serghei
Senior Member
I was ironical. Funny you think your defence was terrible last year, because Beast seams to think otherwise.
Iker Casillas
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
I was ironical. Funny you think your defence was terrible last year, because Beast seams to think otherwise.
Barca overachieved in defence last season, mascherano and Pique are the only world class defenders they have, but somehow the rest also did well in defence, for some reason. Real Madrid on the other hand, underachieved in defence. Experienced players like Pepe and Ramos being terrible for their standards.
serghei
Senior Member
Hard shots from 6-7m that are not towards the keeper's body and are hard to stop. Casillas tried to stop that, just like he tried to stop Morata's shot, but it was too close range. It's one of the reasons why a penalty is 90% goal if you hit hard and don't direct the ball straight at the keeper's body.
It's also about holding the ball more (less time for the opposition to create chances), having a player like Rakitic who gives a lot in terms of effort, also about Alves having one of his best seasons with the club. Also about Lucho and his staff, who got the players back in shape and comitted to defend like they should. Many factors. I didn't dispute the value of Ramos and Pepe, just that their seasons were underwhelming (partly because if their injuries) and that your defence and the lack of a true DM (Modric out for a large part of the season) costed you a lot.
Last edited:
TornAndFrayed
Banned
Perez now claiming that no one at the club wanted Casillas to leave and that he personally wanted him to retire here.
This is such a shameless thing to say, I'm wondering if something wasn't lost in translation.
This is such a shameless thing to say, I'm wondering if something wasn't lost in translation.
Alves season is a bit overrated, Pique and Rakitic has bailed him out plenty of times during the season. alves isnt a very good defender anymore, imo. Anyway, Barca defended well all year btw, even before christmas they hardly conceded.
TornAndFrayed
Banned
Alves is our most overrated player for sure. 2 month of world class performances and suddenly he's been a demigod for the past 4 years. Sigh.
Yeah, he was horrible in first half of season. Pique was quite poor before winter too. But our defense as whole was consistently good for the whole season and the stats show it - least amount of goals conceded and no, it was not because of posession (much less this season). Our coaches deserve a lot of credit for drastically improved defensive system.
That said Bravo was indeed more reliable than Casillas this season. He made like 1-2 mistakes during the whole year. Huge improvement over Valdes.
FCBarca
Mike the Knife
Some dizzying spin from Gio, not a surprise after all these years but surely diehards like him have to finally acknowledge how shit their club is in terms of their legends
One thing is certain, there won't be any Ikers coming out of their 'cantera' in the future. They should advertise that at the capital club, 'Come join the club as a child and thrive only to be kicked to the curb, all alone at your farewell'
One thing is certain, there won't be any Ikers coming out of their 'cantera' in the future. They should advertise that at the capital club, 'Come join the club as a child and thrive only to be kicked to the curb, all alone at your farewell'
goope
Member
Raed
Dr. Raed St. Claire
I didn't want to get dragged into the discussion about Real Madrid, Perez, Iker and although I am furious with Perez for the way he has handled the club over on all I am tired of the people who haven't watched the entire career of my favorite player of all time.
Twitter brings the worst in people and the bickering on here is ruining what should have been a celebration of this legend. While I agree with the critics of Perez, I want to weigh in with what I believe is the truth and only god knows the full truth.
Iker, Iker's mother, Florentina all admitted that they made mistakes in the presser and this is basically the best conclusion that we can hope for. No one is a saint and no one is completely at fault.
What happened to Casillas should be stripped into two parts: athletics and character, and they should never ever be mixed. Iker's entire life has been Real Madrid so it is not a surprise that his personal life has been dragged into this situation. Removing a legend out of the club is always tricky and subject to drama, and for a player who has been part of Real Madrid for 25 years, this is as prone to drama as it gets.
It is really difficult forming a proper train of thought, there is so much to think about, because this is emotional.
Casillas Character
Casillas is a gentleman, classy, idealistic, and reserved. He is a traditionalist. Traditionalistic and idealistic people like Casillas are also stubborn and do not yield. Everything Casillas does is calculated, carefully scripted in his mind. It does not mean that he is right all the time, and I do not deny that he made some mistakes. His mistakes were few though, and far in between, only polarized by certain individuals.
