Which Real Madrid Legend Would Fans Like to Reboot to Boost Current Team?

Real Madrid: one of the world's biggest clubs and one of Europe's best clubs. But they're not infallible.

Despite being top of La Liga and in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League, they are not guaranteed any further silverware this season. Because, like all sides, Real Madrid have weaknesses. They have areas of the team which require upgrades, that are targeted by opposition sides and that can cause them to drop points when they shouldn't.

It's Real Madrid, so those weaknesses will be identified and rectified, one way or another, but all transfers bring their own risks and potential failure.

But what if you could plug the gaps with someone you know will be elite? Someone who has already proved themselves world-class at the club, capable not just of filling a void but becoming a legend because of how well they perform and how consistently incredible they are.

Which position, and indeed player, would benefit the team most in such a scenario?

We put it to the ones who matter most: Real Madrid fans. And they responded.

Areas of Concern

Where matters most for Zinedine Zidane's side?

Excluding positions that could benefit from increased back-up, such as left-back for when the world-class Marcelo is unavailable, there are three positions most arguably in need of improvement: goalkeeper, central defence and centre-forward.

The latter shouldn't be a consideration; Karim Benzema was elite, or close to it, last year but has dipped worryingly in 2016/17. Alvaro Morata sits on the bench more often than not, with Zidane preferring the Frenchman despite Morata's better strike rate and more impressive all-around play this term.

Thus, striker is an area to sort out this summer. While legendary centre-forwards have graced Madrid's shirt almost without pause, it's Raul who stands out as the finest.

PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/Getty Images

In defence, it's not just technical ability that the team lacks but also organisation, communication and desire, a simple trait of holding the side together and ensuring the simple-but-important jobs, such as being in the right position, are done. That's Fernando Hierro, no question.

And in goal, Keylor Navas was immense in 2015/16 but has dipped and committed errors aplenty in 2016/17. There is only one 'keeper who could be classed as a recently departed legend: Iker Casillas.

Alternatives

From over 6,000 votes, 5 per cent equates to a little over 300 people choosing from names outside the three on offer. Those 300 were naturally split between favourites, alternatives for the same positions and, in some cases, the inexplicable—such as shouts for Zidane the player to rejoin, boosting an already-crowded central attacking zone.

Defensive midfield, despite Casemiro's enormous contribution this term, was cause for some voting, with Argentinian duo Fernando Gago and Fernando Redondo both earning shouts, along with Claude Makelele.

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But in the main, it was former Brazil internationals Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos who picked up most of the "other" votes—though both were a long way off the surprisingly paltry 15 per cent Hierro picked up given the state of Madrid's back line at times.

But with the defence as a whole as shaky as it is, not even the great Raul could could win this vote.

Iker Casillas

Taking 46 per cent of the vote, FC Porto stopper Iker Casillas was the clear winner.

Why have fans gone for him? There are likely three reasons.

First up, there's the overall mentality of Real Madrid's fanbase; the emphasis is on entertainment, domination and expectancy to win, and any semblance of balance, team structure and style is secondary to that.

An elite goalkeeper is part of that. With a super stopper at the back and all the potency that multiple attacking options give up front, Madrid can outscore any opposition.

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Secondly, there's recency bias: Casillas left Madrid just two years ago, while Raul left in 2010 and Hierro in 2003. It's not too heavily skewed, but even with Casillas leaving under a cloud after diminished performances in his final two or three seasons with the club, his best was far more recent than Hierro's, for example, and thus more likely to be chosen by fans who have been following the team for less than a decade.

"

@karlmatchett How is Hierro is losing this? :/

— yan (@pamanayan_) March 21, 2017"

Finally, there's Casillas' talents and traits, and here we must trust the voters to have recalled his influence correctly.

A world-class goalkeeper doesn't even come close to describing Casillas at his peak. Few other No. 1 options in European football manage the same level of consistency and brilliance for as long as Casillas did, certainly over the past 20 years. The list probably comprises Manuel Neuer, Gigi Buffon, Oliver Kahn and, at a stretch, Edwin van der Sar, but that's it.

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Casillas belongs alongside the former duo, an incredible talent for well over a decade thanks largely to his combination of bravery, amazing reflexes and his capacity to perform in the biggest games.

Real Madrid have plenty of those lined up as they fight for major honours, and while organisation at the back is an obvious flaw for this Real Madrid team, it can be overlooked in favour of the spectacular. Stop goals at one end, score at the other and don't worry too much about what's in between—victory will more often than not fall Los Blancos' way.

Summer

Come the end of the season, Real are likely to be crowned champions of La Liga. They are two points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand, but while their points tally is impressive (65 from 27 games), the goals-conceded column (28) is somewhat less so.

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Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have all conceded fewer goals than Real in the league, while in the Champions League, they conceded 10 in six games—one of only three sides to qualify for the knockout phase after conceding double figures in the group stage.

The upshot is that when the transfer window arrives, Zidane is likely to prioritise signing a goalkeeper—quite possibly for one of the biggest fees paid for a player in that position.

Keylor hasn't been convincing enough, and David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois have both long been linked with moves to the Santiago Bernabeu.

It won't be San Iker, but the fans are right: Real Madrid will almost certainly take a new goalkeeper this summer to fix a problematic area of the team.