For Real Madrid, UCLA feels like home
By Christelle Nahas
August 03, 2012
Sergio Ramos greets Real Madrid fans at UCLA.
Luis Del Cid stands behind the barricade surrounding UCLA's North Athletic Field with his friend Wilson Chavez. It's noon and they are holding Real Madrid jerseys covered with autographs. They drive from South Los Angeles each summer, arriving every day at 8 a.m. and staying until 7 p.m., when the afternoon practice session lets out. Chavez's sleeves are rolled up, revealing a tattoo of the Real Madrid crest on his right shoulder.
When asked which players they'd most like to meet today, they start rattling off the roster. Cristiano Ronaldo. Iker Casillas. Kaká. These are the giants of soccer today, and they are on UCLA's campus.
Wilson Chavez shows off his Real Madrid tattoo.
Out of view, the team bus pulls into campus and the players emerge, stepping into a fleet of 11 electric carts, driven by UCLA volunteers, to zip them from the bus to the locker rooms to the field. As the carts pass by, the crowd erupts in cheers, everyone calling out to their favorite players — mostly Ronaldo.
It's all part of UCLA's annual visit from Real Madrid, one of the world's top soccer teams. The team trains at UCLA and plays American teams in friendly matches. The visit is a major draw for local soccer fans. Even Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got in on the action this year, joining Real Madrid on the field this afternoon.
It's all part of UCLA's annual visit from Real Madrid, one of the world's top soccer teams. The team trains at UCLA and plays American teams in friendly matches. The visit is a major draw for local soccer fans. Even Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got in on the action this year, joining Real Madrid on the field this afternoon.
"As both mayor of Los Angeles and a proud Bruin, I'd like to welcome Real Madrid to Los Angeles," Villaraigosa said. "For the last three summers, Real Madrid has chosen UCLA's top-notch sports facilities for their preseason training."
Fans in the trees
For the waiting fans, the hope is that some players, either while arriving to practice or before heading back to their hotel in Beverly Hills, will stop to stay hello. It's not uncommon for a few fans to try to fake their way into the closed field, claiming they know important people.
"We have fans who climb trees, climb into bushes or lay on the ground in the shrubs to try to catch a glimpse," says Rudy Figueroa, assistant director of UCLA Cultural and Recreational Affairs and the main liaison to Real Madrid. And then there are fans who hope the players like who they see in the crowd. "Some people definitely show up dressed to impress," Figueroa says.
The summer training at UCLA, from July 29 to Aug. 7, and a subsequent series of exhibition games across the United States mark the beginning of Real Madrid's annual preseason tour.
The players are returning from a monthlong break after Real Madrid's championship season in the Spanish league, followed by a Spanish national team victory in the UEFA European Football Championship. The entertainment agency CAA brings the team to the United States as part of the World Football Challenge, which matches European and American teams to promote soccer stateside. With Southern California weather and the L.A. Galaxy fan base nearby, Los Angeles is an obvious home base.
The summer training at UCLA, from July 29 to Aug. 7, and a subsequent series of exhibition games across the United States mark the beginning of Real Madrid's annual preseason tour.
The players are returning from a monthlong break after Real Madrid's championship season in the Spanish league, followed by a Spanish national team victory in the UEFA European Football Championship. The entertainment agency CAA brings the team to the United States as part of the World Football Challenge, which matches European and American teams to promote soccer stateside. With Southern California weather and the L.A. Galaxy fan base nearby, Los Angeles is an obvious home base.
"For the players, sometimes it's difficult to be relaxed in Europe," says Emilio Butragueño, a soccer legend who serves as Real Madrid's director of institutional relations. "Here they can be focused 100 percent on practice and preparing in the proper way. People here are really very friendly, very professional. The weather is fantastic, the atmosphere is very positive and the facilities are great."
The North Athletic Field has been groomed to the team's wishes, sodded with Bermuda grass by UCLA Facilities Management specifically for Real Madrid's training. "We mow after every practice in the morning, and it's literally a 10-hour operation from the Facilities side," says Figueroa. Real Madrid invests in the upkeep of the pitch, which provides a boon for UCLA's soccer teams. "When the Bruins return to campus, they reap the benefits of stadium-quality turf," he says.
Catching a glimpse
Some fans who line the campus walkways that Real Madrid players use are clad in official team jerseys. Many tote memorabilia to be signed. They include international students who came across a well-timed Facebook post, Southern Californian enthusiasts who scour European fan sites for information on the team and vacationing South Americans who heard the biggest team in the world is in town.
Real Madrid's Álvaro Arbeloa.
And there is the group of Americans who drove 13 hours from New Mexico, crammed 10-people deep in a minivan. "It's a great opportunity for everyone here to get to see players," says Isai Labra, who pulled into Westwood at 6 a.m. with the contingent from Albuquerque. "My brother has been to Madrid to watch official matches, and not even in Spain do you get to see the players up close like you do here."
They planned the trip four months ago, scheduling time off work and booking a hotel in Anaheim. Labra is hoping to top the trip he made to UCLA in 2010, when he met six of his favorite players. So far, he has already scored an autograph from head coach José Mourinho. Labra and his friends are certainly not alone in their enthusiasm.
They planned the trip four months ago, scheduling time off work and booking a hotel in Anaheim. Labra is hoping to top the trip he made to UCLA in 2010, when he met six of his favorite players. So far, he has already scored an autograph from head coach José Mourinho. Labra and his friends are certainly not alone in their enthusiasm.
"The first year I volunteered here, two girls flew all the way from El Salvador just to get all the players' autographs," said UCLA volunteer Teresa Tran. "They stayed through every practice."
