beIN SPORTS

By Lucas Navarrete (@LucasNavarreteM)

It’s often said that players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi decide titles. Pep Guardiola admitted that “there’s no way to defend Messi, no tactical system or coach can stop him” the day before his team were destroyed by the Argentinian star. There’s a dark side to this argument. however. 

Iker Casillas can also decide titles and completely influence gameplans, this time in a negative way. As a matter of fact, the Spanish goalkeeper probably cost his team a La Liga title this season.

Casillas already showed his form had severely declined during the second half of the 2013-2014 season. His team were able to conquer the Champions League – even after he made a notable mistake in the final against Atlético Madrid -- and the Copa del Rey, but Casillas’ World Cup in 2014 will probably be remembered as the one tournament in which the entire world saw what was obvious for those paying close attention to every single Real Madrid game: Casillas wasn’t The Saint anymore.

This season, he’s had to listen how the Bernabéu fans whistle him after some of his errors, something that never happened to former captains like Fernando Hierro or Raúl. Four specific performances come to mind when trying to number Casillas’ worst moments this campaign: the 4-2 loss against Real Sociedad early in the season, the 4-0 defeat against Atlético, the 3-4 loss against Schalke at the Bernabéu and the 2-1 in the last Clásico against FC Barcelona.

Neither one of those is a blatant, flat-out mistake like the ones he did in the World Cup or in the Champions League final on May 2014, but Casillas is not a safe goalkeeper now and the team is aware of that. He’s not commanding his six-yard box properly – something which never was his strength anyway – and his clearances and blocks have been soft and poor. It’s hard to point out more mistakes from him this season, but trying to find more than a couple praiseworthy saves by Casillas is equally as hard.

Was he good against Rayo or Sevilla? Absolutely. Was he brilliant? Not by any means. For instance, Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo saved his team when they were struggling against Valencia a few weeks back, earning Luis Enrique and Co. the three points.

Casillas shouldn’t be blamed entirely for the team’s struggles either, though. That would be unfair, because Real Madrid suffered many injuries and Carlo Ancelotti failed to adjust and solve the woes which were haunting his squad. Some could also argue that the responsibility should lay on the Italian coach, who keeps choosing Casillas as his number 1 goalkeeper even with Keylor Navas on the roster.

The Bernabéu was clear during the match against Valencia, and so was Casillas, who reacted furiously to the whistles. Although the fans held a truce during the decisive Champions League match against Juventus, Casillas has been questioned throughout the entire campaign.

Now it’s the perfect time for Real Madrid to move on from the legend, and they will do so by making a significant upgrade in the goalkeeper position with David De Gea according to the Spanish press. With him between the sticks and Casillas gone in order to avoid controversy, Real Madrid would find a long-term answer to what has become a problem during the last few months.

Casillas is now an average keeper capable of playing in most first division sides around Europe. Unluckily enough for him, Real Madrid are not an average club.