Even though Real Madrid players are currently enjoying a few days off, Iker Casillas will be on the pitch today in Madrid (in the Palacio de los Deportes) for a charity event organized by his Foundation.
El Partido por la Ilusión
Ilusión is a Spanish word that has several meanings: hope, wish, dream, thrill... I could choose one of them to come up with a translation such as "the match for hope", but I don't think it would be a fair rendering of the concept: a charitable 4-hour event including a concert followed by a soccer game played by professional players as well as artists and performers, the proceedings of which will be used to fight youth unemployment and social exclusion. So basically a thrilling event to give hope back to the youth so that they can fulfill their dreams and get what they wish for... How about that?
After the concert featuring Pignoise, La Musicalité and Robert Ramírez among others, artists such as Alejandro Sanz (you probably remember him for his duet with a Colombian singer who used to be a Madridista but has since then joined the dark force), David Bustamante, and José and David Muñoz from the band Estopa will swap their mics for cleats. They will play with (or against!) professional players such as as Iker --obviously--, Esteban Granero, José Antonio Reyes, Fernando Hierro and Fabio Cannavaro. Golfer Sergio García, moto rider Álvaro Bautista and linesman Rafael Guerrero will also participate, among others.
The initiative is a joint effort: the event is organized by Iker Casillas Foundation, sponsored by Bank BBVA with the collaboration of Adidas and Realmadrid Foundation, broadcast by Spanish channel La Sexta ; the projects funded by the proceedings will be carried out by Fundación Tomillo and Fundación Exit, two experienced foundations that promote professional integration for youngsters; and the Foundation PricewaterhouseCoopers will work pro bono to ensure both projects are rightfully implemented.
How to contribute, whether you're in Madrid or not
If you can be in Madrid this afternoon, then you can buy your tickets (15€ for adults, 10€ for children under 12) here.
If you cannot attend the event but still want to help, you can make a donation through the Fila Cero (Row Zero) system here too.
A few anecdotes from Iker's presentation of the event
You can view pictures and video footage on our Facebook page and Youtube channel. Here is Iker's speech. If enough of you ask me to, I'll translate it, but below the video are a couple of fun facts anyway:
Gregorio Panadero --Director of Communication and Brand for Bank BBVA-- revealed at 2:18 that Iker is an ambassador of the bank and that he himself asked them if they could help in the Partido por la Ilusión initiative.
Gregorio Panadero then explained that they were obviously happy to help but that this initiative could only count on them if everything was accounted for, and that is why Fundación Iker Casillas made sure there would be an auditing process (it will be handled pro bono by PricewaterhouseCoopers).
To prove how respected Iker is, Gregorio Panadero went on to tell (3:30 mark) that his father --an Atleti fan-- said that the only good thing BBVA did was to get Iker as their brand amabassador.
Iker always looks a little shy in this kind of events, almost like he doesn't want to be there. He had the same attitude at his biography's launch. This time, it didn't help that he kept his hat on the whole time! But if you go beyond that, you realize how committed he is: despite the shyness, he stands there and delivers a long speech as best as he can. He could say a couple of sentences and get away with it, or not say a word at all (no, I won't give any names!), but he doesn't: his speech starts around the 3:50 mark and doesn't finish until the 13:20 mark! You can tell he's reading it, but someow it always feels honest and genuine. He's not a great orator like some self-help gurus can be (for example), but he transmits much more trust because he doesn't use any tricks and he always ends with a nice touch. If you want a reminder of his previous speech and how he ended it, check this post. This time, he made sure to wish everybody happy holidays and a happy new year full of health and work.
From 4:40 to 5:00, something funny happened. Iker was delivering his speech, explaining why he set up his Foundation over a year ago and he was stumbling upon words a lot. So at one point he started shuffling through the pages and said something like "No, wait, it's not coming out right". Somebody in the audience (you can barely hear him, around 4:53) reacted by jokingly saying "It's ok, your talent is to stop anyway". And Iker --laughing-- replied with a very spontaneous "No, I can do other things too, come on!". (Bear in mind that "come on" is my PG-13 translation of what he really said, LOL)
Funnily enough, today is in Spain what April 1st is in many countries: December's fool day, so to speak (Innocents day in Spain). So at the 8:50 mark, Iker made it clear this event was indeed happening and it was no joke!
I also found it awesome that the whole event was simultaneously interpreted in sign language. Being a professionally trained translator who once considered a career as an interpreter, I have the utmost respect for my fellow translators and interpreters. So kudos to this sign language interpreter and, while I'm at it, to this other one who interpreted this other event in Spanish and Indonesian.
So will you be at the Partido por la Ilusión? Or would you have liked the opportunity? Would you like to read a translation of Iker's speech? Would you like to know more about Realmadrid Foundation and Fundación Iker Casillas? Let us know in the comments, we'll see how we can help!
