Making a case for Iker Casillas, a true leader

It is a scene we have gotten used to in recent years: Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper, captain, and spiritual leader, Iker Casillas yelling while lifting trophy after trophy.

Be it the Copa Del Rey, the La Liga title, the European Championship Cup, the Confederations Cup or the 6.1 kg 18-karat gold World Cup trophy, he sure knows how to savour the moment and make defeated opponents dejected while other adversaries look on with jealousy and envy.

On Saturday night, he lifted yet another: the UEFA Champions League trophy as Real Madrid finally struck gold in their La Decima hunt, but all looked lost when the moment every goalkeeper dreads reared its head.

In the 36th minute, the Spaniard popularly called ‘San Iker’ had a rush of blood and felt the need to run into “no man’s land” as a cleared corner was hacked back into his box. Realising his mistake but still ball-watching, he took too long to rush back and his team got punished, conceding a goal that nearly ruined their impressive Champions League season. Many a keeper could have vanished into self-destruct mode after such horrendous mistake considering the occasion. San Iker may have showed jitters throughout the game, but he also revealed his inner qualities to pull through and still rally his troops from the back.

This writer should be forgiven for thinking former Real Madrid coach, Jose Mourinho, would be laughing hysterically at the TV when he saw the 33-year-old’s comical mistake. But that really could be the case.

While at Madrid, the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’, now back at Chelsea, saw an opportunity to break the resolve of Casillas, Spain’s most-capped player and his club’s most-capped goalkeeper and most respected player, when he got injured in January 2013. He brought in Diego Lopez — who it must be said has been superb since joining — and also tried to turn the players against the Mosteles-born ‘keeper all in efforts to frustrate the Madrid native and assert himself as the main power broker at Madrid. Although he partially succeeded, Casillas accepted every “punishment” graciously, warming the bench and continuing his role as the club’s foremost ambassador. This won him the admiration of football fans (this writer is first), players, coaches and the media worldwide. Even players of arch-rivals Barcelona joined in, while Spain’s national team coach Vincent Del Bosque stated that Casillas will continue to be the country’s first choice goalkeeper no matter the situation at his club.

Casillas has a long list of blunders, which virtually everybody tends to overlook partly due to his many unbelievable saves and also due to his team mates bailing him out at the other end, just like it happened on Saturday night.

Considered one of the finest goalkeepers of all time, San Iker has delivered several world-class saves for club and country despite his short height, reminiscent of Mexico’s Jorge Campos, which is a known disadvantage for a goalkeeper. In 2009, he showed great reflex to change his flight direction after committing himself to one side of his goal, diving the other way round in split-seconds to deny Diego Perotti in a one-on-one situation; he withstood everything Bayer Leverkusen had, as Madrid won the Champions’ League 2-1 in 2002, a game in which he only came on as a substitute; he made two crucial one-on-one saves against Arjen Robben as Spain won the World Cup in 2010 against Holland. Similar scenes ensued this season with vital saves at Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund in the round-of-16 and quarter-finals of the Champions League respectively, and then Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey final.

This season has seen him get more game time between the sticks, thanks to Mourinho’s exit. However, due to Diego Lopez’s continued good form, new coach Carlo Ancelotti decided to retain Lopez for league games, while Casillas was first choice for cup competitions, and it paid off. Real lost La Liga but won both the Copa Del Rey and Champions League with his leadership qualities and excellent goalkeeping shining throughout — minus his mistake in the Champions league final.

A player who resonates the very essence of Madrid, he enjoys the respect of everyone. The height of this was at a mass brawl in one of several ill-tempered el clasico clashes during Mourinho’s reign, when he ordered Barcelona’s Gerard Pique back to his half with the centre back obeying instantly; after which he pulled Barcelona captain Puyol and Xavi aside, with both players listening keenly while their real captain and leader spoke.

Similar scenes were observed in the Champions League final, with Atletico Madrid’s players and officials showing him utmost respect during the last-minute mass confrontation. Also, when he flapped at another cross in extra time, Real Madrid’s players politely appealed to him for calm nerves with smiles. Picture another keeper in such a situation, he would get the full bashing of the likes of Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso and the supporting cast, but not San Iker.

Voted the IFFHS, FIFA and FIFPro World’s best goalkeeper in the world for five consecutive years (2008-2012), named in UEFA Team of the Year for six consecutive years from 2007-12, winning the FIFA World Cup Golden Glove in 2010, conceding just one goal in the Copa Del Rey triumph and only six in the Champions league this season, and a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, Casillas has been faced with this kind of scenario before. He lost his place to back-up ‘keeper, Cesar Sanchez for most of the 2001/02 season and when given the opportunity he regained his place. It will be hoped that the ‘keeper who made his debut at age 16 will replicate such this time around as Real Madrid continue to make themselves the best club in the world, while Spain bids to successfully defend their World Cup and Euros triumphs. Who else is better-equipped to lead them all other than San Iker?