When you travel to the other side of the world to see someone play football you're left hoping they'll do something special for you - Ronaldo's hat-trick last night certainly fitted the bill in that respect!
In the wake of Barcelona's 8-0 thumping of Almeria, Real showed they're every bit as ready for next week's El Clasico by dismantling Athletic Bilbao 5-1, with the man at the centre of my trip to Madrid with Castrol putting on quite a show with his coolly taken opener, trademark swerving free-kick and hat-trick completing penalty a hefty payback for a lengthy trip from Australia.
Before entering a packed Bernabeu in the evening (for a 10pm kickoff - good job the jetlag had my body clock out anyway!), we were treated to a daytime tour of the impressive stadium. It's a tour well worth embarking on should you find yourself Madrid-side. The access is impressively open. You'll be shown the club's trophy-laden museum, get a walk through the stands, you can take a seat in the dugout to test out your Mourinho impression, wander through the changing rooms and take a seat in the swanky padded presidential seats for an insight into the best view in the ground.
The most startling aspect of the tour is how you feel like you're at a theme park, not a football club. There are two money-spinning photo opportunities forced upon you - one where you have your photo taken in front of a green screen and can then be superimposed next to a Real star of your choice and secondly a snap with the European Cup. At the end of the tour you're shepherded into a two-story merchandise shop where you can buy your photos for €12 each. Trust me, there was no shortage of takers.
The bottom floor of the merchandise shop is a homage to how much Real Madrid branding can be placed on needless items. At one point I was looking at a stack of Real branded toy buses and helicopters, thinking "who on earth wants this tat?!", while people either side of me where stacking the boxes as high as their arms would allow and scurrying to the check out. This monster brand is simply printing money at a scary rate. Hell, even I bought a mug and a scarf - and I support West Ham!
Onto the evening's game and it was my first trip to the Bernabeu and indeed my first ever La Liga game and while the sight of the packed 75,000 stadium was impressive, its sound left a lot to be desired. Never have so many people underwhelmed me with their vocal support of a masterful display.
Madrid notched five goals in the sort of display that should have had the crowds in raptures, but instead there was an air of expectancy that seemed to temper any goal celebrations. The EPL is my yardstick for crowd atmosphere and I'd venture that a La Liga goal celebration is the equivalent to the noise generated by winning a corner in England. As for the Bilbao fans, I couldn't even tell you where they were located. The best league in the world? Pah.
On the pitch and the Mourinho stamp has been well and truly stamped on this Real side. The whole team is back to defend when Bilbao were in possession (yes, Ronaldo too) and they unleashed the sort of terrifying counterattacks that we expect from Jose's teams. Though it's worth noting that despite Real playing at home against a lesser opponent, they broke like a team on the road. It made good practice for their trip to the Nou Camp next week anyway, where that counter style will be the biggest thorn in Barca's side.
While hat-trick hero Ronaldo grabbed the headlines, I'd give an honourable mention to Brazilian full back Marcelo, whose pace and attacking intent on the left was totally explosive.
Alongside the brilliance of Real's performance was the standard of our VIP seats (try not to hate me here!). Comfortably padded seats were backed up with a good view, overhead heating plus food and an open bar (that's right) in the club museum before, during and after the game. Not bad, hey?
So there it is, one massive tick on my football fan wish list completed and one that I endorse all of you to attempt when the opportunity arises. Check out the January issue of the magazine for my full diary from the Castrol event, plus pictures of my time in Madrid.
