Inside the hotel where Real Madrid is staying.
Casillas and Van der Vaart were chatting in the room.
Van der Vaart had spent most of the first half of the season injured. When he finally returned, he wasn't immediately included in the squad list.
Pellegrini really didn't want to use the Dutchman, which left Van der Vaart feeling helpless.
Back when Florentino was cleaning out the Dutch contingent, Van der Vaart held on to a sliver of hope, believing he could still stay at Real Madrid. Even if he wasn't favored at the moment, he thought he could earn his place through strong performances.
But now, it seemed like the time to transfer and leave had truly arrived.
"The team feels unfamiliar now,"Van der Vaart said with a smile.
Casillas shrugged. "Lots of new faces. We're rebuilding the squad. Change is inevitable."
Van der Vaart nodded, but a tinge of melancholy still lingered in his heart.
"Have you made up your mind?"Casillas asked suddenly.
Van der Vaart grinned. "Not yet... but—"
Before he could finish, a strange scream came from the hallway.
"Waaaahhhhhhhhhhh!! —"
What the hell was that!?
Van der Vaart and Casillas exchanged a look.
This whole hotel floor was booked for Real Madrid—no outsiders should be here.
They stood up and went out almost simultaneously.
As soon as they opened their door, they saw Alonso and Guti across the hall doing the same, followed by others.
Everyone looked toward the source of the noise.
At the end of the corridor, a room door was wide open, and the bizarre screaming came from there.
Before long, a figure came stumbling out of the room.
Suker, clutching his phone tightly, sprinted like mad, turning a sharp corner.
Behind him, Ramos, wrapped only in a towel, was furiously chasing him.
"Stop right there, you bastard!!"
"I'd have to be insane to stop!!"
"STAND STILL!"
Everyone stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
Just as Ramos was about to catch Suker, Suker suddenly ducked, pivoted on his left foot, and with one swift motion yanked Ramos' towel off—then sprinted the other way.
"Woooaaaahhh!!!"
Whoooosh!!!
Gasps, applause, and wild shrieks erupted instantly.
Seeing Ramos with a beet-red face and a bare bottom, everyone burst out laughing.
Even Ramos couldn't care anymore—after all, it was just teammates.
"SUUUKERRRR!!"
Ramos bellowed, resuming his furious chase.
The hallway was too narrow, and soon Ramos had Suker cornered, dragging him back into the room under everyone's gaze.
SLAM!The door shut.
Not long after, Suker's screams echoed from the room.
The corridor fell silent for a moment—then exploded with laughter.
"Hahaha! Oh my god, Ramos chased Suker butt-naked!"
"What the hell happened? I'm dying to know what Suker did!"
"This is the first time I've seen Ramos so humiliated!"
Everyone laughed and shouted, amused and curious.
Casillas could only shake his head with a bitter smile.
Still, as team captain, he made his way to Ramos' room.
Inside, Suker was curled up on the sofa, sneaking glances at Ramos now and then.
Ramos was trembling with rage, clearly holding himself back from throwing punches.
Seeing Casillas enter, Suker immediately complained.
"Captain, you have to do something about him!"
"Give me your phone!" Ramos snapped.
"You can't invade my privacy!"
"Screw your privacy! You took photos of me in the shower and think I won't find out?!"
"Bullsh*t! Why would I take pics of a guy in the shower? I'm not interested in men!"
"Give me the phone!"
"No!"
"WILL YOU HAND IT OVER!?"
"Kill me if you want!"
Ramos really couldn't hit him.
Suker acted like an unbothered rascal, completely unfazed.
How could someone be such a little menace?
Casillas sighed at the standoff.
"Suker, hand the phone to me. Don't do these childish things...And Ramos, tomorrow's match is important, you can't..."
Ramos pointed angrily.
"I did get his phone earlier, didn't delete the photo, but I saw it."
Ramos' expression turned odd.
"Turns out you like sleeping naked."
Casillas froze.
A second later, his face turned bright red.
Suker sensed trouble and rushed to explain:
"Captain, I can explain—"
In the end, Casillas and Ramos couldn't punish Suker properly.
Their only option was to strongly request that the coaching staff assign Suker his own room.
