The goalkeeper role is always a tricky one in a club, specially in a huge team like Real Madrid. However, throughout the history of the club we have seen many great players defending the white goal. Now we want to show you some of them, especially in these days with Kiko Casilla and Keylor Navas are criticized for their low performance.
These are some of the best goalkeepers in Real Madrid history. Do you miss any?
Juan Alonso
Perhaps he’s the less known for the great public. He was the goalkeeper in the three first European Cups won for the Di Stéfano team. Juanito Alonso started playing for Los Blancos in 1949. He lost his place in the starting eleven in 1959 affected for a lung problem. He left the club in 1961 with five La Liga titles and five European Cups, three of them as the goalkeeper.
Miguel Ángel
In 1967, Miguel Ángel González arrived to Madrid, but he had fierce competitors with Betancort or García Remón, so he struggled to earn a spot in the team. After a loan at Castellón, Miguel Ángel was the first choice from 1974 and during a decade.
Mariano García Remón
Known as the ‘Gato de Odesa’ (Odesa’s cat), he played for Real Madrid between 1971 and 1986. This nickname came after a game played against Dynamo Kiev at Odesa in the Champions League, where García Remón made a great performance. He was born in Madrid and he’s considered as one of the best goalkeepers in the club’s history. He won 7 La Liga titles and 2 UEFA Cups.
Agustín Rodríguez
Mariano García Remón got injured in 1981 and he was substituted by a young player called Agustín Rodríguez, who was a star in Real Madrid second team Castilla. Actually, they were runner-ups of the Copa del Rey in 1980. Agustín stayed in the club until 1990 when he moved to Tenerife. He won 5 La Liga titles and 2 UEFA Cups.
Paco Buyo
Some of the latest years, Agustín was on the bench because Paco Buyo showed up with great skills. He also came from Galicia (NorthWest of Spain) and he won a spot in the line-up quite quickly. He played for Los Blancos from 1986 to 1997, when he retired. He was bought from Sevilla. Although he’s been one of the greatest goalkeepers and he played together with La Quinta del Buitre, he was unable to have international success. He won 7 La Liga titles.
Iker Casillas
Perhaps, the best goalkeeper of the history of the club and the more charismatic one. He was born in Madrid and made his debut in 1999 at San Mamés, Bilbao. From that year, he became the goalkeeper of the team, winning two Champions League in 2000 and 2002. However, in the last one, he started the game on the bench because César Sánchez was the chosen one by Del Bosque. César got injured and Casillas saved the team. He was the owner of the goal until Mourinho’s arrival, who put him on the bench. With Carlo Ancelotti as a manager, he played only the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, winning both trophies in 2014. In 2015 and after a difficult season, he joined Porto. He played 725 games with the club -the second with more games in the history-, winning 5 La Liga trophies and 3 Champions League among other trophies. He also won two Euro Cups and the World Cup in 2010 with Spain.