Above all, he is a Madridista. Anyone who doubts Casillas' commitment to the Real Madrid institution (history, present and future) is a fool and has divided loyalties. He also has commitment to his national team. He has not compromised Real Madrid or his National Team, not once (see below for more on this). Anyone who accuses him of betrayal to the club, again, is a fool. If you read what Xavi just said about him, you will understand what Iker is to his team mates. Very few players can transcend the Catalan/Spanish fault line as well as Iker does. The list is very short because it is not easy, and in my opinion Raul failed where Iker and Hierro succeeded. This is because he is loyal to his team mates, especially the ones on his level, and there are levels. However, he also commands respect, players respect Iker. The entire Barcelona team sympathized with Iker not because they benefited in the end, but because he has done the right thing many times before. He is graceful.
Having said that, the impression I get is that Iker sets a hierarchy based on merit, uncompromising respect and contribution to his teams, and his teams are his teams. He is friendly to all, but he has his close circle, and no one messes with his close circle, not even his parents. I don’t know if this is a defensive mechanism or born out of necessity, but this is what I observed. The perimeter of this close circle is a fault line.
However, because he is reserved, and soft spoken, he is not as approachable. You do not fall in love with Iker, you fall in love with his accomplishments on and off the pitch. You are more likely to appreciate Iker than like him. Unless you have watched Iker week in week out for as long as I have because Iker's story is not one of many chapters, it is one long run on sentence. It is very telling what values mean to Iker when he has on multiple occasions repeated that he wants to be remembered as a good person rather than a good goal keeper. Off the pitch he does the right thing, or at least tries to. Where he fails most of the time is in what he says and to whom. Casillas is a man of pride, not arrogance, but his heightened sense of pride has been another fault line. With that, his values have at times, contradicted Real Madrid’s. The contradictions were seismic and could have been dampened had Iker adapted, but he is not much of a adaptable person.
Athletics
Casillas is not a skilled goal keeper, Casillas is a talented goal keeper. There is a stark difference especially in Iker’s case. Iker relies heavily on his natural instinct, on his natural ability to anticipate and respond to threats. The only skill he learned over the years is his ability to organize his defense (something Diego Lopez was poor at) because he remained prone to long range shots, free kicks and corner kicks.
Over the years, Iker relied more and more on organizing his defense than his shot stopping ability, and his experience in organizing defenses helped him in shoring up the defenses. You could tell, the number of saves he had to make before was unreal, his youtube highlights were made for the theaters. Where goal keepers like Buffon made a reputation for themselves by positioning themselves in the right place to make an “easy” save, Iker made “theatrical” saves. His athletics with age was affected, and where Buffon’s height and reading of the whole game helped him in a longer career, Iker’s tired body began to take a toll. It was visible to his fiercest critics. Still though, Iker’s main strength stems from his coolness, his mental serenity under pressure, his clear vision and focus so he was still able to extend his career long enough to win La Decima at the age of 33. Not too young but a handful lasted longer.
In 2006, Fabio Capello threatened Iker with signing Buffon during pre-season when Iker’s height and casual approach to training didn’t sit too well with the Italian. Iker was also a fan favorite, and was prone to slacking, like any player is, but considering he is the quiet captain…this brings me to the next point.
Captaincy and leadership
I purposely left this part out of his character section because this needs a topic on its own. Iker’s captaincy has been one of two folds, his National Team story and his club story. There is very little to discuss how influential he is over the national team, and it all started with Aragones destroying any barriers between the Catalans, Basque, Castillian, and even a Brazilian barriers (thank you Senna) among others that have long existed and plagued the NT. Then came Del Bosque, a man of pure class and harmony, a man who is as docile as they get, a patient man who trusts his players and instills them with confidence. A man who has remained relevant in the fast changing world of football with his tactical brilliance and although he has suffered a major defeat, and he may be on his last ride, he has been nothing short of brilliant. This is a man who understands Iker, this is a manager who relates to Iker, this is a man who walked a similar path to Iker, and this is a man who will be remembered as highly as Iker. If you want to understand Iker, you can understand him by understanding Del Bosque.
