That was the week that was

I've been away for a week, so, by way of catch-up, here's the highlights of the past few days' worth of Real Madrid news:

Sunday 5th November: No fireworks and Capello's first ever home defeat with Real Madrid, sees them slipping to fourth place

Monday 6th November: MLS team LA Galaxy tell the BBC they would be interested in signing David Beckham should he not renew his contract with Real Madrid.

Tuesday 7th November: "The vultures are gathering", says Ramón Calderón, after presidential hopefuls Villar Mir and Fernández Tapias (who stood as vice-president in Juan Palacios's campaign) said they expect to de-throne the current incumbent if the postal votes are allowed to stand.

Wednesday 8th November: Roberto Carlos may soon face real opposition for his starting left-fullback place after Real sign his countryman Marcelo from Brazilian side Fluminense for a reported 7 million euros. Curiously, it was also reported that Roberto Carlos is on the verge of renewing his contract for a further two seasons.

Thursday 9th November: Beckham, Ronaldo and Reyes all started in Real Madrid's 5-1 thumping of Ecija in the Spanish Cup, with van Nistelrooy scoring twice to ensure he's been on target in all three competitions this season.

Friday 10th November: Cassano finally "apologises" to Capello and will be allowed to train with the rest of the squad from Saturday.

Ronaldo may be out for a month after picking up (another) knee injury in the midweek Cup game. So that's his diet blown to pieces (again).

Saturday 11th November: Former Real Madrid hard-man, Fernando Hierro, will join the coaching squad in January to help train the central defenders.