Spain Face World Cup Goalkeeping Dilemma

Spain Head Coach Vicente del Bosque has a tough call to make as to who will be the number one goalkeeper for the World Cup Finals in Brazil 2014.
By: Heavily Found Out Ltd
 
Oct. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- The Spanish national team has been nothing short of a phenomenon in recent times, they are currently the World and European champions, finishing only runners-up to a new youthful Brazil side in the 2013 Confederations Cup. Yet whilst we run out of superlatives to describe the Spaniards ‘tika-taka’ approach to the modern game, many seem to overlook one of the teams positions that has been instrumental in their success and arguably had the strongest depth – the goalkeeper.

For many years, Iker Casillas has been the poster boy of the national team, a hero amongst his people. This is a player who just four days after his 19th birthday in 2000, become the youngest ever goalkeeper in the world to win the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid. From that point forward it was clear the boy from Móstoles was destined for greatness. He was nominated for the European Footballer of the Year award in 2008, ranking fourth overall.

in October 2010, Casillas became the most capped goalkeeper of all time in the Champions League and a little over a year later, achieved the same accolade for the Spanish national team. At the end of 2012 he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year for the sixth consecutive time and as a result of his ridiculous trophy haul, Casillas is now one of a very select group of players who have won all major club and national championship titles – not a bad resume eh?

Over the past 12 months however Casillas has suffered a somewhat fall from grace, and not completely through his own failures. When Jose Mourinho arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2010 his objective was simple – end Barcelona’s domination of Spanish football. In early May 2012, Mourinho – with Casillas as captain – clinched Real’s first La Liga title since 2008, just 7 months later though, Mourinho dropped Casillas and their relationship began deteriorating.

The Portuguese coach proceeded to bring in Diego Lopéz from Sevilla who became Real’s number one goalkeeper, forcing Casillas to watch the Champions League semi-finals against Borussia Dortmund from the bench. Even with Mourinho now gone and replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, Casillas’ lack of match practice and a subsequent injury sustained against Galatasaray earlier this season has again forced him to the sidelines.

With next years World Cup in Brazil looming on the horizon, Vicente del Bosque will most likely have to face a selection headache he’s never previously encountered as Head coach – who to play in goal. One young man hoping to catch the eye of his national manager is Manchester United’s 22-year-old David De Gea, who signed for the club from Atlético Madrid in a British record fee for a goalkeeper – £17.8 million.

De Gea’s rise to prominence in European football began as he helped Spain’s under-17 triumph in the 2007 European Championship, and finish second in the World Cup later that same year. After being given his debut at Atlético as an 18-year-old, De Gea went on to be instrumental in Los Colchoneros’ success in winning both the UEFA Europa League and Super Cup in 2010.

His arrival at Old Trafford in 2011 was heralded as smart business by Sir Alex Ferguson, though some questioned the Scot putting his faith in a keeper so young, especially when following in the footsteps of one Edwin van der Sar. A string of nervy performances in his early days at United led many to believe the slim Spaniard simply couldn’t cope with the physical rigours of the Premier League – the evidence was plentiful as De Gea consistently shied away from coming for crosses and lacked any sort of command in the six-yard box.

One particular strength of De Gea’s was extremely prominent however, and that was his remarkable reflexes and shot stopping ability. Some top drawer saves in his debut season against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City proved his doubters wrong and Ferguson’s faith in his new number one was quickly restored. Fast forward to the present day, and De Gea has come on leaps and bounds since his early United tenure and is widely considered to be one of the top goalkeepers in the world, bested perhaps on current form by only Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer.

Thus, where the conundrum lies for del Bosque. Statistically, Casillas would be the ‘safe bet’ to go with as first choice in Rio next year – he’s made 151 appearances for the national team in total, conceding 83 goals. More importantly, during the 2010 World Cup, Casillas played all 7 of Spain’s games, conceding only 2 goals as they romped their way to lifting the trophy. But that was 4 years ago, at a time when most of the Spanish side played for a Barcelona team that were crushing all who stood before them, and when Casillas was the biggest ego in the dressing room at the Bernabéu bar Cristiano Ronaldo – times have changed.

The contingent of Barcelona players that made up that all-conquering Spanish side are no longer what they once were, and Casillas can’t seem to get minutes on the pitch for love nor money at Madrid. In Spain’s World Cup qualifiers so far this season, Casillas has played twice whilst Victor Valdés deputised on the other occasion, De Gea meanwhile is yet to make his senior debut.

Casillas may still be first choice for now but the World Cup is more than a year away, if he struggles to cement a starting spot at Madrid by January, we could well see one of the best keepers ever to grace Los Blancos force a move away from the club.

Valdés is another who may seek pastures new in a bid to improve his World Cup hopes, with Monaco being touted as his most likely destination – rightly considered as one of Barcelona’s best ever goalkeepers, he set a club record for not conceding a goal in European competitions for 466 minutes. Valdés has won 19 trophies with the Catalan outfit and has always faired well when handed a rare appearance in a Spain shirt – usually however only through Casillas’ unavailability.

It’s difficult to make a case for Pepe Reina as in any other national side he would most likely be one of the first names on the team sheet. His best years are however behind him at Liverpool and it looks as though he will be playing out the remainder of his career with Napoli in Serie A – a league which has lost its competitive edge in recent years.

The best international teams have always had great goalkeeprs, England had David Seaman, Germany had Oliver Kahn and Italy still have Gianluigi Buffon. Yet Spain seem to be capable of churning out some of the worlds best between the sticks as easily as they do the Xavi’s and Iniesta’s. Three keepers must be included in the 23-man squad, Casillas, Valdes and De Gea being those most likely making the trip to sunny South America, but it remains to be seen who will be wearing that no 1 jersey as Spain look to defend their title as champions of the world.
End
Source:Heavily Found Out Ltd
Email:***@heavilyfoundout.net Email Verified
Tags:Football, Spain, World Cup, Brazil 2014, Soccer
Industry:Sports, Internet
Location:England
Subject:Reports
Account Email Address Verified     Account Phone Number Verified     Disclaimer     Report Abuse
Page Updated Last on: Oct 16, 2013
Football Found Out News
Trending
Most Viewed
Daily News



Like PRLog?
9K2K1K
Click to Share