Real Madrid Corner: 10 Things I Learned About Madrid Over The Weekend | La Liga Weekly

1. Welcome to Madrid Fabio Coentrao! “Los Blancos” finally signed the Portuguese defender for 30 million kilos after luring him away from Benfica and many other clubs. With the 23yr old joining the club, the question now becomes: Will Marcelo or Fabio start the first La Liga match?
   
2. Jose Mourinho wants Iker Casillas to abandon the captain’s armband. Perhaps, he thinks it’s a distraction or maybe he’d prefer for the goalkeeper to not bear such responsibility? Possible replacements include Xabio Alonso, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sergio Ramos. Or, maybe he wants a Portuguese player who speaks his tongue to done the coveted “bracelet?”
   
3. Vamos al USA! Real Madrid are coming to the USA to train in “La-la” (Cali) land. This marks the second straight year the world’s best club will train in Westwood (UCLA campus). Mourinho loves the USA and so do the fans. After arriving on July 11th, they’ll play the Galaxy (July 16 at the Coliseum) and Guadalajara (July 20 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego). They’ll round out the trip by playing at the Linc against the Philly Union on 07/23 before heading to China for two friendlies.
   
4. Real Madrid, Tottenham, and Fiorentina all have their eyes on Asamoah Gyan, the Ghanaian striker, who plays for Sunderland. Even though he only scored 10 goals last year, he’s extremely talented and featured multiple times for the national team (of Ghana). It looks like a 13 million pound transfer fee would do it.
5. Javier Pastore has supposedly narrowed his new club search down to Malaga and “Los Blancos”. His agent has confirmed it and he should make a decision within the next two weeks, most likely after the Copa America. If Real Madrid can make this signing, he’ll join fellow Argentinians Higuain and Di Maria as Gago will most likely return to Argentina or sign with an EPL team.
   
6. Will Maicon ever join Mourinho in Madrid? The Brazilian defender is said to want to make the change but Inter Milan seems hesitant and has put a hefty price tag on the star defender (at least 35 million)? If Maicon comes, will Pepe leave? We’ll know more after the Copa America!
   
7. Please someone kick Lass Diarra and Ekezial Garay (although let his girlfriend stay) out of Madrid and give me a player like Mohamed Sissoko or Kun Aguero. Can we make that happen?
   
8. Carlos Tevez has once again expressed his desire to leave Eastlands and Man City. His most likely destination is either Spain or Italy. There’s no way he starts next year in the EPL. Would you rather have Tevez or Neymar (Brazil)?
   
9. It’s been rumored Chelsea may want to swap Didier Drogba for Pepe. There are various teams in the EPL who’ve expressed interest in the Portuguese, too.
10. I figured I’d throw in some Barca News…..Argentina doesn’t love Messi as much as Barca does. Could it be that players aren’t as good when they don’t have a Xavi and Iniesta threading through balls in to them? I’m not hating on Lil Lionel but your talents are often highlighted when you’re playing with pretty much the entire Spanish national team. Hala Madrid!

__________________
http://twitter.com/#!/_Faizah