The manager of the Spanish national football team, Vicente Del Bosque, has said that Iker Casillas’ place in the national squad is safe.
Casillas is currently not the first choice goalkeeper at his club Real Madrid. He had actually lost his spot in the starting XI towards the end of the last season under Jose Mourinho.
He has continued to be on the sidelines under the new manager Carlo Ancelotti too as Diego Lopez was preferred ahead of him in Madrid’s first La Liga game in the ongoing season against Real Betis.
There were speculations that Casillas’ ignorance at his club might affect his position in the Spanish team as well, but, Bosque has denied all that.
When asked about Casillas not getting starting opportunities at his club, Bosque said, “This isn’t going to affect his position in the national team. He has been a special player for us over the years.”
“I don’t think we are going to make too many changes in goal keeping department in near future. We have got decent goalkeepers and even if they don’t get too many games at their club, it’s fine.”
It all started in the second half of the last season when Casillas injured his hand and was ruled out for a few games. Lopez came in and grabbed his opportunity with both hands. He put up impressive performances and managed to keep Casillas out of the starting XI of Real Madrid till the end of the season.
In this season, a new manager came in and people thought he would prefer Casillas. But, it wasn’t to be. Ancelotti also went with Lopez in the first game which has raised question marks over Casillas’ future at the club now.
There have been some reports that the English club Arsenal is interested in Casillas and it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for the Spanish skipper to consider that move.