There was a new gesture in the Fede Valverde Real Madrid repertoire against Inter Milan on Tuesday night which looked borrowed – because it was.
After sweeping in the second goal at the Bernabeu, the Uruguayan put a hand to his mouth and kissed his index and middle fingers — Luis Suarez’s trademark, note for note.
There was a very good reason for it. Real Madrid’s captain has become a father for the third time, and this one is a first: a daughter, Bruna.
The Fede Valverde Real Madrid celebration was for baby Bruna
Valverde confirmed it himself in the mixed zone after the 2-1 win over Inter, when a reporter asked him the obvious question, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
“Has Bruna been born yet?” he was asked. “Yes, she’s born, she’s born,” came the reply.
Then came the part that made the whole thing land. Asked about the celebration, Valverde admitted he had lifted it wholesale from his compatriot, and laughed his way through the confession.
“I copied him, very similar,” he said. “I’m going to have to ask his permission to do the celebration. I don’t know whether I’ll keep it — I have to talk to the kids so they can tell me how I’m supposed to celebrate.”
A full house at home
Bruna completes what is now a family of five. Valverde and his wife, the Argentine journalist Mina Bonino, are already parents to two boys, Bautista and Benicio, and the arrival of a daughter is the one piece the household had not had before.
It is worth remembering how much this particular player is carrying. He is the club captain, he wears the No 8, and he has spent the opening weeks of the season being asked to plug whichever gap in midfield needs plugging that week. The idea that he has been doing all of that with a new baby at home makes the past fortnight look rather different.
The captain is having a moment
Tuesday was, by some distance, the best night of the season for the Uruguayan. He scored, he was named man of the match, and he was the first man to refuse to varnish the performance afterwards.
“We didn’t play a great game, Courtois saved us,” he said — a captain’s assessment on a night the Bernabeu went home grumbling despite three points, with Thibaut Courtois producing the string of saves that kept Inter out.
That balance is exactly why Jose Mourinho keeps writing his name in first. Valverde has been the one constant in the double pivot this season while the identity of his partner has changed almost weekly, and his role under the new manager has been one of the more interesting subplots of the campaign so far. Reports in Spain this week suggest Mourinho has settled on Valverde alongside Aurelien Tchouameni as his pairing for the biggest fixtures now that the Frenchman is fit again.
Watch the celebration on Saturday
Los Blancos are back at the Bernabeu this weekend, with Rayo Vallecano the visitors and Benat San Jose’s side arriving short of bodies. If Valverde scores again, the interesting bit will be what he does next — because by his own admission the current celebration is on loan, and the licensing negotiations with his sons are ongoing.
For a squad that has spent the week being whistled by its own supporters, a little unfiltered joy from the captain is not the worst thing to have landed. Congratulations are in order at Valdebebas.
