make sure you follow the players twitter feeds. You will get valuable info like when they land, where they are. Also, if you dont want to waste time at the hotel, try to go to the hot tourist sites in that town. Sergio Ramos took a picture of himself on his twitter feed at the Rocky statue.
I could have just waited at the statue all day for the players to come by if I knew.

Why on earth they came to a boring city like philadelphia I dont' know. And why on earth Ramos wanted to risk his anonimity to go to a meaningless thing like the Rocky statue I dont know. But there is a valuable lesson to be learned.

cool story bro(no joke intended)

I met with the algerian national team without the crowd (since I unintentionally met them in the paris airport), its always a great experience to meet footballers.

Nice thread.

https://goallegacy.forumotion.com/t4366-one-of-the-best-days-of-my-life

Had the same thing happen to me, but with Juventus.

I am glad your experience was as brilliant as mine.

I really envy you,

hey ladecima! didnt know u found this place
awesome that ur here
honestly thanks for the info
the last time real came to toronto, i just went to the airport and got the attention of Guti and Raul
mainly Guti since i have 14 with my name at the back

Dang I didn't miss Ramos at the Rocky statue by long

I got to fly with the swiss national team to South Africa last year, great bunch of lads. Very modest and they provided me with a signed jersey

I was happy for them when they beat spain