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As Iker Casillas reached another milestone in his ever shining long career when he equaled Andoni Zubizarreta as the most capped Spanish goalkeeper, here we have a post consisting of words from legendary keepers and Iker’s fellow team mates. This is an English translation of an article posted on Marca website.
Dino Zoff, the man who lifted the World Cup in 1982 was reminded of that glory day when 28 years later he saw Iker do the same in South Africa. Iker is only the third goal keeper to lift the World Cup including Zoff in 1982 and Giampiero Combi in 1934. Zoff:
“For me it was exciting to see Casillas lifts the trophy. I was reminded of the box at the Bernabeu. What you feel in that moment you cannot put into words. Emotions are so many that you’re on a cloud. I remember that I was almost about to kiss the Queen of Spain!”
Zoff had some words to describe Casillas’s attributes.
“The strikers will face him thinking about what to do. His figure is so large and has grown over time. Rivals would always feel he commands respect and even fear. In one on ones, he is the best. I always want to have Iker on my team as a goalkeeper.”
Zoff also talked about what the advantage was of having him in the side,
“It allows you to take more risks, think more in attack. If something goes wrong you always know Casillas is back there. If a forward goes against him 1 on 1 he is going to fail or have to do something extraordinary to beat him”
Zoff also shared his best Casillas moment,
“Robben bargained which was natural. He tried to do something different which he rarely does and wouldn’t have done against any other goalkeeper.”
What Iker had with Kahn in the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Bayern is something more than words and after all Kahn was always a very expressive goalkeeper. Zoff also talked about his present list of favourite goalkeepers.
“Right now Casillas is the best then comes Buffon, Cech or Julio Cesar. One day Neuer might join that league. But today Iker is #1?
From across the Atlantic, another goalkeeper whose personality has given too many debates, José Luis Chilavert, also thinks:
“Iker, for his experience, quality and completeness, is the best keeper in the world.
“Casillas is one of the few keepers I have seen in my life who are so good in one on one situation. He covers a lot when facing the striker and uses all parts of the body when needed to stop the ball. Iker has set a style which is bold and comprehensive” said Jose Angel Iribar who was a one club keeper for Athletic Bilbao and that also for 20 long years.”
Antonio Ramallets, who spent most of his career at FC Barcelona, during the 1950s and early 1960s, winning the Zamora Trophy as the best goalkeeper in La Liga on five occasions, and 17 major club honours, said,
“During a one on one situation Casillas knows the exact time till which he needs to hold up against the attacker. This makes the attacker to take an extreme step which most of the time declares Iker as the winner.”
For years, the world wondered if the best goalkeeper in the world was Buffon or Iker, and many have opted for the Spanish. They have always maintained a good relationship and have always spoken well about each other.
“What I like best is that Iker is a goalkeeper who makes few mistakes. Seldom one of his teams will lose a game because he has failed and but many times the team will win because Iker was good”, said the Italian about Casillas.
In Spain, goalkeeping is one position which has had a huge amount of competition for a long time. This makes the relationship between Iker and Pepe Reina much more special.
“For Iker first thing I can say is that beyond a great keeper he is my friend. He is a saint with a heart bigger than what all he has achieved in his career, and that’s saying a lot about him”, said Reina.
Together Pepe and Iker have won the Euro and the World Cup and more than that have travelled the painful and tiring journey of achieving such great heights.
“Iker has believed in us in moments when others had given up.”
Victor Valdes, who is the last of the goalkeepers to join the Spanish national team said
“In a team you need a goalkeeper with whom you can work and also have fun. Then you stop and think there is only one in the history of football who matches that characteristic.”, after the triumph in South Africa.
David De Gea, who is seen as the goal keeper to take the torch from Iker Casillas also has huge words to say about his Spanish captain,
“For me he is the benchmark in goal keeping from whom I look to learn from. Both in respect of what he does in goal and beyond. For me he is the best and would always be his student.”
The words of José Manuel Ochotorena, the goalkeeping coach should summarize who Casillas is:
“To emphasize on who Casillas is, he is someone who is still willing to work, learn and improve.”
