Saturday Night Futbol!!

After a long day of travel, we arrived in Madrid in time to take in a preseason game between Rayo Vallecano of Spain´s top professional league and Alcorcon of the Seconda Division. It was a beautiful warm evening and the game was free. The match was held at a cozy, local municipal stadium and over 5000 local fans showed up to cheer the home team. We made fast friends with the security guard in our section relying on Luis Agrait as our translator. Thanks Luis.Coaches Sullivan and Lusignan pointed out many of the strategies and tactics of the Spanish game to both players and professors.  Both the speed and precision of Spanish soccer is impressive.

After a 1 to 0 match which Rajo Vallecano won, our exhausted travelers checked in to our beautiful hotel in one of the most upscale business districts in Madrid. Silvia, our tour guide who will stay with the group for the duration of the trip, provided us all with a quick overview of the area.

Sunday began with breakfast at the hotel followed by our first friendly game of the tour.  The match was held about 30 minutes from the hotel at the Vallecano Training Center.  We are also fortunate to have with us soccer operations coordinators to assist and facilitate the team´s matches with local clubs.  The coordinators told us the club, which features five tiered fields and a well equipped clubhouse building, has over 1,000 player members.  The game was held in the hot Spanish sun, against Rayo Vallecano B of La Liga, Spain´s top professional league.  It was a high stakes game for the opposing team as many of their players sought to impress the B coaches in order to secure a spot on the team with selection occuring tomorrow.  We learned from the soccer coordinators that the top division affiliated La Liga coach was also in attendance.  As you can imagine, it was a very challenging game and Vallecano won handily.

The afternoon was spent touring the city of Madrid incluing a guided walking tour and bus tour of key historical sites including Puerto del Sol, Plaza Major, Spain´s most famous bullring, the Palace and Cathedral. A final highlight of the tour was a visit to Real Madrid´s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.  Highlights of the stadium tour included a visit to locker rooms, the media center, and the impressive museum that tells the story of the franchaise´s glorious history. We all were shocked by the super comfortable leather bucket seats in the on pitch players shelter. Needless to say, lots of photos were taken and here´s just one of them for your enjoyment! And of course the tour ended in the gift store where a few Euros were left behind!

We returned to the hotel for dinner and an evening seminar. Anthony Crisafulli gave the first research presentation. His topic was perfect for today since he shared his research on bull fighting. There was a lively discussion about the importance of bullfighting to Spain´s culture and national heritage. Busy but great first day!

Signing off for today, your guest bloggers, Drs. Walker and Pelosi