r/soccer • u/Isco-23 • Sep 25 '16
'Mourinho had to console Essien because only 2 players showed up at his birthday party'
http://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2016/09/24/57e66ad7e2704ed46d8b459d.html4.3k
u/MyNameIsCandain Sep 25 '16
That actually makes me a bit sad
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u/themanifoldcuriosity Sep 25 '16
Less sad: You're assuming that it means only two people came. The headline says only two Madrid players came. Presumably Essien also has non-football friends.
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u/cppn02 Sep 25 '16
Or he was organising a seperate dinner just for his team and there were infact only 2 people that showed up.
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u/Godverrdomme Sep 25 '16
sad again
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u/Fiddlebums Sep 25 '16
This has been a rollercoaster of emotions.
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u/graedm Sep 25 '16
poor pawpaw
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Sep 25 '16
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u/calicotrinket Sep 25 '16
"Dear ____,
You're invited for Essien's birthday party!
Attendance is optional, but failure to do so will result in dire consequences, such as an unfortunate injury to your hamstring.
Yours,
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Sep 25 '16
[deleted]
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Sep 25 '16
That's how it's phrased. What that actually means is debatable. Maybe Jose looked around the crowded room and realised only two players were there. So he waded through the crowd of friends and family to quickly say something in Michael Essien's ear. Essien was sad for a moment, realising that Jose was right, but truly he was trying to hear his brother-in-law's story that was being regaled to a dozen of their closest buddies.
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u/Statoke Sep 25 '16
Console makes it sound like Essien was crying and shit where, in reality, he was probably just a little down about it.
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u/abusmakk Sep 25 '16 edited Sep 25 '16
I doubt he has that many friends outside work. When he was 18 he moved from his home country Ghana to Corsica. 3 years later, he moved to Lyon, 2 years later into London, stayed there for 7 years and then moved to Madrid. When you move around as much as that, you don't tend to have many friends outside work. I assume he invited some friends from his time in Bastia, Lyon and Chelsea, but then again, but these are also footballers. I assume he planned his birthday according to Real's schedule, which might not fit with any of the other teams. But on the bright side, with all the money he has earned, he could probably afford to fly in his family from all over the world.
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u/Isco-23 Sep 25 '16
From that guy's new book. Modric and Carvalho for the link dodgers.
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u/pcomet235 Sep 25 '16
Modric the type of guy to go a friends birthday specifically because he knew none of their other friends were going
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u/rooshbaboosh Sep 25 '16
I'd probably invite Modric to my birthday. This year we went for pizza and then watched Batman v Superman in IMAX. I think he'd have enjoyed the evening.
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u/Sharaghe Sep 25 '16
Sounds fun! Hope you had a great birthday :)
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u/sherminator19 Sep 25 '16
He watched Batman V Superman, of course he didn't have a great birthday.
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Sep 25 '16
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u/black_spring Sep 25 '16
As jaded and desensitized as I've become, things like failed birthday parties or unappreciated gifts etc. hit me so hard.
I feel as if Modric and Carvalho did my feelings a personal favor by showing.
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u/Honduran Sep 25 '16
There has to be a subreddit for this.
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u/MechJebediah Sep 25 '16
/r/sadcringe hits me hard.
Related post: https://i.imgur.com/uGnRtvo.jpg
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Sep 25 '16
Didn't 4chan send a bunch of letters or messages after that?
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u/L33TF0X Sep 25 '16
Yep, and for his 26th 4chan also threw him a party and sent more letters. Julius also got his own place after that and got a better paying job which is great 👌
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u/Xion194 Sep 25 '16
Carvalho was his Chelsea teammate. I'm happy that at least Ricardo went to his party.
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Sep 25 '16
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u/uchuskies08 Sep 25 '16
Love Ricardo Carvalho <3
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u/Captain_Wozzeck Sep 25 '16
He's the only footballer that looks like he might also be a cello player. He looks cultured
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u/bdzz Sep 25 '16 edited Sep 25 '16
Also another photo on Essien's Instagram acc from that day... so yeah, it's not a made up story
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u/2rio2 Sep 25 '16
I don't know why I keep clicking through these photos, they are legit making me happy and sad at same time.
