Stale Sagas and Tired Tales

My weekend was spaced out quite nicely I have to say. There was no football for me on Saturday night because I had the glorious opportunity to watch one of my musical heroes, Metallica, live here in Singapore (that’s one item ticked off my bucket list!). On Sunday, I managed to enjoy the multi-view feature on my TV: allowing me to catch Cardiff-Man City and Spurs-Swansea simultaneously (great to see La Liga stars Negredo, Soldado, Navas, etc. dispel many English pundits’ wrong impressions re: La Liga players). Granada-Real Madrid stretched my ‘football weekend’ all the way till today (Tuesday) early (3am) morning. As a result, I’m actually still hung over from what has been an astoundingly wonderful weekend (largely thanks to the music, and to a much lesser extent, the football).

I’ve read on twitter that Ancelotti’s statements to AS where he stated that “whoever he picked for this past vs. Granada would be he first choice keeper” was completely false. It is, in a way, reflective of the divisiveness of the matter. This was also reflected in the disgusting behavior of sections of the Bernabeu fans (that’s right! I HAVE the cheek to criticize the fans in the stands!) to boo and whistle Diego Lopez after he was asked to warm up towards the end of the first half.

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Let us all please get things straight here: BOTH Diego Lopez and Iker Casillas are products of the cantera. Iker joined the club at age 9 while Lopez was already 19 when he joined – and let us not please have the childish mindset that Iker is more Madridisita than Diego due to this 10 year advantage. Let’s all admit it: we all love Iker not just because he’s a ridiculously great goalkeeper, but also because of all the sentimentality that comes with him. We are frightened at the thought that the team’s (and Spanish National team’s) captain, whose career trajectory seemed certain to allow him to be a rare, world-class one-club man, would be disrupted. He won us (and the national team) countless matches and competitions: how could we, (how dare we) let him go by dropping him just like that?

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To view the situation in that manner alone however, would not only be wrong in principle but also in terms of fairness. Does the sentimentality that comes with Iker, together with his enormous achievements make him exempt from a coach’s decision on in-form and tactically suitable players? Is it right for the merits of a great goalkeeper like Diego Lopez to fly in the face of Iker’s past accomplishments and reputation? My answer to these questions is flatly ‘No.’ I remember a time when outrage was expressed over David Villa’s choice to wear what-used-to-be Raul’s #7 Jersey, where he tersely replied “the #7 jersey, belongs to Spain, not to Raul.”

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In the same manner, just as Ancelotti said, that Real Madrid’s #1 Goalkeeper Spot belongs to the club and not to Casillas or Lopez. If it is deemed by the coach that one is more suitable than the other to be the first choice ‘keeper – then it is something we ought to accept without having to think / believe / insist that the other must leave the club (unless he wants to).

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Iker Casillas will go down was one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is, however not the sort of goalkeeper that certain coaches prefer when given a choice. Despite being probably the best shot stopper of all time, he does not dominate the penalty box (largely because he is a relatively undersized goalkeeper), prone to being questionable in dealing with crosses and doesn’t have the ability to distribute as well from the back compared to the likes of Valdes and Reina. Lopez on the other hand is the sort of ‘keeper that many coaches like: he has a domineering presence in the box and more confident in dealing with high balls and crosses sent to him (despite being a lesser shot stopper). It is not a coincidence that apart from Jose Mourinho and Fabio Capello, he is also fancied by Carlo Ancelotti.

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Personally, I feel that when fit and in form, I prefer Casillas: what he lacks in certain aspects as a goalkeeper is compensated by what american sports fans refer to as ‘intangibles’ which he has in spades. I’ve also NEVER seen Iker choke on the big occasion and is the spiritual leader of the team, which is very important. I presume that Diego Lopez joined us thinking of himself as a backup to Iker following his unsuccessful spell at Sevilla. We must all admit however that the man hasn’t put a foot wrong just yet and deserves the opportunities he has been getting to play. If Ancelotti wants Lopez to play, let us all support the decision and the player while it is proving to have merit… and do so without necessarily wanting Iker out.