Why Carlo Ancelotti Must Play Iker Casillas for Real Madrid

This season, Iker Casillas has faced one of the most testing periods of an illustrious career. Savage criticism from inside and outside the Bernabeu placed the World Cup winner’s future in doubt—but Carlo Ancelotti should be in no doubt that his No. 1 has bounced back to his best form.

The epic Champions League final victory over bitter rivals Atletico Madrid was a testament to Los Blancos’ will to win, but Casillas’ performance was marred by some dangerous errors, as illustrated by the Press Association’s (h/t The Guardian) rating of the player: “GK Iker Casillas 4/10. A penny for José Mourinho’s thoughts? Casillas was caught horribly out of position for the Atlético goal and was too slow to rectify a howling error.”

The Spaniard’s form did not improve following his return from a poor World Cup showing.

Defeat in the Spanish Supercopa to Atletico was followed by a surprise 4-2 thrashing away to Basque club Real Sociedad. When Ancelotti’s men were again defeated by Atletico, this time 2-1 at home in La Liga, a crisis was officially declared.

For the first time in Iker Casillas’ time at Real Madrid, his beloved fans were jeering and whistling him.

This poor run of form, combined with an anger which still existed from Spain’s disappointing World Cup performances, meant that the Madridistas were looking for a scapegoat. The goalkeeper was chosen as the effigy of the supporter’s wrath.

A mark of a first-class sportsman is the ability to recover following serious setbacks. Kobe Bryant has faced numerous injuries in his time with the L.A. Lakers basketball team, and each time he has managed to regain the form which makes him so revered.

In football, Luis Suarez faced lengthy bans for Ajax, Liverpool and Barcelona due to his propensity to bite opponents. Each time, the Uruguayan has returned to his best.

Tiger Woods has also faced lengthy layoffs through injury and for personal reasons in his golf career, but he is an example of an individual who has not recaptured the scintillating form expected of him.

Whilst it may seem that the man nicknamed San Iker (meaning Saint Iker) has not experienced an obstacle as difficult as a serious injury or ban, winning back the affections of those in the stands and recapturing form is not an easy task at a club like Real. Even with hard work on the training ground and steady improvement on the pitch, Casillas still needed one essential ingredient—the patience of manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Time and patience are not words associated with premier club football. So why has the Italian stuck by the 33-year-old goalkeeper?

The first reason is that Ancelotti does not have the perfect replacement in place. Summer signing Keylor Navas has acquitted himself well when called upon, but it was always unlikely the manager would have made an official call to make the Costa Rican his first choice. The move would have destroyed Casillas' confidence, and maybe his career. If Navas had not settled into the high pressure role of No. 1, Real would have been placed in a difficult situation.

The second reason is that the man who masterminded the capture of La Decima still had complete faith in Casillas. Metro newspaper’s Real Madrid expert Lucas Navarrete gave me his opinion on the situation.

"Carlo Ancelotti’s patience through a rough start of the season for the goalkeeper has paid off now," he said. "He is playing much better and nobody is questioning Iker Cassilas anymore. He (Ancelotti) decided to keep starting Casillas even though he was playing terribly, and that has turned the situation round."

Ultimately Real Madrid have a born-and-bred goalkeeper who knows the makeup of the club better than anyone. Casillas is a World Cup winner who has captured five La Liga titles and won the Champions League three times with the club, and at 33 years old he is reaching the prime age for a goalkeeper.

When put into this context, any alternative to sticking by the Spaniard would seem high-risk.

Casillas' recent penalty save against Almeria seemed like full redemption had been attained, something Ancelotti was keen to point out, as reported via goal.com: “The penalty save was a decisive moment and everything got easier after that.”

Probably the most important reason that Ancelotti should stick with his decision can be found in the words of Casillas himself, as reported by Cuatro, via insidespanishfootball.com:

"

I’m lucky to have been level-headed and strong since I was young. Before I was rubbish and now I’m a phenomenon, and before I was a phenomenon, I was rubbish. I want to work my way back to being the best goalkeeper in the world, that’s my hope. You have to be prepared for all criticism but I feel like I’m having a second youth. I’m more eager now as a 33-year-old than when I was 17.

"

The Spaniard’s appetite to succeed moving forward has not diminished. With his club in such irresistible form, not many would bet against him winning more trophies this season—starting with the World Club Cup.