Ranking Real Madrid’s Top Five Performers Of 2020
By Parshva Shah
3. Thibaut Courtois
Real Madrid’s No. 1 was a big, big reason why Real Madrid had the best defensive record across the top five leagues in the 2019-20 season. If you consider the way his 2019-20 season started – which was obviously not the best start – he had a huge impact in 2020.
The sole fact that he was the recipient of the famous Zamora Trophy for being the best goalkeeper in La Liga – the first Real Madrid goalkeeper since Iker Casillas to win it – is a testament to his overall capability to shut out oppositions and be a reliable custodian between the sticks. Goalkeepers are very underappreciated, but Courtois’ performances haven’t gone unnoticed by the coach, the players, and the fans.
2020 helped Courtois return to the podium of one of the best goalkeepers in the world although he was harrowingly not among the three nominees for FIFA’s The Best Goalkeeper award.
Courtois has managed to win a place in Madridistas’ hearts, and he has shown with his on-field bravado that he will only create more and more room for himself within the fans’ hearts. The league triumph wouldn’t have been possible without him.
Although the 2020-21 season saw Real Madrid become a leaky side in defence, Courtois has been consistent and produced big saves, saves that were crucial to the context of the game. His injury-time save against Athletic Bilbao when the score was tied at 2-1 in Real Madrid’s favour helped the team save the blushes as that save resulted in a goal from the ensuing counter-attack.