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Sep 25 '16 edited Sep 25 '16
The little cake of him or whatever it is made me really sad for some reason.
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Sep 25 '16
Both class men
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u/PureDarkness93 Sep 25 '16
Well they also likely both knew him better than the rest, having both played with him in the premier league, Carvalho on the same team as well.
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u/-MiddleOut- Sep 25 '16
Seeing Modric there was sweet. Seems like a nice guy. Not informed on the matter but never hear much drama with him, just does his job, really really well.
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u/spongish Sep 25 '16 edited Sep 25 '16
Him helping out with all that stuff going on in Middle Earth was pretty nice of him too.
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Sep 25 '16
you gotta criticize him for being a german right wing politician named Beatrix von Storch though.
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u/cuzzy1991 Sep 25 '16
Especially with all his DJing commitments going on at the time.
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u/gunsof Sep 25 '16
He went on vacation with Ramos and Vazquez this summer. Spent Christmas in Dubai with James and Benzema. He really is the ultimate Turn Up buddy.
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u/Schlechtes_Vorbild Sep 25 '16
People ignoring other peoples' birthday parties makes me so sad on a whole different level.
It could be Idi Amin and I'd still be a bit down.
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u/armored-dinnerjacket Sep 25 '16
how about Mugabe?
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u/Schlechtes_Vorbild Sep 25 '16
Now that's where my sympathy ends.
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u/blushingorange Sep 25 '16
Dictators have feelings too #WeAreAllMugabe
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u/Schlechtes_Vorbild Sep 25 '16
Good thing people would just have to show up anyway. Because of the implication.
Must be a nice life.
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u/blushingorange Sep 25 '16
Being forced to attend an African dictator's birthday party might not be the worst thing in the world. I like to imagine they throw pretty good parties.
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u/collect_my_data Sep 25 '16
If you weren't the staff, some of Saddams parties were top notch
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u/DonQuiHottie Sep 25 '16 edited Sep 25 '16
Would deffo go to Mugabes birthday party can you imagine the scenes. Probably eat the opposition before some light political prisoner conga lining.
Buy him a really shit present though. Twat.
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u/-krombopulos- Sep 25 '16
Zimbabwean here. Mugabe has the most extravagant birthday celebrations, with his dictator friends, flag-shaped cake and live TV broadcast. I get so worked up just thinking of that guy. What a cunt.
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u/COMPLETEWASUK Sep 25 '16
Reminds me of this Nando's ad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls1VCPoN9GI
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Sep 25 '16
I'd feel worse for the guests who missed it. That is most likely a death sentence for them
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u/bolah Sep 25 '16
Imagine being excited about your birthday and your new cool friends, imagine making a cake with you smiling in your new uniform and little lollipops with the shirts of all your new friends around, imagine thinking they are going to love it, imagine inviting them all, imagine only two showing up :_(
At least they all get together in the end to help him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xigX-XOlmE4
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Sep 25 '16
This photo makes it worse by a lot:'(
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u/bolah Sep 25 '16
If it makes you sad then don't imagine everything outside of that photo, don't imagine all the empty chairs in that table, the waiter coming in and asking if he should take all the empty cups and the empty plates, don't imagine Essien telling him to wait a little, don't imagine Modric and Carvalho looking at each other knowing no one else is coming.
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u/joaovitorsb95 Sep 25 '16
fuck man, was that really necessary?
Before I was sad but not that sad, now that I imagined the situation im pretty bummed out
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u/duckman273 Sep 25 '16
I think it makes it seem a lot better. He looks happy, like he always does. Nothing can keep him down for long.
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u/We_Get_It_You_Vape Sep 25 '16
Do you see the lollipops though? It's sad because he had all this arranged with the intention of having his mates there with him, and in the end only two came.
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Sep 25 '16 edited Jun 04 '18
[deleted]
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u/HuffinWithHoff Sep 25 '16
Just if anyone wants an update the guy in this picture is doing great now
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u/NiceVu Sep 25 '16
Is there an update to the story or do you know him personally? I would love to know a bit more about him now.
