Walter Zenga, the former Inter Milan and Italy goalkeeper, has backed Iker Casillas and said the Real Madrid shot stopper doesn’t deserve as much criticism as he gets.
The 54-year-old as been in Madrid to watch both Real and Atletico train after being invited by both managers, took time out to speak to Marca about his few days in the Spanish capital.
And when asked about Casillas and his form during the World Cup and in the Spanish Supercopa, Zenga said whenever a team concedes or loses, the coach and the goalkeeper take the blame while everyone else avoids criticism.
“It’s always either the goalkeeper or the coach’s fault at the end of the game. In football, it’s always that way, that’s life. When I was the best goalkeeper in the world, I thought everything was going well, and when my career began to go downhill, I never thought it possible that I wouldn’t be able to play for Inter, but sure enough, my time at Inter was up,” he said.
And he added: “I’m not saying that’s the case with Iker, but they have another very good goalkeeper. A team like Real who play in the Champions League, ‘Copa del Rey’… It’s normal to have two top-class goalkeepers.”
He also went on to talk about Spain’s woes at the World Cup, claiming Casillas can’t be blamed for everything that went wrong.
“A goalkeeper is only as great as the team in front of him. Spain weren’t what they were four years ago at this World Cup. Buffon is an amazing goalkeeper and Italy went home in the last two World Cups, because we didn’t have the team,” Zenga commented.
thats my boy
Frankly my first pick goes to Keylor Navas. It’s true tha Iker Castillas has been one of the world best keepers but the time is against him right now. He has to recognize and accept that reality and think what is best for the team.