Real Madrid Players Internationally: Higuaín Scores Three As Xabi Alonso Gets Savaged

Here's a list of reasons why I hate international breaks: 

• They're boring. 
• In the same vein, there's no news!
• So, I have nothing to write about.
• And, if there is news, it's normally bad. Like this horrible tackle on Xabi.
• They make the clubs worse (see above).
• They ruin the pace of the season.
• They're run by a cartel that exploits fan nationalism for ridiculous amounts of money, then pretend that they're some sort of wonderful ambassadors of the sport (FIFA). 

All of the above reasons are why we haven't really had any new content here on MM for the past couple of days--there's just not that much going on. So, without further ado, I give you a recap of all the relevant Real Madrid news from the first round of friendlies! (How many minutes are left until we can start thinking about clubs again?)

Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso both left Spain's tie against the Czech Republic with injuries. Xabi's came after one of the more brutal tackles that I've seen since the World Cup final (hello, Nigel de Jong). In principal, neither player's injury looks too bad: Xabi escaped with a bad bruise (contusion), while Ramos is looking at a minor muscular injury. Two down...

In good news, Gonzalo Higuaín scored a hat-trick for Argentina against an Alexis Sánchez-less Chile side. This bag o' goals gives him an astounding six in his last two matches. In other news, Leo Messi also scored, bringing his total to somewhere close to 98492804. 

In much more absurd news, Cristiano Ronaldo didn't score in Portugal's 5-3 victory over...Iceland. Manchester United winger Nani grabbed a brace almost immediately, scoring the first two in just over 20 minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo's total goals remains untouched, sitting firmly at 98492805. 

Despite featuring various Real Madrid players, Turkey vs. Germany didn't live up to the hype. Mesut Özil sat out (minor injury), and Hamit Altintop might have been the best of our players (which shows the general level of the match). Of course, Nuri Sahin didn't play for Turkey (he's in Madrid recovering from his interminable injury), while Sami Khedira hasn't looked like himself in months. 

That's pretty much it. In terms of other, non-Real Madrid news, Atlético's own Arda Turan threw a tantrum at Turkey coach Guus Hiddink after being substituted (embarrassing), and referee Howard Webb was forced to stop play during Greece's 2-0 win over Croatia because some fans lit huge parts of the stadium on fire. This is real life, people.