To prevent any more Real Madrid players from being harassed—or accidentally photographed in compromising situations—this was the only solution.
Back in his room, Casillas rubbed his temples, clearly frustrated.
Van der Vaart smiled and said:
"Not a bad atmosphere, huh?"
"This is good?" Casillas sighed."I didn't think Suker was this kind of person."
Van der Vaart shrugged.
"It's better than a dead atmosphere.Think back—we used to be a locker room full of stars, all with egos, keeping their distance.That's not a real team.A little fun, some jokes here and there—it's not so bad.You can feel the mood's a lot lighter now."
Casillas sighed again.
Meanwhile, Suker arrived in his newly assigned solo room.
While unpacking, he reflected on the earlier events.
He and Ramos had built a pretty close relationship, so teasing him like this wasn't a big deal.
Sure, Ramos seemed furious, but deep down he probably found it amusing too.
If Ramos had really been offended, he wouldn't have even entertained Suker's antics.
Suker wouldn't have pulled the prank if he thought Ramos couldn't handle it.
To win matches, team atmosphere is key.
Suker believed Real Madrid's locker room had been too stiff and lifeless.
Marcelo was a natural jokester, but lacked the authority to uplift the squad by himself.
So Suker took on the role.
Of course, part of it was also personal—he just wanted to mess with Ramos.
Ramos looked too uptight, and guys like that were always closet goofballs.
Teasing him was too much fun.
As for making him angry? Suker didn't worry about that.
"Let's go eat!"Ramos got dressed and sought out Suker himself.
Suker got up and joined him.
They had a simple dinner in the hotel restaurant, and later gathered in a meeting room for the tactical briefing.
Pellegrini emphasized the importance of the second half of the season.
The first and second halves of La Liga were totally different beasts.
In the first half, teams are figuring things out, making mistakes to adjust.
In the second half, there's no room for error.It's a brutal points chase until May.
Title contenders will fight tooth and nail.Relegation teams will battle desperately to survive.Mid-table clubs need solid plans too.
So, matches will get harder, and the intensity will spike.
Take Osasuna for example—Suker believed they were playing for at least a draw at home.
They wouldn't give away three points easily.
Regardless, Real Madrid couldn't afford to lose.
They might lack Champions League firepower this season, but they had to challenge for the league title.
After all, last season, they ended empty-handed—losing the Champions League, La Liga, and Copa del Rey to Barcelona.
They hadn't fully recovered, but they still had to fight.
The next day, Real Madrid arrived at Osasuna's Estadio El Sadar.
Located far to the east of the city, the stadium wasn't even in the suburbs—it was practically isolated.
A long, straight road led to the stadium, surrounded by open grass and farmland. No buildings in sight.
There was no subway access, so fans either took buses or drove.
With no parking lot, the roadsides were turned into makeshift dirt parking areas.
This was the norm for mid-to-lower tier La Liga clubs.
Though part of Europe's top five leagues, they were worlds apart from the elite giants.
Estadio El Sadar had just 15,000 seats, but 20,000 fans packed in, likely because they were facing Real Madrid.
The DJ hyped the crowd, and cheers echoed through the arena.
After warm-ups, the Real Madrid players returned to the locker room.
On the way, Osasuna's players eyed Suker warily.
He was the player they had to focus on.
Soon, both teams lined up in the tunnel.
Kickoff was imminent.
Starting Lineups
Osasuna (4-3-3):GK: RicardoDefenders: Azpilicueta, Roversio, Flaño, MonrealMidfielders: Juanfran, Puñal, NekounamForwards: Aranda, Camuñas, Pandiani
Real Madrid (4-3-3):GK: CasillasDefenders: Arbeloa, Garay, Ramos, MarceloMidfielders: Alonso, Diarra, GutiForwards: Higuaín, Raúl, Suker
"La Liga returns after the winter break!Osasuna's first match of the second half is a huge one—hosting Real Madrid!"
"Azpilicueta will face massive pressure today, marking Suker down the wing."
"It's a tough task for any fullback, but Azpilicueta has been excellent for Osasuna. Let's see how he holds up."
