“I cried like a baby”
Rafa confessed to Marca.com that he cried like a baby over the World Cup win. He also predicts that the whole country is crazy-happy and that they must celebrate for a year.
Thanks to @LadyRain782 for pointing out these celebration photos.
Great Tennis Photos has some unsourced photos of Rafa before the match.
Pre-match interview – this time, compare and contrast with Pau Gasol:
Posted by vamosrafelnadal.
Another post-match interview with a different accessory configuration:
Posted by meko1686.
Loading ...
Rafa is such an emotional person: he would cry!
But I like that aspect of him.
What a silly happy boy.
Seeing him holding that trophy and knowing he could’ve easily become a football player instead of a tennis player, I can’t help but think that had he been a footballer, he might’ve been one of these guys winning tonight. ;) It’s awesome to see him so happy and hey, he didn’t jinx the team. Maybe Queen Sofia provided the anti-jinx factor, as she seems to be bringing luck to Spanish athletes. ;)
yes, he looks so much like a little boy – giddy with happiness! you would think he’s part of the football team who won the cup! I’m so happy Spain won! Casillas is awesome!!
Bless!! I’m sure that’s the happiest I’ve seen him (which is a bit strange). I’m also glad that he hasn’t broken out in the most horrendous spots, which is what it looked like at first glance :O
That is a gorgeous picture. I am stuck in bloody work and can’t access half the videos/interviews – I wanna go home!!
Saw the Queen of Spain jumping up and down at the match when they scored which was a joy to see. Can’t see “our Liz” doing the same thing…:)
I love the Spanish royalty – each of them are great sports fans and always show such exuberant support for their teams. Wonder where they were during the disappointing Davis Cup, though…
i like watching football but i love tennis so i am very happy rafa playes tennis but he can be fan like us of football.
i am also happy he got to enjoy africa. i hope miri you get go there too. its beautifull.
rafa take care and have fun
Rafa may have had to find other seats: via tumblr
Tweeted by loltennis: wimbers trophy is jealous :// rafa clearly considering pulling a iker/carbonero here http://twitpic.com/24je5o
I think he has transcended mere Fanboy and become full-blown Groupie. xD
So, so happy he was there. While watching the match, I kept picturing his reactions.
Nah, not a groupie. A fan with benefits. Oh, wait….
Hrmm, when the cameras go off and the showers come on…
On a less pervy note, I wonder how much of his emotion/excitement relates to just how close he was to being a football player himself – like, a-few-tennis-tournaments-won-when-he-was-eight close.
Although in the alternate universe in my head, Rafa would be a WC-winning striker for Spain, I’m glad he chose tennis. Spain’s winnertude … it basically started with him! <333
Yeah. As much as he’s a “live in the moment” kind of guy, I can’t help but wonder if he doesn’t have a few “what if” thoughts about the career choice from time to time.
I was going down the ‘what if’ trail also. Can definitely envision him running out on that field in front of the huge crowd. Interesting to think about team vs. individual sport aspect of it as well.
It’s impossible to compare, isn’t it? A lot of people would say Rafa is the greatest single Spanish athlete ever – not a status he’d have achieved as a footballer on a team. Deep down, I think Rafa is an individualist, although maybe not by much – so tennis suits him (can you imagine his face were he to, say, get substituted in the middle of a match? ;))
That said, I genuinely think he likes football better than tennis. Never seen him get quite so excited about tennis!
I think it’s a different feeling, not that he prefers football.
Rafa’s said that he views tennis as his hobby and job so there’s an enjoyment plus seriousness factor, but football for him is pure hobby and joy. He relaxes with football, whether when he’s playing it on the tennis court, on a field or at the beach.
And I think when he chose tennis, Uncle Toni and other influences guided/raised him towards building his individualistic mentality and confidence since he was a child.
Not sure he’d have made as great a footballer as tennis player – he is too individualist (and likes to be in control). Uncle Toni once said he didn’t pass the ball as much as he should… Heh. Not surprised.
