______________________________________________________ Translator Notes: Mourinho had actually noticed Sami Khedira much earlier than the 2010 tournament. He told him he'd been observing him "for some time" when they met at Valdebebas and Mourinho personally offered him the chance to come. How Sami Khedira made it in and out of Valdebebas in July of 2010 without being noticed is "a secret" - and although Sami was nervous and had even brought a translator "he wasn't needed. Mourinho convinced me in two minutes." As an aside, the writer is correct when he notes that simply to be noticed at all was considered an honour by both Germans. Khedira has said that just being invited to meet Mourinho was an honour - and in an interview with Kicker earlier this year Mesut Özil has said that being invited to speak to Mourinho on the telephone was "first of all, for me, a great honour." References to disdain in the Spanish press are correct. Khedira was greatly disliked by Madrid's two biggest sports dailies As and Marca who felt he contributed nothing to the attack. Mourinho on the other hand, after a derby-performance in October of 2010 against Atletico Madrid after which players like Özil (who scored off a free-kick) and Cristiano Ronaldo were celebrated by the press said, when asked which player he thought had performed best on the pitch: "Khedira." He had noted earlier after a match against AC Milan that players like Sami Khedira and Ricardo Carvalho who play "with discipline, who keep the shape of the formation are not given the same attention but they are just as important." In the meantime, even Marca have come to appreciate how shaky the Madrid midfield is without Khedira. When he was injured against Malaga before the team had to meet Barcelona, the newspaper was suitably distraught.