If you are not yet a fan then look away! This piece is the start of a love story between Thibaut Courtois and I – Real Madrid’s goalkeeper who became a man, so to speak, today.
The much-maligned Thibaut Courtois has come of age for Real Madrid. For me, the greatest mark of a goal keeper is when he is able to give that feeling to fans where you just know he’ll be up to the task and manage to do something no matter what situation he finds himself in. I’m feeling so good about him I was even ready to see him go one-on-one against Alvaro Morata at the end before Fede Valverde intervened to add some more drama to the night.
Exploring the history of feeling safe with a goalkeeper
The emotion of feeling safe with your keeper is best encapsulated if you go and watch some compilations of Iker Casillas – having had the privilege of seeing his entire career – Real fans were spoiled rotten with him between the sticks. No matter how bad the situation, how difficult the shot, Iker was the kind of player who always left you believing he was impenetrable. Now, I’m not arguing Courtois is in the category of Casillas as a goal keeper, but I am extremely confident seeing him between the sticks for us.
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I was never fully convinced by Keylor Navas despite his many qualities and service to Madrid. He left the club but never managed to earn the feeling from me, and probably a lot of fans, that all was well with him keeping goal for us.
In fact it felt very much like he had a certain penchant for making errors or was too short to reach certain balls. This meant one was always expecting Real Madrid to concede a goal despite Navas having shown a lot of strength in one-on-one’s in many matches.
This feeling is also backed by the numbers when you study our goals conceded during the three-peat era where Navas conceded over a goal a game during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons according to www.transfermarkt.us. We were not a team that was known for its shutouts but more so an offensive power house that even matched/set a record for goals scored in consecutive games.
Real Madrid’s strength then stemmed from the knowledge that Cristiano Ronaldo and co. would find a way to keep us in matches by scoring goals. This is part of the reason why we needed so many last-ditch goals to keep our trophy pursuits on track. In fact, even during our best season in 2016/17 we conceded a goal to Juventus in the final which kept feeling like it should have been saved.
Tibo’s journey from disaster to master
When Courtois joined Real Madrid, he had one hell of a tough adjustment and looked no better than Navas. He looked labored and unable to move his tall frame quickly enough to make saves on the line – a supposed strength of his.
He was also slow coming off his line, looking like a misfit in terms of style compared to the needs of our team in defense. In 1v1’s he flapped around like a confused amateur and was beaten regularly in trying to put out fires when he was the last man left. The feeling towards him from fans was terribly negative who showed a lot of anger and frustration towards him.
Backup keeper Alphonse Areola stepped in, and, at first, he seemed like a better option. Things started to change when Areola made a mistake against Granada, so he did not look like an upgrade on Courtois. The keeper then faced a media storm but came out in defiance with his words. As it turned out, he did the same with his performances afterwards.
Hard work and effort won the day
As Real Madrid started to pick up its performance, so did Courtois. One thing I had noticed about him from the very start of his career with the club is that he seemed very keen to learn and willing to put in hard work. Those qualities meant he has successfully not just turned his form around, but is now looking like a keeper worthy of the elite. The changes have been subtle but noticeable, Courtois is looking faster on his feet and passing the ball better – thereby helping in build-up play.
The improved nimbleness on his feet has helped him move quickly into better positions in 1v1’s and also sweep when needed. He has managed to improve his agility and reflexes. This has helped him look much more commanding in 1v1s, as he’s able to move his body quickly enough to block shots.
Conclusion
Courtois has successfully managed, with hard work, to move his feet and his body faster. This has given him the edge in shot stopping, 1v1’s, and enabled him to sweep better. His effort in improving his passing has also helped Real play better, more controlled football.
The sum of all that effort added up to a fantastic performance in the final on Sunday night where Courtois made saves with his hands, feet, and arms. He was rock solid dealing with danger extremely competently. He topped it up with saving a penalty in the shootout.
After months of good performances tonight was a complete and all round showing that helped us win a trophy. Playing opposite Jan Oblak, widely considered to be the best keeper in the world, Courtois went toe-to-toe in performance. This definitively announces that he has joined the fraternity of elites towards whom Madridistas had only looked at with envy as fans for some time. Now fans can feel safe – a feeling that has been missing since Iker Casillas left.