Open Thread: 03 April 2026

The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to d all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name! Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Ezek, Valyrian Steel, Kung_Fu_Zizou, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Felipejack.

Will Vini be rested?

Vini has played 98% of minutes under Arbeloa. He started two friendlies with Brazil, so he likely won’t start the match against Mallorca to be rested ahead of the clash against Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Valverde was given permission not to train yesterday — he is suspended, so he is not facing Mallorca anayways.

Valverde praises Zidane and Ancelotti

Zidane is a football legend. He helped me a lot. There are certain moments where it’s difficult for a player to cope with certain moments football wise, and he always had that calmness, that image of peace, that everything was going to be alright, and he transmitted that to me. The day-to-day with Zidane, he always asked about my family, my kids… that made me very happy

Ancelotti made me grow, he made me shine in the world of football, he made me believe in myself. I consider him family. I love him so much. I hope I can cross paths with him again one day. Out of all managers, Ancelotti is the most complete

Enzo possible if Chelsea do not go to UCL