We are Real Madrid

a picture to remember

Even though I intended to take a break like Lionel suggested, I haven't got time to stop working in the factory of Madrid's greatest football club.

At the end of the summer transfer window there were still a lot of deals to seal. It was quite depressing to work through the contract Xabi intended to sign. It was kind of a two day decision.

Xabi never liked the transfer politics but he hated Perez way to lead the team even more, so he decided to take the next step and leave Real Madrid after 5 successful years at Spain's record club to move to the German counterpart, Bayern München.

The contract of Angel di Maria and Javier Hernandez were a lot easier to handle. However while I worked on them, Isco and James tried to play pranks on me which disturbed my work enormously and cost me a bunch of extra hours in the office.

The life in Madrid without Xabi was literary like a nightmare.

He left a space in our heart and in our squad which was difficult or rather impossible to refill.

The next two league matches of Real Madrid were just horrible. I couldn't even watch from the side line it was just aweful how top players like the ones in our squad tried to create a chance and weren't able to hit that damn ball into that huge goal.

4 to 2 after a 0 to 2 lead. You shouldn't loose that game with such an expensive starting eleven. The next match against Atletico Madrid wasn't better, we lost 2 to 1 and the city of Madrid shone in the white red colour of the Atletis.

Fernando would have been delighted as former captain of the team, the galacticos weren't.

The mood in the dressing room was really aggressive, told me Isco later. Sergio and Cris yelled at the whole team. Cris because he hated to lose and Sese because Iker was way too down to do it on his own.

It seemed as if all the defenders suddenly forgot how to do their jobs properly and as always the fans and the medias blamed only Iker for it.

I couldn't really understand how the same people who praised Iker as a saint could boo at him the next second. He got through a really tough time.

Cris and Sergio helped him a lot and more than once it happened that Iker crashed on Cris' couch for the night just because he was too exhausted to walk home on his own.

It was hard for all of us to see how our captain and friend blamed himself for everything that happened the last few weeks.

However the goalkeeper wasn't the only one in trouble. Our centre striker Karim Benzema had a hard time, as well. Next to superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and now James Rodriguez and Javier Hernandez, he had to prove himself even more than the previous seasons.

He was obligated to score as many goals as possible but with such stars with him on the pitch, he was often just the second violin. Even Isco couldn't start in the first eleven very often but fortunately he had a great time at the international break with the Spanish national squad.

There he was also reunited with his best friend Alvaro Morata. The two of them were an absolute dream team and every defender's night mare. Unfortunately they didn't show their magic in order for the Real Madrid C.F.

After the first champions league match against the Swiss club FC Basel Benzema was so devastated that I feared he might crashed with his car on his way from the stadium to his apartment.

Although he scored, Ancelotti didn't miss the chance to criticize the French man in front of the whole team. I knew that Iker did his best to build him back up but the captain was still a wreck himself.