For Real Madrid, Sunday’s match against Girona (4:15 pm, CET) is just another game.
The visitors are aware of the special moment that Catalonia is experiencing, (and, by extension, all of Spain), but they face their task at the Estadio Montilivi with normality, taking into account the situation.
Los Blancos haven’t altered their routines even one iota before the team leave the Spanish capital.
As usual when the match is before 18.00 CET, the team will fly on the previous day, in this case on Saturday afternoon at 7pm CET.
The Real Madrid expedition, including Florentino Perez, will travel by plane to Girona, where they’ll stay at the Bellavista hotel until a couple of hours before the match.
A peculiarity of this trip is that Madrid will not take its official bus, as part of a usual protocol for travel considered especially sensitive by the security services of the club.
In any case, the bus must be in London on Tuesday, where Madrid face Tottenham Hotspur 24 hours later.
The vehicle will therefore leave on Sunday with all of the first team and U19A kit, as the latter also have a UEFA Youth League game in the English capital.
Completely isolated from the media noise that is accompanying this clash, it’s just one more game for the players, and one that they want to play and win.
Three points are necessary to, at least, maintain the disadvantage with respect to Barcelona, who at this stage of the domestic competition, head the table.
UNCONTROLLED HYPOTHESIS
At Real Madrid they don’t want to think about a possible suspension of Sunday’s game.
This decision would create a problem as Real have already lost a LaLiga date against Leganes, on the weekend of December 16 and 17, because of their participation in the Club World Cup.
For that reason, there is confidence in the words of the Secretary of State for Sport, Jose Ramon Lete, and of the authorities of the club and city of Girona.
On Friday, they assured everyone that there will be no trouble for Los Blancos’ first visit to Montilivi.
