Casillas Conjures Thrilling Performance Against Zaragoza

Iker Casillas again proved his plaudits as one of the best goalkeepers in the world against Real Zaragoza on the weekend. Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster praised the fact that Real Madrid is lucky to have one of the best shot stoppers on the planet. Casillas pulled off some brilliant saves against a fired up Zaragoza, the following video highlight shows some fantastic positioning and reaction by the Real Madrid custodian:

There are probably too many saves to mention from the above video. What stands out if the first one to one situation where Casillas journeyed off his line to block off an attack by Zaragoza. If you notice he paced himself with the Zaragoza attacker well enough to be in the right position, allowing him to utilize his feet to push the ball away.

Goalkeepers should realize that sometimes the use of the feet (as opposed to diving) is necessary to repel an effective attacking situation. There are many times during the game where a goalkeeper will not have time to react with his/her hands when attempting to react to the ball. Utilizing your feet and legs will sometimes be just as effective in pushing away an attacking situation on your goal.

Diego Milito of Zaragoza summed up Casillas performance very well:

“Sometimes it is difficult to beat Casillas and it was one of those days. He is a great goalkeeper, one of the best in the world.”

Can’t complain when even the oppositions striker applauds you.