Fans and media alike lined the stanchions throughout the UCLA campus on Friday, Aug. 3, trying their best to catch a glimpse of Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid as the team continued its preseason training at the school’s North Atlantic Field.
For the third consecutive year with manager Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid trained at UCLA to begin its preseason tour of the United States. The team is scheduled to train on campus from July 29 through Aug. 7, while completing in friendly exhibition matches against the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy and the Mexican Primera Division club Santos Laguna.
Real Madrid’s Friday training session came on the heels of their 5-1 victory over the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center the night before. The Spanish side easily dispatched the defending MLS Cup champions, racing out to a 3-1 halftime lead before tallying twice in the second half.
Real Madrid’s 4 p.m. training session Friday was open for the first fifteen minutes to media taking photos and video. After fifteen minutes, media were asked to leave the training session. The practice was touted as an “Open Training Session” where fans who paid $250 per person to attend were ushered in to watch from the bleachers. Superstar soccer talents such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso were on hand to dazzle the crowd.
Los Angeles mayor and UCLA alumnus Antonio Villaraigosa attended the early portion of the training session. The proceeds from the event went towards the LA Galaxy Foundation and Children United USA. According to the team website, the LA Galaxy Foundation is a non-profit organization “committed to helping children through educational, health and soccer based initiatives and programs.”
Mourinho, in his third season with Real Madrid, has previously brought other teams he coached to UCLA. In 2005, the coach brought English Barclays Premier League club Chelsea to campus. Mourinho also brought Italian Serie A club Inter Milan to Westwood.
This year, Mourinho taught a class to coaches from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) at UCLA titled “The Mourinho Way.” The Portuguese coach, nicknamed “The Special One,” imparted some of his knowledge to the eager American coaches.
Mourinho, who led Real Madrid to the Spanish La Liga title this year, is the first manager to win what are considered the three major European league titles. In addition to the Spanish La Liga title with Madrid, Mourinho won the English BPL title with Chelsea and the Italian Serie A title with Inter Milan.
The friendly game against Los Angeles Galaxy was the first of four friendly matches scheduled for Real Madrid’s U.S. tour as part of the Herbalife World Football Challenge. The team will play Mexican Primera Division club Santos Laguna in Las Vegas on Aug. 5, Serie A club AC Milan in New York on Aug. 8 and Scottish Premier League club Celtic in Philadelphia on Aug. 11.
After that, American fans and media will have to travel to Spain to get another glimpse of Real Madrid, which begins defending its league title on Aug. 19 at home against Valencia.
Compiled by Tyler Drohan, Bruin Sports senior staff.