I believe one day Iker will be a similar character to Del Bosque, although Iker is more emotional, and this can change with time. Until then, Iker captained the National Team with little effort because the players respect him, because he commanded respect, because Iker draws confidence to be a leader from the manager who trusts him to be a leader, who encourages him to be a leader. When things were tough, Del Bosque trusted Iker to do the right thing, Xavi admitted that Iker has always been the go to guy and has always acted when it mattered to bring harmony to the group.
Iker’s captaincy for Real Madrid was challenged once before Mourinho and that was under Capello. Capello was hired by Calderon. Capello said he didn’t like his captain to be a goal keeper, and Iker responded to this threat very well because when Capello said it, he didn’t disrespect Iker, he challenged him. Challenge was accepted. However, Real Madrid is not the national team, and despite the goal keeping weaknesses, his biggest flaw was his introverted approach to captaincy, and this does not work at Real Madrid. Real Madrid is a very demanding club, and its captain and leader has to be vocal, approachable, open, and leading by example is not enough. This is where Raul also failed. You need to be a roaring lion on the pitch a general in the dressing room, and the voice of reason off the pitch. Iker is the voice of reason the pitch only. This is where I believe Ramos will be a better captain of Real Madrid and this is where I believe Pepe is also better. This is why I wouldn’t want Pepe sold although he is not a spring chicken. When Xabi was gone, there was no roaring lion anymore, and with the departing number of players who took the match by the scruff of the neck, Iker’s silence was deafening.
Where Fernando Hierro excelled was that he paid special attention to every single player, from every single corner on the earth, young or old, he was their big brother. The players listened to him, he grabbed their attention, Iker did not, just like Raul before him. This was his greatest failure. Iker at times resigned to fate and fell into despair. Ramos never does. Never.
Power Struggle
A man who values Real Madrid above all else is not a man who was going to allow anyone to tarnish the club, what it stands for and how it behaves. Iker has tolerated managers departing, player departing, but he never, not once, tolerated the club behaving in less than a reputable way. This is where Iker draws a line, although quiet on club affairs, on and off the pitch, where Iker draws the line is the club’s behavior.
This is where, Perez who came in 2000, elected on the premise of signing Luis Figo from Barcelona, came in and changed the club that Iker knew for the best part of his childhood, and Iker never let that go, never adapted. His favorite manager gone, the club’s image was changing into a Galactico, players were losing their place for the next best thing, the wise captain the field marshal Fernando Hierro was also gone, and in came in the financial model that changed the game. Iker remained silent and quiet because he wasn’t under pressure, it was Raul who felt threatened and wielded his power to remain in the starting line-up. Perez, did not have the club on lock the same way as Raul did, Perez would have committed career suicide if he had gone up against Raul right away, so Perez slow chipped away Raul’s power until his exit. Iker was watching. Hierro, Redondo, Del Bosque, Makalele, Raul, one by one, slowly margelinzed under the guise of the club over anyone else. Make no mistake, the club is above everyone else.
While top players were coming in, poor managers were also replacing strong managers. Poor managers who do not threaten Perez or managers who do not demand autonomy were the managers Perez preferred because they did not interfere with Perez tunnel vision for the club.
Perez, a megalomaniac, a man who has a vision for the club and a business model that has not been matched in the world of football, ever, is a relentless president who believes newer and bigger is better. His Zidane’s y Pavon’s model failed for reasons I might discuss elsewhere.
Maybe, and I say maybe, this is where Iker’s silent approach has been developed. I don’t know if he was always the silent type, because if you see his old clips, Iker was full of life and enthusiasm but I believe the club’s politics has alerted him but did not polarize him.
Iker had a good relationship with Lorenzo and Calderon, and I do not believe that Perez and Iker had a terrible relationship but they also didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of matters either, but Iker was satisfied, as long as Perez hadn’t threatened the club’s integrity. Iker also did not want to leave Real Madrid and when he was captain, Iker didn’t nearly have enough power as Raul did before him, not that he knows what to do with it anyway.
