Navas didn’t have qualities that suggested he would be a successor to Casillas.” He was an unrivalled player, even though his last years were complicated because of his relationship with Jose Mourinho. It is a position that Casillas kept for almost 17 years with enormous authority. “Navas has had to succeed a myth-Iker Casillas, who is an exceptional player in the history of Spanish football, a mythic goalkeeper, who was with Real Madrid since he was a child. Real Madrid has always had very good goalkeepers.” Santiago Segurola, a columnist with newspaper AS and a doyen of Spanish football writing, had this to say: “In my opinion, Navas is one of the players at Real Madrid who has had the most difficulties in trying to establish himself in a very delicate position. Navas is under-appreciated because he didn’t arrive at Real Madrid in the summer of 2014 as a marquee name, landing at the club from lowly Levante for €10 million. Throughout the season, the Spanish footballing press have aired transfer gossip stories about either Manchester United’s David de Gea or Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois making a big-ticket move to Real Madrid in the summer. The problem now is that Real Madrid fans want a change of goalkeeper. They barrack all the stars at various stages, even Cristiano Ronaldo. “We call them ‘ piperos’-they spend the game eating pipas (sunflower seeds). “Those fans who whistle at the Bernabeu are not genuine Real Madrid supporters,” Garcia said. Jose Garcia has been going to the stadium to support Real Madrid since a 2-2 draw against Deportivo La Corun a in 1968. The Santiago Bernabeu is an unforgiving place when the home fans turn on a player. Throughout the Real Betis match, he was whistled at when he touched the ball.
Some of Real Madrid’s fans are on his case. These are circumstances you don’t want to be involved in. “It was bad,” Navas admitted, according to La Prensa (in Spanish). Navas-whose cock-up in Real Madrid’s previous league game against Las Palmas cost them a win-had to ship some queries from the press after the Real Betis match about his performance, especially the own-goal he conceded. At the final whistle, Sergio Ramos ran towards him for an embrace and joined a chorus of Real Madrid players, including Marcelo and Luka Modric, in the press area’s mixed zone in supporting their forlorn team-mate with words of encouragement. In the 24th minute, Navas saved a Sanabria shot from inside the box, but then in a second movement-while grounded and flapping-Navas scooped the ball under his shoulder into the net. The ups and downs continued a couple of minutes later. He pulled off an acrobatic, injury-time save from an Antonio Sanabria header that ensured Real Madrid bagged three points, but he was lucky to escape a red card for a reckless, outside-the-box lunge on Serbian striker Darko Brasanac in the first half. The Real Betis match was a strange one for Navas.
0 kommentar(er)
