Van der Vaart's first training at Real Madrid

Rafael van der Vaart's hectic day ended with a mild training session, his first as a Real Madrid player.
Rafael van der Vaart was presented today as Real Madrid's latest signing. Over two thousand fans greeted him at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as he donned the Real Madrid kit for the first time. After his first press conference and exclusive interview with Realmadrid.com, the player was ready to meet the squad later in the day.
He arrived in Real Madrid City at 19:00 and attended a mild session with 14 other players. They all took part in a practice game devised by Bernd Schuster.
Van Nistelrooy and Robben were close to Van der Vaart at all times, talking to him about the Club and assisting him with the language.
Rafael also had a chance to see all the facilities at Valdebebas, and was thrilled with what he saw.

Match Report:LASK Linz-Real Madrid

LASK Linz-Real Madrid

Madrid coach Bernd Schuster made several unusual alterations to his side ahead of the fixture, with Jerzy Dudek taking Iker Casillas' goalkeeper slot and Javi García dropping back into central defence due to Pepe's injury.But despite the makeshift nature of the line-up, after a disastrous settling-in period that saw Madrid go 1-0 down the Spanish side were not to prove troubles at all for the vast bulk of the game. While giving away such a cheap goal will worry the boss, the way his side rallied to recover will surely boost his spirits, although the late consolation for LASK will not.

LASK Linz 1-3 Real Madrid
1-0 Saurer 14'
1-1 Julio Baptista 20'
1-2 Raúl 45'
1-3 Saviola 84'
2-3 Mijatovic 90'

Real Madrid:
Dudek; Salgado, Heinze, Javi García, Torres; Diarra; Robben, Guti, Julio Baptista (Sneijder 46); Raúl (Saviola 46), Higuaín (Van Nistelrooy 46).

Real Madrid Preseason

After a week in the Algarve, Real Madrid now travel to Irdning to tackle hard pre-season work. This is the fifht year the team trains in the Austrian town. Double training session a dayThe players have gradually adapted to work in the Algarve during the past week. They will arrive in Irdning at 18:50 this evening to intensify their training.The squad will attend a double session every day at the sports facilities of the Scholss Pichlarn Hotel, where they will stay the next ten days. Men who played in the Euro but still haven't rejoined the team will do so througout the week . Sergio Ramos, Casillas, De la Red and Metzelder will be the last to arrive. The only players missing will be those who are set to participate in the Olympic Games this summer. Friendly on 27 JulyReal Madrid's first friendly of the season will be against Austrian First Division side Lask Linz. The encounter will serve to see in what physical condition the players are in.The squad will travel to London three days later to participate in their most important summer tournament this summer: the Emirates Cup. They will face Hamburg, Juventus and host side Arsenal. The team will return to Madrid two days later only to leave for Colombia on 6 August to play in a firendly in Bogotá. On 12 August they are set to face Eintrach in Frankfurt in their last match prior to the first Spanish Super Cup clash.