Why Keylor Navas Is the Most Improved Player in the Real Madrid Squad in 2015-16

It was the crucial detail before the turning point. 

With 54 minutes on the clock and the scoreboard locked at 0-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, Roma right-back Alessandro Florenzi let fly with a soaring diagonal ball to Stephan El Shaarawy. The winger's first touch put the ball nicely out in front him. It stranded Dani Carvajal, too; El Shaarawy was in. 

Or so he thought. 

As the Roma forward had taken his first touch, Keylor Navas had been rooted to his line; by the time El Shaarawy was ready to take his second, Navas was stealing the ball off his toes at the edge of his area. Again, Navas had been alert. Swift. Efficient. 

Two minutes and 20 seconds later, Cristiano Ronaldo put Real Madrid ahead. For good. 

From Navas, this was another reminder of how rounded his game has become in 2015-16. Only four days earlier against Athletic Bilbao, the gloveman, at 3-1, had stormed off his line to deny Aritz Aduriz to protect Madrid's lead after Toni Kroos had given away possession. The speed of his movement had been immense, just as it has been for so many of his reflex saves that have formed a highlights reel rivalling the The Lord of the Rings trilogy for length. 

After spending almost the entirety of the 2014-15 season on the bench, Navas has been spectacular this campaign—the Costa Rican has undoubtedly made the biggest strides of any Real Madrid player this term. 

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It seems absurd now, but at the beginning of the season there were doubts over Navas. The doubts went beyond how he stacked up against the then-looming David De Gea, too. Some wondered if he was even the best goalkeeper at the club. 

In pre-season, following Iker Casillas' exit, there were those who felt a change in style was necessary in the Madrid goal. Like Casillas, Navas is shorter than many in his craft, his excellence based on speed, recovery and shot-stopping. He represented a continuity of sorts, yes, but some craved something different: Someone bigger, stronger, more imposing and better in the air. 

Kiko Casilla was that guy. 

"Casilla has left a better impression than Keylor Navas," said AS toward the back-end of pre-season in late July. 

It wasn't just style, though. After a season on the sidelines, Navas somehow felt like a lesser keeper than the one who'd arrived 12 months earlier after sparkling campaigns with Levante and Costa Rica. On the rare occasions he'd played under former manager Carlo Ancelotti in 2014-15, he hadn't convinced; as he sat in the dugout, his Madrid career seemed uncertain. 

Ever since, however, he's made a mockery of the notion that he wasn't up to it—"it," in this case, meaning the ability to succeed Casillas, to deal with the scrutiny of the Santiago Bernabeu, to protect a team that rarely protects itself. 

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Exactly one month after AS' initial, tentative support for Casilla, Navas saved his first penalty of the season against Real Betis. Two weeks later, he made a spectacular save to preserve Madrid's lead against Espanyol. 

After that, he was the reason Madrid took all three points against Granada; next, he saved another penalty against Atletico Madrid; next, another reflex stop protected another lead against Levante; then against Celta Vigo, he just went ridiculous. "He's made three of four saves," said an exasperated Nolito that afternoon, "and I have no idea how."

We could keep going here, too; the list goes on. Navas' excellence has been a theme throughout the season, his improvement significant.

And yet, might it also be possible to make the argument that he hasn't actually improved? In 2013-14, he was among the league's standout players of the season despite plying his trade for Levante. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he underpinned his nation's strong tournament.  

We were already aware of his prowess, so did we simply forget it last season? Did Navas merely become a case of "out of sight out of mind"? Perhaps.

Yet, there's also a significant difference between excellence at Levante and excellence at Real Madrid. Between strong tournament campaigns and strong league campaigns. The magnitude of Navas' feats this season shouldn't be underestimated. The manner in which he's risen at the Bernabeu is unmatched this season, and it's not as though he's been short of challengers in that respect. 

Indeed, Gareth Bale has made a strong case for most improved; so has Karim Benzema; so have Casemiro, Mateo Kovacic and Dani Carvajal. But still Navas stands above all of them. 

For large chunks of the season, the Costa Rican has been Madrid's most pivotal player. Just as he did against Roma on Wednesday, time and again he's been central to Madrid's decisive moments. 

All after not being guaranteed a place in the team at the start of the season.

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