Is it time for Iker Casillas to retire from international football?

Iker Casillas is now merely a shadow of the saviour he once used to be.

After achieving a lot of success with both club and country, chinks have started to develop in Casillas' armour. Ever since the veteran made his debut for Spain and Real Madrid, he has been the No.1 choice as a goalkeeper. The 33-year old was one of the key figures in Spain's historic wins between 2008 – 2012 and was even hailed as one of the best ever players in Spain’s history.

But as the adage goes, "All good things come to an end", it is quite certain by now, that the golden days of his career are well behind him and he is past his prime. This was very evident from the blunders he committed at the World Cup in Brazil where Spain were knocked-out in the first round itself. From there on, his longevity has been under the scanner and he is no longer assured of a place in the starting XI.

The decline of Iker Casillas

Casillas' position is now under danger, given the emergence of Manchester United goalkeeper, David de Gea. Coach Vicente del Bosque handed him a start in the 1-0 defeat to France this week. This only proves that Del Bosque does not pin his faith completely in Casillas anymore and his compatriot, de Gea, might soon replace him in front of goal.

Prior to their Euro 2016 qualifying opener against Macedonia, the coach had said, "Casillas will definitely start; de Gea started [against France] in order to get him accustomed [to the senior team]". Now that's a clear indication that it won't be long enough when we see Casillas in only the odd match.

Many members of the squad were equally at fault for a dismal performance at the World Cup, and so Del Bosque has made several changes at several positions with many new players making the cut, especillay after the retirements of the long serving Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and David Villa. However, the position in goal, until now, was never under question, and is still occupied by Casillas.

While he remains a goalkeeping phenomenon, at 33, its high time for him to make way for youngsters (such as de Gea) and put the premium on performing for his club.

The 'Perfect One': David de Gea is the right one to replace Casillas

David de Gea was pivotal to Manchester United’s title triumph in the 2012-13 season, and despite their woeful 2013-14 campaign, he remains the undisputed no.1 goalkeeper for the Red Devils. Now 23, the Spaniard is still very young, but is now one of the best goalkeepers in the world. It won't be surprising at all if he continues to perform impressively, keeping the opposition strikers at bay with his immaculate goalkeeping, given what we've seen from him for Spain at youth level and at Manchester United.

Spain's other goalkeeping options - Victor Valdes and Pepe Reina are well in their 30s with the former struggling to recover from the injury which he suffered in March. All these points lead to an outright suggestion that it is no one else but de Gea himself, who will be patrolling the Spanish net in the absence of Casillas.

Time's up for Iker

Having tasted every possible success with the national team, there's hardly anything left for Casillas to prove. So before he commits any more errors that may prove too costly for Spain, it would be ideal for him if he follows in the footsteps of Xavi, Xabi Alonso and David Villa and calls it a day on his international career.

Iker Casillas will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the greatest ever players to have graced the Spanish jersey, but to go by a quote by Indiana Jones, "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.” Casillas’ time as goalkeeper should maybe be finished now, and the focus should be on bringing in youngsters (such as de Gea) into the squad, keeping the task of restoring Spain's dominance in mind, as the 'Old Guard' of La Roja is running out of that "mileage".