The Hunter Trains, 2 Diarras!?! and Transfer Nonsense

By: Corey | December 17th, 2008

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas to all! We have today a…., well an explosion of interesting transfer gossip, player news and training information for everyone to enjoy. It wouldnt be the beginning of the silly season without a whole lot of transfer nonsense, but lets leave that for later and get right down to the important stuff. And that starts with yesterdays training session, where Klaas Jan Huntelaar trained with a few of the other injured players at Valedbabas. Good news, as he is expected to be fit for his first game against Vilarreal on January 4th. Excellent news for Juande as he looks for more then just Saviola as an option up front.

Also in training ground news, more Castilla players trained with the first team today due to the absences of Raul and Ramos due to the flu. Bueno and Palanca continued with the squad as usual, but Agus again was called up to traing with the squad. And Daniel Opare made his first training session with the first team, in what was an excited day for not just him, but all of us Real fans who have high hopes for the youngster. If Ramos cant play against Valencia due to the flu, we may see Opare or Javier Velayos on the bench. It would hurt the team, but I just cant wait to see Opare in action.

Training Pics!

Van de Vaart Presser:

Its not a hidden fact that Rafeal Van de Vaart has been shit for the past three months. He started out four goals in his first month, but since then has been dismal. Played out of position, poor tactical instruction, a lack of confidence etc. are all given as reasons as to why he is not playing well. The first one may be true, but he needs to work his ass off to learn a new position then, because I highly doubt Juande gives him the free role his desires, much like Schuster did not. Here is what the lad had to say about rumors of him being sold in the January or summer transfer window and a reaction to his below par performances:

It seems the Sports Department at the Club isn’t happy with your performances so far and it is rumoured you may leave in December…
I don’t know anything about that besides what I’ve read in the press. I guess I would be the first to find out. The Club would have talked to me about it. I’ve only been here five months and it is still too soon to reach such conclusions. No one has said anything to me about it.

The truth is you don’t seem to enjoy yourself on the pitch…
That’s true. I played very well during my first month on the team and scored four goals. But all the blame shouldn’t rest on the player; it’s a combination of things. I do admit that my performance level has dropped.

Can the lack of playing time be the problem?
The problem is mine to start with. I played well against Sevilla, but I was benched in the second half. I have to grasp the situation, grow as a player and train to improve.

How did you feel when Palanca was chosen to replace Sneijder against Barcelona?
Palanca is a right winger. That’s not my position. He played fantastically well and I understand the coach’s choice. I have nothing against it.

Have you set yourself a possible date to leave the Club?
I’m not very happy and I am in a difficult situation. I work very hard to enjoy more playing time.

You haven’t played in your natural position since you arrived. That may be the reason why you aren’t playing too well…
I’ve always been an attacking midfielder. I have to train a lot, but I feel like things are going to get better.

It seems the squad thinks it didn’t do much physical work before. Is the team really in bad shape?
We train harder now, but I don’t think we are in bad shape. Nevertheless, training more will have its benefits.

What do you think of Lassana Diarra? It seems he is going to sign for the team…
He is a very good and strong footballer. He played for Chelsea and now he is at Portsmouth.

Juande spoke to you yesterday…
He likes to talk to his men and that is very good for us because it helps create a good atmosphere. He is a very good coach. He instills confidence.

Good answers, but I would hold on to him til the summer. Its really difficult to adjust to a new league so quickly, we should have patience with him. At worst a loan to another La Liga team, despite his high profile and price tag, to get him in the speed of things. But with all of the players Real could have in his place, i.e. Granero, Parejo, and currently injured but exciting Castilla player Fran Rico, he should tread carefully.

TRANSFER NEWS:

Sometimes I feel like John Stewart, or more appropriately Steven Colbert, when I write about transfer news for Real. I take it seriously, but theres hints of sarcasm and humor in everything I say because my sources are such football news luminaries like Goal.com or El Mundo. Its just hard to take much of anything they publish as truthful. But without haste, here is what I scrounged up in the past few days.

- Lassana Diarra seems a certain thing. A 10 million pound offer has been accepted and he should be talking to Real about a contract right now. I saw somewhere that the boy dreams of Real Madrid. Lets hope they arent wet dreams, we already have a premature ejaculator on the team, his name is Saviola. Dont understand? Well Saviola gets excited whenever he gets close to the goal but ends of spunking and then misses the glorious oppurtunity provided to him. Still dont get it? Watch this:

This came out two weeks ago, but I still listen to the song all the time. Its hilarious, if immature. Enjoy!

- We are interested in the new Beckham. If the new Beckham had a little darker skin, could dribble a bit better and wasnt anywhere close to as good at crossing and deadball situations. Ashley Young, the Watford product he plays for high flying Aston Villa is who the press had given the unfortunate title, and it seems Juande is smitten because he can play on the right wing. Extra Ordinary. Not extraordinary, just extra ordinary. This is probably one of the worst rumors I have seen yet. Wait no, the ones linking us with Huerlho Gomes, Roman Pavs or Didier Zokora seem pretty attrocious too. Who hired these clowns to make up this garbage?

- Dani Parejo is probably coming back to us in January. To do what, play for Castilla? Check this out. Must be true. I think this is a bad move, he needs experience, he is getting it little by little there. Our midfield is still to crowded for him.

- Juventus appreciates Drenthe. Says so on Marca next to that awful picture of Parejo. Take him, I dont care. What is the deal with young Spanish men having out of control curly Jew fros? Parejo, Granero, Marcos from Vilarreal on loan at Sociedad. Get a hair cut hippie.

- “My dream is to play for Real Madrid and I think it is a goal that may be close.

“I like the shirt of Madrid, the stadium and the atmosphere that is breathed there.

“I told my mother that one day I’ll play for Real Madrid and I want it to become a reality.”

Who said this? Lassana Diarra….no. Diego Capel……..no! A random child on the streets of Salamanca? No. It was Karim Benzema, Lyon super stud and cocky “gangsta” as labeled by Greg Coupet. I like the lad, he is a great player, and I do hope he comes to Real this summer. Is Lyon gonna win the CL this year to keep him? No. But they could get to the semis if they are lucky, and I think that would be enough to convince him to stay. Which is fine, he needs another season in France to guarentee his place in the France squad for South Africa. After that he comes to Madrid. Its not like his 100 million euro price tag can get much more out of hand. But if it does come down to this summer, its him or Ronaldo, and we all know where that ends up:

Calderon: “Cristiano or Karim”
Mijatovic: “Cristiano has many intangible that we could use. He has lots of beauty products for the squad, and he attracts numerous English hookers.”
Calderon: “Hmm, I like that. I have been gellin my hair lately. Karim does not have these things?”
Mijatovic: ” No, Karim likes things like this. Cristiano will also sell lots of shirts, Karim not so much”
Calderon: “Ay, then its Cristiano. Maybe he brings one of his and Anderson’s sex slaves for me?”
Mijatovic: “Ramon, your pants, tuck away your erection, we must talk to the press!”

Thats how its gonna do down. Benzema over Ronaldo campaign starts now!

- Here, this will make everyones day. It wont go away will it. Ronaldo would be great for us, but I prefer Benzema, its a money thing. Plus, whats worse, a whiney Frenchmen named Jean Michel Auluas demanding more and more euros to pay for his coke habit or a angered, drunken Scot throwing boots and hairdryers at you?

- Christian Maggio, a sort of up-and-coming Italian defender for Napoli is rumored to be watched by Real scouts. Check it here. Thanks Goal.com for another great article where to basically copy and paste an interview and write some bullshit about it. Ohh, wait, I do that from time to time…