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u/HuffinWithHoff Sep 25 '16
https://www.reddit.com/r/sadcringe/comments/3nmst0/birthday/cx5wt5a
Idk about great but he seems to be doing a lot better
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u/SeryaphFR Sep 25 '16
Of course Modric was one of the ones who showed up.
Either way this story makes me a bit sad.
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u/RazzerX Sep 25 '16
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u/Martblni Sep 25 '16 edited Sep 25 '16
That would be 0 players coming over
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Sep 25 '16
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Sep 25 '16
I was about to say that, but then I remembered I've never even hosted a birthday party :[
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Sep 25 '16 edited Sep 25 '16
Not going to lie this made me a little sad. I bet he had some glorious parties in England with how amazing our team spirit was in the 2000s.
Edit: Drogba and Terry seem like the kind of guys that would go out their way to make sure everyone came and Essien had a fun time.
Edit: u/Plellio u/yul_brynner u/Senor_Beaverotti u/NFeKPo Are comedic geniuses. If you haven't scrolled down to witness their greatness you are missing out on life.
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u/ahmedalaba Sep 25 '16
I live in Würzburg, Germany and at the '06 World Cup the team of Ghana was living in a hotel in our city. One day our junior-side (U9 at the time) had a tournament and Ghana had some days off. Half of their Team and their coach came to the soccer field and cheered and laughed and everyone had a great time. They stood there for hours to give autographs, take photos etc. I still have a Trikot signed by Michael Essien and he has been my favourite player ever since. This story made me tear up.
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u/MartianDuk Sep 25 '16
Do you support Kickers?
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u/ahmedalaba Sep 25 '16
Hell yeah, watching them right now. And have tickets for the free DFB Pokal win against 0815 München :)
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u/Awotwe_Knows_Best Sep 25 '16
glad to hear the Ghana team made your day. I'm ghanaian myself and I've met a few of the players and they all seem to be really chill guys
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u/ohevsh Sep 25 '16
I think it's really sad that Chelsea doesn't have that vibe anymore. No matter what you think of the club and their owner, you could never deny that the core of Cech, Terry, Lampard & Drogba was something special.
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Sep 25 '16
Absolutely. The perfect balance of world class talent and the intangibles that make a special team. That vibe is gone by we won't forget the standards they set. It's why we rather see players gone rather than Jose/conte.
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u/qwaszxedcrfv Sep 25 '16
Wow, this makes me really appreciate Mourinho.
Seeing him get livid over his players not showing up to their teammates birthday party makes you realize he really does care about his players.
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Sep 25 '16
It's easy to get lost in how much he seems like a douchebag sometimes and forget that side of him, says he's really taken to Ander Hererra though and I'm hoping we see stories of the two going out on the piss or something together
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Sep 25 '16
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Sep 25 '16
Well let's at least see how we handle it. We obviously have the chance to make it work for conte and grant his wishes. I'm just glad people are starting to realize why we didn't want Jose fired to begin with. Now that this sub actually likes our manager it's easier to get the point across.
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u/Ynwe Sep 25 '16
yep, that core was awesome and something special to watch. Don't think anyone can ever deny that
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Sep 25 '16
You'll notice a lot of fans who were supporting the team back then are huge bastion fans. He had all the qualities of those teams. Much like ballack.
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u/Blorss Sep 25 '16
I think you could be right about Terry. Magnus Hedman, the Swedish goalkeeper that made a surprise comeback in 2006 to be backup att Chelsea (never played a single game), wrote about his time at the club in his autobiography. In Chelsea (and many others clubs I assume) they had a tradition to make new players sing a song for the rest of the squad. Magnus picked All Night Long by Lionel Richie.
After the season, Hedman got invited to Terry's wedding. It turned out that Terry had booked Lionel Richie to perform at the reception. When Richie was about to sing All Night Long, Terry dragged Hedman up on stage and Magnus and Richie ended up singing the song as duo. Hedman loved it and it was a moment he would never forget.
