‘Casillas best in Spanish history’

Atletico Madrid stopper Miguel Angel Moya has hailed Iker Casillas as the greatest Spanish goalkeeper ever.

Moya [pictured], a summer signing from Getafe after previous spells with Real Mallorca and Valencia, has made an impressive start to the season with his new club and comes up against Casillas in the Madrid derby on Saturday.

It is a game he is looking forward to and he has nothing but praise for his opposite number.

“This is the high point of my career, particularly to be playing against Iker,” the 30-year-old told reporters.

“I remember when I first started aged 20. Casillas was also young at 23, but he had already played in the top flight five years. He was a goalkeeper to look up to. Furthermore, he is the best goalkeeper in the history of Spanish football.

“When you play for a team like Real Madrid you are always exposed to pressure and comments, yet Iker has been there many years and knows how to handle that. When things are going well it’s very nice, but when things don’t go well even the small details are made into a big story, sometimes when there is none.

“Last year with Diego Lopez it was a case of the Real Madrid Coach having two ‘keepers of the highest level, so he had to decide between them and that’s all there is to it.”

Moya went on to tell what kind of match he is anticipating at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“We all know that anything can happen but I’m expecting something similar to the 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Supercopa, where Madrid took the initiative from the start and we had to curb their goalscoring opportunities.

“Madrid have players that finish very well, yet we are also a very dangerous team in attack. If the game goes as it did in that first leg, with not many chances in general, it could be decided as it was that day, when Raul Garcia scored from a corner.

“Hence, strategy is going to be very important this weekend,” he added.

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