The biggest fall out between Iker and Perez came when Perez was president again, but hired Mourinho. This, was a desperate move, a move that was not in line with Iker’s vision for the club, a move that was not “idealistic” as much as “logical”. Best manager in the world deserves the right to manage the “best club” in the world. Mourinho, the manager that was supposed to dethrone Guardiola. The manager that was supposed to bring home La Decima, at all costs, and for Iker, “at all costs” has boundaries. Iker was tolerant of the manager but Mourinho wasn’t tolerant of Iker. Mourinho complained how he was managing EuroCup and World Cup winners, because Mourinho doesn’t manage winners, he creates winners. Mourinho wanted to reduce players to siege mentality and Perez was desperate for titles. He was supposed to be the savior of “Real Madrid”, Mourinho’s insecurities became Perez’s insecurities, but Iker, Ramos, Xabi do not reduce to peripheral players like Arbeloa. They have pride, they have their opinions, they have their status. When Mourinho managed inter to the CL final and destroyed Bayern, he took players who were outcasted from their clubs, players who were near finished and Mourinho convinced them that no one liked them, except him, and they believed his story. This worked at Chelsea and at Porto but Real Madrid is bigger than all 3 clubs combined.
Perez is desperate. Mourinho embarrassed by Guardiola. Titles, that is all that matters, and Mourinho was supposed to deliver titles because he often does but its only under special circumstances that he does. Mourinho had to poison the scene and elevate tension to unprecedented levels, in order for his methods to work. The rift between Barcelona and Real Madrid need not explaining, we’ve all witnessed it and its been all explained. Now, the silent captain was facing two issues, declining physical ability and a political war of Mourinho against him and Ramos. Mourinho was feeding of the president’s insecurity and desperation and what was a solid relationship between Perez and Iker, that has endured the years, has not been compromised. Their differences had been settled before but this time, Perez was under threat, and when Perez is under threat no one is inexpendible, including Iker. The silent captain is no match for Perez’s friends in the media and sure as hell does not have the skills of Mourinho in front of the mic.
The phone call to Barcelona players was necessary because in Iker’s eye it does not compromise Real Madrid, but this Real Madrid wasn’t his Real Madrid, this was Mourinho’s and Perez, and he definitely was compromising that.
The issue Mourinho’s Real Madrid was that it wasn’t even that effective, it was actually poor, and some blame Iker for the lack of effectiveness because he wasn’t on board. I don’t know, what would have become of Real Madrid has Ramos and Iker not stood in the face of Mourinho’s destruction of Real Madrid’s long lasting legacy? Would have they gained on the short term? Would have they failed anyway and they would have destroyed the NT? I do not know, but what I know is that the NT survived and so did Real Madrid, without Mourinho, at the expense of Iker, and at the expense of our divided fan base.
Those who believed that Iker was not committed to the cause because he refused to stand behind Mourinho’s and Perez’s methods for Real will hide behind his poor performances and those who appreciate the martyrdom of Iker and his bravery in the face of “evil” will forever hold a grudge against those who have polarized this club.
As for me, nothing makes me happier than celebrating Iker’s career with La Decima, knowing that I will forever remember Iker lifting that cup, and no one else. My favorite player has gone onto a new chapter, and this run on sentence has come to an end, but his legacy will remain forever as the best captain of the National Team, and Real Madrid’s greatest goal keeper, perhaps even, to some, greatest player to ever don the white shirt.
I choose not be sad, because Real Madrid > Anyone else.
Now I wait until his return.
Twitter brings the worst in people and the bickering on here is ruining what should have been a celebration of this legend. While I agree with the critics of Perez, I want to weigh in with what I believe is the truth and only god knows the full truth.
Iker, Iker's mother, Florentina all admitted that they made mistakes in the presser and this is basically the best conclusion that we can hope for. No one is a saint and no one is completely at fault.
What happened to Casillas should be stripped into two parts: athletics and character, and they should never ever be mixed. Iker's entire life has been Real Madrid so it is not a surprise that his personal life has been dragged into this situation. Removing a legend out of the club is always tricky and subject to drama, and for a player who has been part of Real Madrid for 25 years, this is as prone to drama as it gets.
It is really difficult forming a proper train of thought, there is so much to think about, because this is emotional.