I think the excitement level of a team sport is generally higher than that of an individual one. So I can’t tell if he likes football more than tennis. But lucky for him, he’s close to both worlds! Maybe he has a fantasy life in football and was dreaming about being the goalscorer for Spain yesterday =)
And we wouldn’t like him so much if he’d shown as much fanaticism over his own Wimbly win as in here…. What kind of an egotistical person would that be!
If I’m not mistaken, Rafa said, in one of his pressers from Wimbly, that football was his favourite sport. Personally, I felt disappointed. He should love tennis more, shouldn’t he?
However, I really enjoyed Spain’s victory yesterday because it was well-deserved (Iker was great, btw). And I would have been more than disappointed if Rafa hadn’t lived the moment with the intensity that suits a passion.
It makes sense to me. It’s got to be difficult to watch/enjoy tennis without going into “work” mode. “Hmmm…look at how he’s hitting mainly to the forehand. Keep that in mind for next match against him.” Football? He can just watch and enjoy with no responsibilities or worries.
Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more, if you see it from his perspective and as tennis = his job vs. football = his hobby. That is why I can understand and respect his passion for football, just like I understand and respect anybody’s passion for any sport/hobby.
However, while I can see that your/his pov is totally justified, I am still disappointed. Simply because I happen to love tennis & because he happens to be the player that I enjoy watching most. Only b/c of that and nth else, reading that his favourite sport is football made me sigh with disappointment. It was my first, instinctual reaction.
And there’s something else. All the kids that I see practicing hard out there on the tennis courts – for many of them ‘you hit that just like Nadal’ is the ultimate superlative. They too would be confused at their hero saying that another sport takes precedence in his heart over tennis.
I somehow have the feeling that I’m not getting my point across but I hope you’ll understand what I mean :).
“I wonder how much of his emotion/excitement relates to just how close he was to being a football player himself – like, a-few-tennis-tournaments-won-when-he-was-eight close.”
Reminds me of the fact Cesc Fabregas said that had he not been a football player, he’d most def be a tennis player.
I love Spanish athletes. Awesome spirit, not to mention they’re pretty inside and out
lol!
Security guard: Can you believe this dorky fanboy tried to pass himself off as Rafael Nadal?!?
He Could not resist biting the trophy…EH!!!
http://vamosbrigade.smugmug.com/Rafa-Pictures/2010-Off-court/The-World-Cup-Final-in-South/12876820_ngBDG#931552052_kKQzf
OMG, just how tall is Pao Gasol. Seems like a nice guy but quite subdued when compared to Rafa. They probably created a designated area so Rafa could jump and yell at will.
I’m so excited for Rafa. He looks so happy he may jump right out of his skin!!! In that set of photos, it looks like only the royal family and Rafa were allowed right in the dressing room with the Cup. And the Spanish announcers in the video were going crazy over Rafa being interviewed. Too funny.
I’m so glad for him that the timing and everything worked out for him to be there. It’s an experience he’ll never ever forget.
Does Rafa realize that how he feels today … we feel when he wins those special tournaments.
I hope so.
I hope so too.
That is something that I was thinking too… he could enjoy this win more than he could enjoy his own. He could allow himself to just let go and be himself. What a special time for every Spaniard wherever in the world they happen to be right now.
Higher quality version of the post-game interview.
Well, I can figure out how he felt because watching the match with my friends and seeing the goal of Iniesta we felt on heaven, we jumped like crazies because this was huge, fireworks and so and everybody on the streets celebrating, LOL, I have an stupid smile in my face almost the same as when Rafa won RG and Wimbly this year… and I dont like Football, LOL, If I’m feeling this imagine Rafa that is huge Football Fan, LOL
Inés, I can even imagine what you Spaniards are feeling right now. Just know that a LOT of people around the world are enjoying this victory together will all of you! After I finished screaming of joy with my mom and watch the trophy ceremony, went to the movies and half the people in the theater were wearing Spain jerseys. And I live in Puerto Rico! Sooo freaking happy!
