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In a show of respect and love for the victims of the attack in Barcelona, Real Madrid held a minute of silence in Real Madrid City.
Our players and coaching staff held a minute's silence for the victims of the attack in Barcelona before training today.#RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/t0tFgmSVQt
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) August 18, 2017
The moment of quiet was impeccably observed and involved key parts of the coaching staff in addition to Zidane and the entire official squad. It ended with a round of applause as Real broke away from the circle they had formed and started their training.
This was a classy gesture from Los Blancos, as was their official statement on social media and their official website. Gestures like this remind us that sport is meant to unite us and help us get through difficult times. No matter how complicated or intense our rivalry gets, there is always space to leave those tensions behind and remember our common humanity. Sometimes football is just football and sport is just sport. It was nice to see Real Madrid remember that with these small gestures of support.