Clos Gómez drew the short straw this week, the Zaragoza based referee picked to be the man in charge of the derby game between the two Madrids. And he certainly made a name for himself, sending off Perea and Van Nistelrooy in the first half, awarding a last second penalty to Real Madrid, and ruling out goals for Van Nistelrooy and Raúl before that which many commentators thought were valid.

Despite the late penalty one Real Madrid director was overheard saying "they don't want us to win the league this year!", and Schuster himself said that they would have won 1-5 had it not been for the referee! With Rodríguez Santiago and González Vázquez both retiring from the international scene, Clos Gómez and also Teixeira Vitienes are both being promoted by UEFA. Europe beware! (20.10.08)