The North Athletic Field is completely hidden by a perimeter fence draped with a windscreen. Inside, there is a regulation-length practice field, guest bleachers and a tented area where press and media are allowed for the first 15 minutes of training, if they're lucky. On some days, practices are completely closed to the media. When the team practices set plays and penalty kicks, even team guests are kept out.
But the team isn't always sequestered behind the barricades. If a player is slated to spend the morning lifting weights, he heads to the Wooden Center. Starstruck fans are far less of an issue there, where it's rare that a UCLA student would recognize a European athlete in the circuit room or stretching on a mat. "Someone might sense that they're different, that they're somebody," Figueroa says, "but we respect their space."
It's all a bit more complicated than the first visit from a European soccer team — England's Chelsea FC, in 2005 — when Figueroa, and Figueroa alone, held back fans with a rope.
The opportunity to watch an open practice, unheard of when Real Madrid is at home, happens about once every summer at UCLA. Without advance notice, a coach will announce to fans that practice is open to the public, and for an hour and a half, they go from baking around the barricades to beaming in the stands.
"[Coach] Mourinho loves this place," says Figueroa. "As soon as he came here, he fell in love with it."
Balancing fun and focus
The North Athletic Field is completely hidden by a perimeter fence draped with a windscreen. Inside, there is a regulation-length practice field, guest bleachers and a tented area where press and media are allowed for the first 15 minutes of training, if they're lucky. On some days, practices are completely closed to the media. When the team practices set plays and penalty kicks, even team guests are kept out.
But the team isn't always sequestered behind the barricades. If a player is slated to spend the morning lifting weights, he heads to the Wooden Center. Starstruck fans are far less of an issue there, where it's rare that a UCLA student would recognize a European athlete in the circuit room or stretching on a mat. "Someone might sense that they're different, that they're somebody," Figueroa says, "but we respect their space."
It's all a bit more complicated than the first visit from a European soccer team — England's Chelsea FC, in 2005 — when Figueroa, and Figueroa alone, held back fans with a rope.
The opportunity to watch an open practice, unheard of when Real Madrid is at home, happens about once every summer at UCLA. Without advance notice, a coach will announce to fans that practice is open to the public, and for an hour and a half, they go from baking around the barricades to beaming in the stands.
"[Coach] Mourinho loves this place," says Figueroa. "As soon as he came here, he fell in love with it."
Balancing fun and focus
Between players, coaches, trainers and staff, the team brings roughly 80 people to Los Angeles. You would think that time in L.A. means a summer of beaches and clubbing — not so, insists Butragueño, even after some incredulous winking and nudging.
Cristiano Ronaldo at UCLA.
"No, come on! They practice twice a day! Mourinho is very demanding, the practices are very intense. They have to go back to competition in the best possible way. We are here to work," Butragueño says. "Of course, this is a wonderful city. The city offers a lot, from a cultural point of view. You have great museums … but the team doesn't have time. The schedule is very tight."
Barring the rare morning off, practice is scheduled daily from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by a press conference, then lunch at 12:45. With another practice session at 5 p.m. and a schedule packed with charity events and appearances, this California trip isn't exactly a vacation. The players are even limited in the evenings, with dinners usually eaten as a team.
"We try to eat out, but it's important to have a team feeling," says Butragueño. "We have big challenges ahead. We are going to face a difficult season, and we need to be cohesive from the very beginning."
UCLA's support team includes student volunteers with responsibilities ranging from fetching stray balls during practice to carting players around on electric vehicles.
"It's definitely a win for campus," Figueroa says. While Cultural and Recreational Affairs runs this operation, managing all sports activities on UCLA playing fields, the benefits are campus-wide. Parking Services sees a spike in permits. The Anderson School's Korn Hall and UCLA Athletics' Morgan Center see action for near-daily team press conferences. Guests of the team, such as the actor Will Ferrell, get to know UCLA better. The campus also gets coverage in the European press.
"Fans cannot get this experience with this team anywhere else in the world. It's not possible," Figueroa says. "[The players] say this is one of their favorite places in the world … They can kind of be normal here. In other countries, they're so barricaded that there's no connection to the fans. So this is a really unique opportunity for the team and the fans to interact. It's a really positive experience for everybody."
Especially if you've brought a jersey to sign.
Barring the rare morning off, practice is scheduled daily from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by a press conference, then lunch at 12:45. With another practice session at 5 p.m. and a schedule packed with charity events and appearances, this California trip isn't exactly a vacation. The players are even limited in the evenings, with dinners usually eaten as a team.
"We try to eat out, but it's important to have a team feeling," says Butragueño. "We have big challenges ahead. We are going to face a difficult season, and we need to be cohesive from the very beginning."
UCLA's support team includes student volunteers with responsibilities ranging from fetching stray balls during practice to carting players around on electric vehicles.
"It's definitely a win for campus," Figueroa says. While Cultural and Recreational Affairs runs this operation, managing all sports activities on UCLA playing fields, the benefits are campus-wide. Parking Services sees a spike in permits. The Anderson School's Korn Hall and UCLA Athletics' Morgan Center see action for near-daily team press conferences. Guests of the team, such as the actor Will Ferrell, get to know UCLA better. The campus also gets coverage in the European press.
"Fans cannot get this experience with this team anywhere else in the world. It's not possible," Figueroa says. "[The players] say this is one of their favorite places in the world … They can kind of be normal here. In other countries, they're so barricaded that there's no connection to the fans. So this is a really unique opportunity for the team and the fans to interact. It's a really positive experience for everybody."
Especially if you've brought a jersey to sign.