Casillas Character
Casillas is a gentleman, classy, idealistic, and reserved. He is a traditionalist. Traditionalistic and idealistic people like Casillas are also stubborn and do not yield. Everything Casillas does is calculated, carefully scripted in his mind. It does not mean that he is right all the time, and I do not deny that he made some mistakes. His mistakes were few though, and far in between, only polarized by certain individuals.
Above all, he is a Madridista. Anyone who doubts Casillas' commitment to the Real Madrid institution (history, present and future) is a fool and has divided loyalties. He also has commitment to his national team. He has not compromised Real Madrid or his National Team, not once (see below for more on this). Anyone who accuses him of betrayal to the club, again, is a fool. If you read what Xavi just said about him, you will understand what Iker is to his team mates. Very few players can transcend the Catalan/Spanish fault line as well as Iker does. The list is very short because it is not easy, and in my opinion Raul failed where Iker and Hierro succeeded. This is because he is loyal to his team mates, especially the ones on his level, and there are levels. However, he also commands respect, players respect Iker. The entire Barcelona team sympathized with Iker not because they benefited in the end, but because he has done the right thing many times before. He is graceful.
Having said that, the impression I get is that Iker sets a hierarchy based on merit, uncompromising respect and contribution to his teams, and his teams are his teams. He is friendly to all, but he has his close circle, and no one messes with his close circle, not even his parents. I don’t know if this is a defensive mechanism or born out of necessity, but this is what I observed. The perimeter of this close circle is a fault line.
However, because he is reserved, and soft spoken, he is not as approachable. You do not fall in love with Iker, you fall in love with his accomplishments on and off the pitch. You are more likely to appreciate Iker than like him. Unless you have watched Iker week in week out for as long as I have because Iker's story is not one of many chapters, it is one long run on sentence. It is very telling what values mean to Iker when he has on multiple occasions repeated that he wants to be remembered as a good person rather than a good goal keeper. Off the pitch he does the right thing, or at least tries to. Where he fails most of the time is in what he says and to whom. Casillas is a man of pride, not arrogance, but his heightened sense of pride has been another fault line. With that, his values have at times, contradicted Real Madrid’s. The contradictions were seismic and could have been dampened had Iker adapted, but he is not much of a adaptable person.
Athletics
Casillas is not a skilled goal keeper, Casillas is a talented goal keeper. There is a stark difference especially in Iker’s case. Iker relies heavily on his natural instinct, on his natural ability to anticipate and respond to threats. The only skill he learned over the years is his ability to organize his defense (something Diego Lopez was poor at) because he remained prone to long range shots, free kicks and corner kicks.
Over the years, Iker relied more and more on organizing his defense than his shot stopping ability, and his experience in organizing defenses helped him in shoring up the defenses. You could tell, the number of saves he had to make before was unreal, his youtube highlights were made for the theaters. Where goal keepers like Buffon made a reputation for themselves by positioning themselves in the right place to make an “easy” save, Iker made “theatrical” saves. His athletics with age was affected, and where Buffon’s height and reading of the whole game helped him in a longer career, Iker’s tired body began to take a toll. It was visible to his fiercest critics. Still though, Iker’s main strength stems from his coolness, his mental serenity under pressure, his clear vision and focus so he was still able to extend his career long enough to win La Decima at the age of 33. Not too young but a handful lasted longer.
In 2006, Fabio Capello threatened Iker with signing Buffon during pre-season when Iker’s height and casual approach to training didn’t sit too well with the Italian. Iker was also a fan favorite, and was prone to slacking, like any player is, but considering he is the quiet captain…this brings me to the next point.
Captaincy and leadership
I purposely left this part out of his character section because this needs a topic on its own. Iker’s captaincy has been one of two folds, his National Team story and his club story. There is very little to discuss how influential he is over the national team, and it all started with Aragones destroying any barriers between the Catalans, Basque, Castillian, and even a Brazilian barriers (thank you Senna) among others that have long existed and plagued the NT. Then came Del Bosque, a man of pure class and harmony, a man who is as docile as they get, a patient man who trusts his players and instills them with confidence. A man who has remained relevant in the fast changing world of football with his tactical brilliance and although he has suffered a major defeat, and he may be on his last ride, he has been nothing short of brilliant. This is a man who understands Iker, this is a manager who relates to Iker, this is a man who walked a similar path to Iker, and this is a man who will be remembered as highly as Iker. If you want to understand Iker, you can understand him by understanding Del Bosque.
