Vicente del Bosque has revealed he was the last person to know that goalkeeper Iker Casillas was unhappy after being left out for Euro 2016 actions. The coach said after Spain’s Euro 2016 elimination last week that Casillas had been sad with his role as second-choice goalkeeper.
Bosque also added that Casillas had shown anger towards his coaching staff.
Image: Coach Vicente del Bosque and goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The news of his exclusion from the matches at Euro 2016 was a bit too hard for the famous goalkeeper to swallow. But he managed the situation with calmness unlike teammate Pedro who couldn’t find room for his anger.
Casillas has been the country’s number one goalkeeper and captain of the national team for years. Captains are hardly ignored for national team assignments except for retirment–but Vicente may have other reasons.
David De Gea got the nod for all four of La Roja’s matches in France, replacing the legend who had to watch from the stands in frustration.
Image shows the gap between Iker Casillas and Vicente del Bosque.
After Spain exited the European Championship, news from the media speculated that Casillas and Del Bosque’s relationship had frayed but it was all rumors. Casillas, as a perfect gentleman took the first step by sending a goodwill message to his respectable coach. He wrote on a Twitter post:
“This morning at La Ciudad de Futbol, 25 years together and we’re still here! A hug, boss! Good luck!”
Coach Vicente del Bosque responded in his interview Cuatro:
“I didn’t realise how confused he was. Should I have talked to him first? I don’t understand why. Coming to the national team should be something exciting. There wasn’t a bad atmosphere.
“Maybe I was wrong, or maybe he was wrong. I got the feeling he didn’t like the decision but I said it normally, in a benevolent tone, even. I’d name the same squad if I did it again and I wouldn’t tell Iker he was going to start.
“When we made up he told me we couldn’t be like this. We talked for an hour. The substance of everything was him not playing.”
That was then.
This is now.
But there seem to be something always going on between the two–good or bad.
How will he know that? Coaches like this always ignore or pretend not to know when they hurt big names. If he didn’t want the player in his squad, why take him to the tournament?