Keeping his troubles to himself

Iker has decided to show no signs of weakness to the outside world. We are not going to see any expressions which could be interpreted as him being affected by any of this.

Iker Casillas was not surprised by Mourinho’s comments following the Zaragoza game, when he praised Diego López in tones that were almost pious and said that from now on he would be first-choice goalkeeper until the end of the season.
What has struck him, and a number of his team-mates, is Karanka justifying him being dropped on Friday by saying he was “not match fit”, and then Mourinho on Saturday night categorically ruling him out for Wednesday’s game against Galatasaray in the Champions League. The manager ended up by saying that he might “be picked for the Levante match”. So Casillas is left with just the scraps, and for the moment, he will have to make do with that.
Iker has decided to show no signs of weakness to the outside world. We are not going to see any expressions which could be interpreted as him being affected by any of this. There was a big smile on his face when he was with Diego López, Adán and Jesús. Even goalkeeping coach Silvio Louro was sharing Iker’s jokes. None of this means that Casillas is taking the management team’s words lightly. He is a born competitor and he feels powerless in what is an uncomfortable situation. He has worked hard and assiduously, putting in long training sessions, to find a solution to a situation which he may well not deserve to be in.
What lies ahead is to continue training. He is also concerned that his participation in the Confederation Cup in Brazil might be in some doubt. Valdés consolidated his position as an international-class goalkeeper with his performance for Spain in Paris last week.