The Hindu : Casillas — the unlikely hero

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 18, 2002

Sport

Sport - Football

Casillas — the unlikely hero

Seoul June 17. Sunday's Round of 16 match between Spain and the Republic of Ireland had it all: excitement, action, drama and one outstanding hero — Iker Casillas.

At 21 and one of the youngest goalkeepers at the World Cup, Casillas stopped as many as three Irish penalties — one of them during regulation time — and produced plenty of other saves to effectively hand his side a berth in the quarterfinals.

The 1-1 draw during regulation time lead to extra time and a dramatic penalty shoot-out, which was resolved in Spain's favour, also thanks to two great saves from Casillas.

Paradoxically, Casillas would have struggled to have got this chance to shine were it not for several doses of sheer good fortune. A reserve for Real Madrid goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez, Casillas was not expected even to make it to the World Cup. But an injury to Cesar during the European Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow allowed him to contribute to Real's 2-1 victory and earned him a nomination by Spain coach Jose Antonio Camacho.

Casillas, however, was only supposed to play second fiddle to Santiago Canizares, the Valencia goalkeeper. But just days before flying to South Korea, Canizares dropped a bottle of perfume on his right foot, slicing a tendon and being forced out for two months.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper made the most of his good fortune with a great performance on Sunday, but he said again luck was on his side. ``Penalties are always a bit of a lottery. Sometimes you stop two or three, and sometimes you stop none,'' said Casillas. ``But it is not only luck that Spain are in the quarterfinals. We did a lot to win this match.''

In fact, Spain should have finished the match well before extra time, looking by far the better side for the first hour. Perhaps over-confidence and a little tiredness were to blame for their behaviour during the final 30 minutes of normal time, when they just stopped attacking and seemed content to contain Ireland's grit.

The move did not pay off, however, with captain Fernando Hierro committing a foolish and unnecessary foul in his own area to give Ireland the chance to make amends for its previous mistake from the spot just seconds from time.

``I am happy that we won despite playing much of the game with 10 men,'' said Raul. Gaika Mendieta, the Spaniard who successfully converted the winning penalty during the penalty shoot-out, said Spain should have avoided making life more difficult for itself.

``We played a very controlled game at the beginning. But the match became a lot more complicated by going to the penalty shoot-out,'' Mendieta said. Both Camacho and his players refused to express a preference as to the opponent they will meet in the quarterfinals.

``Italy has more experience but South Korea is more motivated,'' Camacho said. — DPA

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport