4. Luis Llopis
Thibaut Courtois has been the best goalkeeper in the world for a while, and this season is further proof of his status as the best between the sticks. His performance has been at a different level this season, and even better when compared to last season, which was an amazing season in itself. If there’s someone who deserves credit for that betterment of Courtois, it is the club’s goalkeeping coach, Luis Llopis.
LIke Pintus, Llopis returned to the club last summer, after having worked for the first team between 2015 and 2018. The Spaniard didn’t have a long career as a keeper due to a career-ending injury. But he has been an excellent goalkeeping coach for a long time, and a player like Keylor Navas is the proof of his unparalleled work with the Costa Rican at Levante and Real Madrid.
He is a very innovative and hard-working coach, who aims for improvement in every way possible. Under his coaching, Courtois’ passing has reasonably improved, and he has been able to deal with shots aimed through his legs in a better way. Courtois’ technique during penalties looks a lot better, and it reflects the amount of homework he has had to do along with Llopis.
There is a need to recognise the efforts of this unsung hero, who has co-incidentally seen the team lift the Champions League in his every season at Real Madrid.