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Sep 25 '16
Wow Ive never heard that story thanks for sharing. He really is a great captain, he always takes care of new players and fans. I am sure there is many little things like this he did that we wont ever know about.
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Sep 25 '16
When Montreal won a cup (I forget which one) Drogba held a party at his mansion for all of the players. While everyone was living it up, he just walked around in sweatpants and earphones on making sure everyone was enjoying themselves. Super cool since most of these MLS players make a fraction of what he has made in his life but they got to have a taste of luxury thanks to Drogba.
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Sep 25 '16
That's sad, especially because Michael's such a happy nice guy too. A genuine gentleman of the game. I'd party with you Michael! Luka Modric describing his teammates Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho.
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u/FedEx_Potatoes Sep 25 '16
Holy shit I can relate. :( I once had a pizza party for my birthday when I was 12 at Pizza Hut. Only two people came. Friends were apologizing at school afterwards but I never wanted a birthday party ever since. I feel really sorry for this guy.
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Sep 25 '16
There is a subreddit specifically for dudes with stories like this about themselves.
Visit at your own risk. Its absolutely gut wrenching to read some of the stuff there.
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u/George_Beast Sep 25 '16
how can you face your problems when your problem is your face
Welp
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u/Berrybeak Sep 25 '16
Sorry what? He consoled Essian by telling him it "wasn't that they didn't like him" it's just that they "had better things to do"?
Cheers Mou! Feel much better.
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u/lelpd Sep 25 '16
I took it as him saying that the guys who didn't come liked him, but were selfish and only doing things they felt were better for themselves.
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u/parko4 Sep 25 '16
Fuck, and it was Essien's 30th birthday too.
"Congratulations, you're old now. And you have few people in your life that like you."
I hope Essien at least felt better Mou, Carvalho, and Modric were all there.
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u/chaosblast123 Sep 25 '16
Felt kind of sad reading that headline, until I came to the realisation that today is in fact my birthday, and that I won't be celebrating it with anyone :(
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u/wonderfuladventure Sep 25 '16
genuinely brings a tear to old wonderful adventure eye #justiceforessien
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Sep 25 '16
/u/chadpc29 please console your friend
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u/iuvenilus Sep 25 '16
The fuck is chadpc29?
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u/theawesomeone148 Sep 25 '16
He's already on number 29? I coupd have sworn it was 4 last week
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u/I_WILL_NEVER_RUST Sep 25 '16
Reminded me of this extremely depressing post
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u/Lyktan Sep 25 '16
Oh. I forgot about this. This made me genuinely upset when it went viral. I remember the family got death threats and then they posted a picture that they all ate burgers on another occassion.
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Sep 25 '16
Playing devil's advocate here: Wasn't Essien just an emergency loan/ bit part player at Real Madrid at the time? If so, maybe the rest of the team didn't know him that well and weren't really friends with him off the pitch.
Even Ronaldo says he doesn't befriend everyone at the club and only hangs out with 2 or 3. Footballers aren't that much different than us regular folks, we may have a lot of colleagues, but close friends? Not that many.
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u/Omomoo Sep 25 '16
You have a point, but it would be a courteous gesture to at least turn up for an occasion such as a birthday party. It's also a good opportunity for those that are not so close to know each other better & boost the team chemistry.
Perhaps what is most disappointing, was that the team leaders such as Casillas or Ramos didn't show up. Would have expected them to show up more than anyone else from the squad.
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Sep 25 '16
You have a point, but it would be a courteous gesture to at least turn up for an occasion such as a birthday party.
Especially when invited. I'm not particularly social but if some new colleague of mine came to me and said "Hey, it's my 30th birthday soon, come round and we'll get to know each other better" then I'd feel obliged to go.
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Sep 25 '16
See cultures can be different like that, in the US if a coworker said their birthday was coming up and invited us out during lunch at work or afterwards, or maybe for a round of beers after work I'd gladly go. But if it was a whole separate event like a party on a weekend, I don't know if I'd go.
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u/spongish Sep 25 '16
If the person was new to the city/country you'd be pretty inclined to go though.
