Iker Casillas

@valkyrja; its great to hear that he's getting back to form, he's always been a magnificent goalie. as much as i was one of the few who always defended him when people wanted diego lopez (who i hardly ever rated), the move to let iker go wasn't a rush nor mistake

imo once a player reaches a certain age, top clubs should start planning for life without that player. such a move might lead to pitfalls and mishaps in the process but its never going to be a long term regret because said player has peaked, and only has a little number of years left to give out the little left in the tank. even if iker stayed, at some point the club was going to look for younger blood regardless.

its very different from say, letting eto'o go at like 19, 20, only for him to turn into an elite forward, at a time when raul had fast declined

Agree completely with Tito, and I am probably the biggest long time supporter of Iker.

I never rated Lopez and blame Mourinho for how Iker was badly treated.

Navas was very good last year, but this year there are problems. Not sure if it is age catching up or him dealing with recovery of a fairly serious injury that never did get much discussion.

However it is very obvious this is his final season and Perez will bring in either De Gea or Courtois to replace him plus having Kilo as backup is not bad at all. My understanding club is interested in both, but know reaching a deal with either Chelsea or Man U (esp. with Mourinho there) will not be easy and thus having two viable (young top 5) options is a wise move.

My biased opinion says go for De Gea, but I would settle for either as both are very good and young.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Real Madrid should sign him back, I'm sure Messi will be delighted

Well, yeah.. if Messi shares your short-term memory

Casillas is the 2nd GK he has scored the most against, only second to Diego Alves

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Casillas is the 2nd GK he has scored the most against, only second to Diego Alves

No wonder. Barcelona trashed Real Madrid convincingly in several high-scoring games, during a time when Iker had been criticised for his general poor form, lack of concentration and off the field drama - which ultimately resulted in his departure. In my opinion, RM's shambolic defensive organisation and lack of quality in certain positions, was just as much to blame as Iker was for his frustrating drop in form. Let's not conveniently forget the times when he did keep Messi quiet, despite Barcelona's dominant attacking display. I was "delighted" to watch PSG steamroll this Barca side, but that doesn't mean I generally favor PSG's chances of steamrolling Barca. Form is temporary, class is permanent.. isn't that what they say?

Casillas is one of the GK greats of this generation, no doubt, maybe ppl have a short memory or something, what he did for so many years at Real, he was so good. Xavi said Casillas is like an extra life in games for his team in football. Hes not phsyically big but the saves he makes are always so good.

Apparently he in stable condition after suffering a cardiac event during training today.

Surely that's instant retirement now?

My heart itself stopped when I saw the news.

Thanking the heavens for his safety. Iker and his legacy is dear to me and he is too young to go out like this in his storied life let alone career.

#AnimoSanIker

Arquitescu wrote:My heart itself stopped when I saw the news.

Thanking the heavens for his safety. Iker and his legacy is dear to me and he is too young to go out like this in his storied life let alone career.

#AnimoSanIker

Agreed.

Wishing him a speedy recovery and all the best in the future.

He's fine. Came out with a statement.

I do believe he needs to retire now. Way too risky to keep playing. What a career he's had.

He's well over 1000 games which is the last great achievement for him, so retirement is probably advicable.

he's always been a great goalie, the same goalies who people where comparing to him when he was at his down years in madrid are now getting crucified week in week out and some aren't even 30 years old yet. he should retire after this scare, and just focus on family. at 37 there's really nothing else to 'achieve' in the sport. no matter how one wants to slice it, he's a great goalie.

as i said, there are goalies younger than him who are messing up week in week out. hang it up, focus on family and enjoy retirement. as an ex-athlete there are opportunities for other things

the situation wasn't as critical , but the same goes for buffon, hang it up

Came out as gay this afternoon.

Surely the highest profile player to do so.

Puyol's cryptic response has me doubting whether he got hacked

It could also be a joke The media really ran with it though.

Even if it ends up being a joke (which would be super disrespectful to actual gay footballers who are thinking about coming out publicly), the vitriol about this on Twitter is fucked.

Iker was hacked

Puyol got bamboozled?

Puyol as joking, knowing it was either a joke from Iker or a hack.

lolz

Wouldn't make any difference to me if it's true, but I'm leaning towards the theory of it being a prank, or his account got hacked by someone.

Hacked my ass, he thought he was making a joke lol.