MADRID — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel stepped up to the microphone to open his pre-practice Wednesday news conference with a little bit of Spanish.
“¿Qué tal?” McDaniel presented as a greeting to a combination of Spanish media and traveling reporters from America and possibly other parts of Europe at Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano, home of Spanish soccer club Atlético Madrid.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was taken aback, stunned when he had a Spanish reporter mention to him that the first article he had published was titled “Tua Tagovailoa: The quarterback who changed American college football.”
As the Dolphins (3-7) began to hunker down for the week of practice in Madrid in preparation to face the Washington Commanders (3-7) on Sunday morning at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for the NFL’s first game in Spain, players and coaches have also taken time to ingratiate themselves into the culture abroad.
The Dolphins landed in Madrid on Tuesday morning after flying over the Atlantic ocean beginning Monday evening back home. Tuesday, a day off for NFL players in a standard week playing from one Sunday to the next, was spent with a lot of players sightseeing, enjoying Spanish cuisine and shopping, fullback Alec Ingold said.
Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb knew his way around from visiting a year and a half ago with his fiancée. He took teammates to some of the places he had been.
Tagovailoa said he was tracked at logging about 20,000 steps.
“Being able to travel internationally and visit different cultures, I think, is a cool thing,” Tagovailoa said. “Not just with the food, with the language, with the people, as well. (Tuesday), I had an opportunity to check out the city a little bit and thought that was cool. I got to see a little bit of the cathedral. That was really cool. Got to check out some of the spots while walking.”
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McDaniel didn’t have quite the opportunity to take advantage of the locale to start the week, the extent of his sightseeing being his office at the team hotel.
“But on the ride over here, it was absolutely gorgeous. Reminded me a lot of northern California, just in terms of the layout,” said McDaniel, who was an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers before getting the head job with Miami in 2022. “Being a history major, there’s a lot of things I’d like to see.”
But the coach is big on all forms of team bonding, going back to an 11-day preseason trip through Chicago and Detroit in August and the weeklong stay in Frankfurt, Germany for the Dolphins’ previous international game in 2023. And he hopes players and coaches alike make the most of their time in Spain.
“This is a place that a lot of people never knew they were going to be able to go to, necessarily. I just feel very fortunate to have a first-time experience and to do it with teammates,” he said. “The sport of football is 11 people playing together each and every down. That cohesion is only elevated when you share off-the-field experiences, as well.
“As far as the opportunity to have a player day off here versus home, where everyone has their lives and it takes them different places, it’s a residual win.”
McDaniel’s introductory statement was as far as he went Wednesday with his Spanish.
“I do my best when interacting with bilingual people who speak English,” he said. “I’m a very good listener. I can understand it, but unfortunately, I do the language an injustice when I try to get reps at it. Fortunately, most people that try to speak with me speak fluent English, which is my wheelhouse.”
But players showed off some limited Spanish-speaking skills, including Tagovailoa.
“I don’t know too much Spanish,” Tagovailoa said. “Hola, ¿como estas?… Buenos dias.”
Dolphins CB Jack Jones warms up during practice in Madrid, Spain on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Then, a pro-Real Madrid reporter told him “Hala Madrid!,” the rallying cry for the Spanish soccer club, would be a good phrase for him to use, and Tagovailoa said it back to him.
Although Chubb had been to Spain before, he’s still far from fluent in his Spanish.
“I’m still working on it, still practicing,” he said. “Like Tua said, I know the basics. I can start a conversation. I can’t continue a conversation.”
Then, he took a crack at his language skills to the enjoyment of Spanish media on hand as he reeled off several phrases.
“Hola, ¿como estas?
“Oh, muy bien. ¿Y tu?
“¿De donde eres?… That’s all I got for you right now.”
It was a tough act for defensive tackle Zach Sieler to follow when he stepped up to the microphone, so he opted not to give Spanish a shot in the public setting.
As for the Spanish article praising Tagovailoa’s impact in college, the Dolphins quarterback, while appreciating the kind words, took the humble approach of noting the coaching he received at Alabama under Nick Saban had most to do with his pre-professional success.
With practice Wednesday, it marked the beginning of locking in on the coming opponent in the Commanders so the Dolphins can leave Spain with a feeling of accomplishment and not just travel stories.
“We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity and now it’s back to focusing on exactly what people are here for,” McDaniel said, “and that’s to play a game against an opponent that’s going to be a handful, so we have a lot of work to do starting now.”
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