Casillas: “I am sorry that my career did not end as I would have liked”

The goalkeeper Iker Casillas, captain of the Spanish team that won the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 Euro Cups, who on August 4 announced his retirement from football, He pointed out this Monday that although it was not a difficult decision, he is sorry that his career did not end as he would have liked.

“It was not a difficult decision because it was not me who made it. It came to me imposed by circumstances and I had no choice but to accept it. It is true that before my heart attack I had been thinking for a year or two about what my future might be like. Logically, every day I got a little closer to retreat, but it didn't end as I would have liked. That makes me sad, “he said.

In an interview with the magazine “France Football”, which will publish the full conversation on Tuesday, the 39-year-old goalkeeperHe acknowledged that he did not have to say goodbye for a serious injury, but for “something very serious” from which he got rid “hopefully”.

“I must be thankful that I have had a successful career with more magical than chaotic moments, “said a player who became a legend for Real Madrid and the Spanish team, whose career was crowned with titles at Porto.

Casillas is one of the ten goalkeepers nominated by the magazine to be chosen as the best goalkeeper in football history, a distinction in which he competes against the Italian Gianluigi Buffon or the German Manuel Neuer.

“A great goalkeeper is one who gives you security. That's what any defense tells you, who wants above all that the doorman transmits a sense of security. There are a lot of good goalkeepers (…) but if they don't transmit security to their defenses something doesn't work. “Among the active goalkeepers who impress him are precisely Neuer (Bayern Munich) and Buffon (Juventus).

“I am quite classical, so I would say Neuer, who I have played against, and everyone knows I'm a fan of Gigi, even though she plays less. When it does, it stays at a very high level. I also really like Courtois, Oblak, Ter Stegen and Alisson“, he pointed.

For Casillas, being nominated for the Dream Team Golden Ball is “very important.” “When you are little you have dreams, you hope to fulfill them and make history in this sport. I have the feeling that I have achieved it. Getting on the list of the ten best goalkeepers in history reminds me that my dreams have really come true“, Held.

Casillas humbly pointed out that he blushes compared to his own idols. “When I think of all the others who are, in fact, legends to me, I go a little red. It amazes me to be there, yes. It is true that I have achieved great things in football, that I have been one of the best for a long time. I leave it to the jurors to decide if my presence is legitimate. Looking at it closely, I know few of us have had a career like mine.“, he concluded.