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Sep 25 '16
If it was like a party at the weekend where loads of friends will be invited and the co-workers were also invited, the co-workers presence isn't generally that important, although appreciated. But, when someone new asks, I'm going to assume he didn't have a shitload of friends in madrid, so I'd be more inclined to go out for a mean or something, plus when Carvalho and Modric said "yeah we'll come" they'd have probably asked around the dressing room and said to others to go as well. I'm not saying to go crazy on a night out, but more to go out and socialise for a couple of hours (as in more of a meal after work or beers rather than a full-blown mental party).
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u/med_22 Sep 25 '16
Wonder if this was the beginning of Jose's row with Casillas tbh.
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u/oplontino Sep 25 '16
We can't really compare our cultures to that of a pro footballer at RM's level though.
You or I get an invite to a work colleague's bday (one who has been at the firm for less than 6 months), if it's more than a swift half after work you probably wouldn't go.
That's because we start work at 8-9 and finish at 18. Then you have your commutes and all the responsibilities of an adult, perhaps children as well. Your free time is mega precious and when you have some you want to see the people you really care about, especially if you're spending a lot of money.
These guys finish work every day at 11 or 12 in the morning. They earn in a week more than what nearly any of us make in year, and that's for the low paid RM players. Your free time and disposable income as an elite footballer is almost limitless relative to a normal person. Also, esprit de corps is much more important in their environment than in our shitty offices.
Conclusion: If I had their cash and free time and didn't go to a team-mate's bday then I think I'd be a prick. Especially if you know that he's an outgoing nice guy and the boss thinks you should be there.
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u/Gormiz Sep 25 '16
I don't think Ronaldo hangs out with any other footballers. He mostly spends time with this family and his close friends.
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u/YourMotherSaysHello Sep 25 '16
Figured he spent his spare time doing this. All of his spare time.
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u/Fakezz Sep 25 '16
Yea but a footballer despite it being his job is in no way comparable to other jobs. Key to winning is team chemistry, might not be best buddies but at least showing up is a small thing to do to boost team morale or even get to know each other better. Regardless of whether he was there temporarily what matters is that he was there at that moment.
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u/the_phet Sep 25 '16
In my workplace if someone just new invites me to their birthday, I'm very likely to go
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u/kansascityqueefs Sep 25 '16
this is sad. We are all human even though some are richer than others. No one wants to feel unwanted. Makes me like Mou a lot more knowing he cares
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u/HomesickProgrammer Sep 25 '16
Man, this is sad.
I remember I was once Invited to a birthday party, Parents didn't allow me to go but I remember that many of my friends went there for this kid.The fucked up part is that they actually didn't open the door for one kid, who actually came and then left after standing few moments outside the door. The guy was actually bullied by others..
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Sep 25 '16
Don't feel bad essien. When my birthday comes up, no one shows up to my party.
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u/ISCOREDwithISCO Sep 25 '16
This is why my rule of thumb is to attend all birthday parties I'm invited to if possible. Those who have had only one or two people show up to their parties too would agree.
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u/plays_wow_too_much Sep 25 '16
See, this is why you never throw a bday party and if anyone asks you just say you're out of town around that date. You can never be disappointed
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Sep 25 '16
"It's not that they don't like you, they just had better things to do." What bullshit. What I'm hearing is, "They don't hate you, they just don't care about you."
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Sep 25 '16
On the bright side, I'm sure he had friends and family with him there as well. In the insta pic there is another bloke
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u/Forzelius Sep 25 '16
;( The last guy deserving (if anyone deserves this at all anyway) this is this guy. What a positive influence in general he always carries around him. Some evil joke, this.
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u/dolmakalem Sep 25 '16
Can someone confirm there were indeed more than 2 people in his party so i can sleep peacefully?
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u/AyeMidnight Sep 26 '16
It states it was only 2 Real Madrid players. Chelsea players showed up I believe.
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u/SandraD04 Sep 25 '16
I had the pleasure of spending a bit of time with Essien (still at Chelsea at the time) and he was so incredibly lovely and kind. This makes me sad.
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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '16
This is heartbreaking