I believe one day Iker will be a similar character to Del Bosque, although Iker is more emotional, and this can change with time. Until then, Iker captained the National Team with little effort because the players respect him, because he commanded respect, because Iker draws confidence to be a leader from the manager who trusts him to be a leader, who encourages him to be a leader. When things were tough, Del Bosque trusted Iker to do the right thing, Xavi admitted that Iker has always been the go to guy and has always acted when it mattered to bring harmony to the group.
Iker’s captaincy for Real Madrid was challenged once before Mourinho and that was under Capello. Capello was hired by Calderon. Capello said he didn’t like his captain to be a goal keeper, and Iker responded to this threat very well because when Capello said it, he didn’t disrespect Iker, he challenged him. Challenge was accepted. However, Real Madrid is not the national team, and despite the goal keeping weaknesses, his biggest flaw was his introverted approach to captaincy, and this does not work at Real Madrid. Real Madrid is a very demanding club, and its captain and leader has to be vocal, approachable, open, and leading by example is not enough. This is where Raul also failed. You need to be a roaring lion on the pitch a general in the dressing room, and the voice of reason off the pitch. Iker is the voice of reason the pitch only. This is where I believe Ramos will be a better captain of Real Madrid and this is where I believe Pepe is also better. This is why I wouldn’t want Pepe sold although he is not a spring chicken. When Xabi was gone, there was no roaring lion anymore, and with the departing number of players who took the match by the scruff of the neck, Iker’s silence was deafening.
Where Fernando Hierro excelled was that he paid special attention to every single player, from every single corner on the earth, young or old, he was their big brother. The players listened to him, he grabbed their attention, Iker did not, just like Raul before him. This was his greatest failure. Iker at times resigned to fate and fell into despair. Ramos never does. Never.
Power Struggle
A man who values Real Madrid above all else is not a man who was going to allow anyone to tarnish the club, what it stands for and how it behaves. Iker has tolerated managers departing, player departing, but he never, not once, tolerated the club behaving in less than a reputable way. This is where Iker draws a line, although quiet on club affairs, on and off the pitch, where Iker draws the line is the club’s behavior.
This is where, Perez who came in 2000, elected on the premise of signing Luis Figo from Barcelona, came in and changed the club that Iker knew for the best part of his childhood, and Iker never let that go, never adapted. His favorite manager gone, the club’s image was changing into a Galactico, players were losing their place for the next best thing, the wise captain the field marshal Fernando Hierro was also gone, and in came in the financial model that changed the game. Iker remained silent and quiet because he wasn’t under pressure, it was Raul who felt threatened and wielded his power to remain in the starting line-up. Perez, did not have the club on lock the same way as Raul did, Perez would have committed career suicide if he had gone up against Raul right away, so Perez slow chipped away Raul’s power until his exit. Iker was watching. Hierro, Redondo, Del Bosque, Makalele, Raul, one by one, slowly margelinzed under the guise of the club over anyone else. Make no mistake, the club is above everyone else.
While top players were coming in, poor managers were also replacing strong managers. Poor managers who do not threaten Perez or managers who do not demand autonomy were the managers Perez preferred because they did not interfere with Perez tunnel vision for the club.
Perez, a megalomaniac, a man who has a vision for the club and a business model that has not been matched in the world of football, ever, is a relentless president who believes newer and bigger is better. His Zidane’s y Pavon’s model failed for reasons I might discuss elsewhere.
Maybe, and I say maybe, this is where Iker’s silent approach has been developed. I don’t know if he was always the silent type, because if you see his old clips, Iker was full of life and enthusiasm but I believe the club’s politics has alerted him but did not polarize him.
Iker had a good relationship with Lorenzo and Calderon, and I do not believe that Perez and Iker had a terrible relationship but they also didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of matters either, but Iker was satisfied, as long as Perez hadn’t threatened the club’s integrity. Iker also did not want to leave Real Madrid and when he was captain, Iker didn’t nearly have enough power as Raul did before him, not that he knows what to do with it anyway.