I could only relate a little if I compare this with when the Puerto Rico basketball team won against the eventual champion, Yugoslavia, at the 2002 World Championships(that wasn’t even a quarterfinal game), or when, again, the PR Basketball team won against USA’s Dream Team in the Athens Olympic Games. As you may see, basketball here is like futbol in the rest of the world :)
But going back to the topic, whoohoo for España and Rafa!!(BTW Sorry CC, An and dutchgirl)
Congratulations for Spain winning the world cup, Inés! It was an exciting match, but I honestly think the best team won in the end.
I can imagine the madness going on right now in your country (overhere people are hungover, practically no traffic earlier this morning when I got to work).
I’m glad for Rafa as well – his happiness in the pictures is so much fun to watch. And it’s so funny to see him with all the fan stuff, including the Spanish colours on his face, LOL.
He so wants that trophy for himself
I think more than anything he realizes how much blood, sweat and tears went into winning the thing. He knows how dedicated these players have had to be to accomplish this and he can relate to that.
Yeah, I was just being silly. It’s interesting though. Always seen him look at his own trophies with a look like that…never at one that wasn’t his.
He’s looking at it as if it were his firstborn.
They let him bite the trophy!
http://vamosrafa.tumblr.com/post/799846728
Could make him even more energized (if that’s even possible) to win the US Open?
LOOOOOOOLLLL!!!!!!!!!
What a perfect sporting summer! Happy for Spain, happy for Rafa. Happy for my heart because it didn’t have to go to a shootout!
I think Pau decided to go at last minute and couldn’t get anything that fits him off the rack!
Now I need my normal sleep back =)
Vamos Everyone!
Psssttt Rafa, you were’nt the only one that cried…. Between all the dissapointed dutch i saw some very secret happy tears from bf too…. Enhorabuena Espana, enhorabuena Rafa!
I cried like a baby, too. With your countrymen and women, not the bf and Rafa. :”(
Aaaaawww Natch, sweet…. but you realy shouldn’t have Natch, Spain was the better team. They deserved to win it!
Spain being a better team doesn’t make me want them to win. I had my own reasons for picking orange. Which is why I didn’t like the outcome. It wouldn’t matter if Nelson Mandela deserved the win. I sided with the Netherlands, and I stayed with them. When they lost, I didn’t like it. It’s as simple as that.
I think I’m OT again. Uhhhh…Rafa is hot. Spain won. And he cried. There, back on. :)
Sorry! Who am i to tell you that you should or should’nt do something, No? Did’nt mean it that way!
:)
I so luv the photos and interviews coming from this WC trip. Rafa’s face is pure Enthusiasm and Joy. I never thought anything could make him so happy as winning Wimbly, but this is probably the pinnacle of excitement outside of tennis for him. I look at him and I want to do the jumpy dance in circles.
Rafa looks like he joined a tour with Maribel, unfortunately he was still recognised on the trip and still had to do the photos and autographs. I luv that he got his whole face painted and came dressed in his own No. 10 Rafa Spanish jersey (because we don’t do Adidas), matching red sneakers and loaded with accessories, and sunglasses again that we never see him wear.
It’s so cool that Rafa got to celebrate with the team in the locker room.
*Iker and the team, thank you for letting Rafa hold, bite and admire the trophy in absolute awe, and take photos and celebrate with you guys. He’s like the kid in the biggest toy/candy store.
How cool would it be if Rafa got a on the same plane ride back to Spain with the football team?
Pardon my WC ignorance, but does the No. 10 have any significance?
No. 10 is the position of a striker, a player usually scoring most goals and the biggiest star in a team. Pele was No. 10, for example. Rafa wore No. 10 when he played as a kid.
As for his alleged preference of football over tennis: he misses the camaraderie, but by all accounts (e.g. an interview of his uncle Miguel Angel) he would have been a lousy football player, not for the lack of skills, but for his reluctance to pass the ball. Too individualistic. Just watch him play footie tennis – he never lets poor Maymo touch the ball. So, I reckon he did make a good career choice.
Yes, he’s a total ball hog!
Another piece of evidence: Rafa scoring 7 goals on his own during the football portion of the first Iker/Rafa Malaria benefit. xD
I so, so, so want to be that scarf.
Isn’t Jesus Navas pretty?!? He can be my no.2 ;)
I’d really like to know how he thinks it compares to Wimby.