The Iker Casillas saga at Real Madrid does not seem to be ending anytime soon, despite the Spain and Madrid captain back in goal for Real Madrid in tonight’s Copa del Rey cup tie with Celta and Saturday’s league clash with Osasuna.
Reports out of Spain say that when Antonio Adán’s suspension is over, Jose Mourinho will drop Casillas once again in favor of Adan.
The stance that Mourinho is taking is massively unpopular in Madrid. When the starting line-up was announced before last Sunday’s match, the Bernabéu faithful erupted in deafening whistling.
The anti-Mourinho crowd say that Mou is picking a fight with “Saint Iker” in order to make Real Madrid president Florentino Perez fire him, so he can go to Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester United.
Mourinho on the other hand believes in what he is doing and that is adamant he’ll stick to his guns to make the decisions he feels are in the team’s best interests, however unpopular they may be.
In the eyes of the ‘Special One’, there is nothing he can do if people refuse to understand that his only problem with Casillas is over the latter’s form.
According to the pro-Mourinho crowd, this isn’t a clash of personalities. It is simply about a player who has lost some form. That Casillas’ increasing vulnerability in one-on-ones, which was once the Madrid captain’s trademark, is why he has been dropped.
Whether it is a master plan to get fired or simply a “matter of conviction”, the Casillas/Mourinho saga shows no sign of ending anytime soon.
The only winner in this battle might be Manchester United who meet Real Madrid next month in the Champions League knockout stages.