The biggest fall out between Iker and Perez came when Perez was president again, but hired Mourinho. This, was a desperate move, a move that was not in line with Iker’s vision for the club, a move that was not “idealistic” as much as “logical”. Best manager in the world deserves the right to manage the “best club” in the world. Mourinho, the manager that was supposed to dethrone Guardiola. The manager that was supposed to bring home La Decima, at all costs, and for Iker, “at all costs” has boundaries. Iker was tolerant of the manager but Mourinho wasn’t tolerant of Iker. Mourinho complained how he was managing EuroCup and World Cup winners, because Mourinho doesn’t manage winners, he creates winners. Mourinho wanted to reduce players to siege mentality and Perez was desperate for titles. He was supposed to be the savior of “Real Madrid”, Mourinho’s insecurities became Perez’s insecurities, but Iker, Ramos, Xabi do not reduce to peripheral players like Arbeloa. They have pride, they have their opinions, they have their status. When Mourinho managed inter to the CL final and destroyed Bayern, he took players who were outcasted from their clubs, players who were near finished and Mourinho convinced them that no one liked them, except him, and they believed his story. This worked at Chelsea and at Porto but Real Madrid is bigger than all 3 clubs combined.
Perez is desperate. Mourinho embarrassed by Guardiola. Titles, that is all that matters, and Mourinho was supposed to deliver titles because he often does but its only under special circumstances that he does. Mourinho had to poison the scene and elevate tension to unprecedented levels, in order for his methods to work. The rift between Barcelona and Real Madrid need not explaining, we’ve all witnessed it and its been all explained. Now, the silent captain was facing two issues, declining physical ability and a political war of Mourinho against him and Ramos. Mourinho was feeding of the president’s insecurity and desperation and what was a solid relationship between Perez and Iker, that has endured the years, has not been compromised. Their differences had been settled before but this time, Perez was under threat, and when Perez is under threat no one is inexpendible, including Iker. The silent captain is no match for Perez’s friends in the media and sure as hell does not have the skills of Mourinho in front of the mic.
The phone call to Barcelona players was necessary because in Iker’s eye it does not compromise Real Madrid, but this Real Madrid wasn’t his Real Madrid, this was Mourinho’s and Perez, and he definitely was compromising that.
The issue Mourinho’s Real Madrid was that it wasn’t even that effective, it was actually poor, and some blame Iker for the lack of effectiveness because he wasn’t on board. I don’t know, what would have become of Real Madrid has Ramos and Iker not stood in the face of Mourinho’s destruction of Real Madrid’s long lasting legacy? Would have they gained on the short term? Would have they failed anyway and they would have destroyed the NT? I do not know, but what I know is that the NT survived and so did Real Madrid, without Mourinho, at the expense of Iker, and at the expense of our divided fan base.
Those who believed that Iker was not committed to the cause because he refused to stand behind Mourinho’s and Perez’s methods for Real will hide behind his poor performances and those who appreciate the martyrdom of Iker and his bravery in the face of “evil” will forever hold a grudge against those who have polarized this club.
As for me, nothing makes me happier than celebrating Iker’s career with La Decima, knowing that I will forever remember Iker lifting that cup, and no one else. My favorite player has gone onto a new chapter, and this run on sentence has come to an end, but his legacy will remain forever as the best captain of the National Team, and Real Madrid’s greatest goal keeper, perhaps even, to some, greatest player to ever don the white shirt.
I choose not be sad, because Real Madrid > Anyone else.
Now I wait until his return.
El Gato
Villarato!
[MENTION=1289]Raed[/MENTION]
And as abrasive as our Twitter discussions with [MENTION=813]Beast[/MENTION] may have sounded (particularly on my part), I always agreed with ~80% of your stance. Peace and love, and I certainly think we will witness Iker back in the club in some shape or form in the future.
And as abrasive as our Twitter discussions with [MENTION=813]Beast[/MENTION] may have sounded (particularly on my part), I always agreed with ~80% of your stance. Peace and love, and I certainly think we will witness Iker back in the club in some shape or form in the future.
El Flaco
Active member
I don't agree with you but it's off-topic and not relevent to discuss about Mourinhos time in this thread...
Anyway, it was the best of Casillas interest to move from Madrid if he want to play in Euro 2016...
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