"He'll be paired with Monreal on the opposite flank."
The commentary continued to introduce the home team.
Suker also looked at Osasuna's lineup.
So much talent...
At the time, Azpilicueta and Monreal were still newcomers, unknown to most fans.
But both would go on to join Premier League giants.
Azpilicueta would become a defensive cornerstone at Chelsea.
Monreal would contribute greatly to Arsenal during their weakest era.
Both had tremendous potential.
After all, jumping from lower leagues to the top five is one hurdle—joining a giant club from a mid-table team is another.
Azpilicueta felt nervous.Anyone marking Suker would be.
But he knew fear was the worst enemy in a match.
Osasuna was in the relegation zone—they couldn't afford any more bad games.
Historically, Osasuna had a knack for breaking out of the drop zone in the second half of the season.
They believed they could do it again—no opponent would stop them.
They'd even held Barcelona to a draw at home before, and limited Messi—so surely they could contain Suker.
Both teams gathered on their halves.
The stadium quieted.
Suker stood in the center circle with Raúl, awaiting kickoff.
He kept glancing toward the opposing half, analyzing weaknesses.
No doubt, they were all focused on him—he was used to it.
"They're probably ready to try and shut you down,"Raúl reminded him.
Raúl had already decided to leave at the end of the season.
But until then, he was still a Real Madrid player—and their captain.
He had a duty to lead the team to victory.Suker was the key.
Suker smiled confidently.
"I'm looking forward to it."
Raúl saw in him the reflection of his own youth.
WHISTLE!Kickoff.
The second half of the 2009/10 La Liga season was underway.
Real Madrid kicked off.Suker sprinted toward the wing.
Reaching the back line, he glanced back.
As expected, Azpilicueta was already marking him closely.
Juanfran, normally a fullback, was playing defensive mid and leaning toward the right—clearly to support in stopping Suker.
But if they were only assigning two men to defend him, Suker wasn't sure if it was overconfidence or blind faith in their players.
He dropped deep to receive.
Azpilicueta followed, and at a certain point, Juanfran picked up the marking.
Guti received a pass from Diarra and sent it down the flank to Suker.
Suker checked Juanfran's position—no space to break through.Azpilicueta was pressing up high.
A forced dribble would run straight into Azpilicueta.
So Suker passed back and drifted toward the half-space.
Marcelo saw the opportunity.
With Suker moving inside, the left wing opened wide for Marcelo's run.
Suker drew midfielders inside, and even Azpilicueta pinched in.
"Suker!"
Diarra passed to Suker again.
Suker held off Juanfran with his back, then flicked the ball wide with the outside of his boot.
Marcelo overlapped to collect it.
Suker made a diagonal run, watching Azpilicueta.
Azpilicueta had a dilemma—track Suker or close down Marcelo?
Suker's eyes seemed to say:
"Follow me, or stop Marcelo?"
Azpilicueta chose to press Marcelo—he couldn't leave the wing open.
Juanfran also charged toward Marcelo.
Oh?Suker raised an eyebrow.
So they're trying to cut off my passing options, huh?
But Suker wasn't worried.
Marcelo wasn't just anyone—he was one of the best fullbacks, with superb dribbling skills.
Three Marcelos can't stop one Marcelo—that wasn't just a joke.
Marcelo dribbled forward, faking an inside move.
Juanfran shifted over—creating a gap between him and Azpilicueta.
Marcelo spotted it instantly.
A slick drag-back and pass—right through the gap.
"Uh-oh!"
Azpilicueta panicked.
Gasps erupted in the stadium.
Suker darted through and chased the ball down the wing.
"Watch out!"
Azpilicueta couldn't recover in time and shouted to warn his teammates.
Suker reached the byline and crossed.
The ball soared across goal—landing at the far post.
There, Higuaín met it with a light tap—goal.
Just 11 minutes into the game, Real Madrid scored.Suker assist. Higuaín finish.
"GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!"
"Higuaín with the composed finish!Suker's pass was perfectly timed—But credit must also go to Marcelo.His pass broke down Osasuna's defense and gave Suker the space.Real Madrid scores!"
"Their fullback overlapping play is getting better and better!"