Former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jose Francisco Molina has praised Thibaut Courtois’ work at the club this season.
The young Belgian has continued to impress between the sticks for Atleti in what is his second season on loan at the Vicente Calderon from Chelsea.
“He is very good, he is a great goalkeeper,” enthused Molina in an interview with AS today.
“I did not know much about him when he arrived in Spain, he was a mystery, but increasingly he is showing great maturity, he is at a high level in all aspects and, above all, with his age, he has played with great tranquillity.
“This transmits to his teammates and gives them confidence. That is very important.
“The goalkeeper is where the eyes are focused on in defence, for better or worse. They are the principle figure when not conceding goals, but they need help in front of them, which Courtois is having.
“He has 10 teammates who defend as a unit and make things very difficult for the opposition.
“They have granted opponents few opportunities and the few that they have had, Courtois has then demonstrated his great quality.”
Courtois is currently leading the way in the Zamora Trophy, for averaging the fewest goals conceded in La Liga this season. Molina was the last Atletico goalkeeper to win the award, 17 years ago.
“These are circumstances that occur in football. For whatever reason it has not happened since me and I hope that this year Courtois does.
“If he does not achieve this, then he will next year, because the team are young and there is great continuity in the work that they are doing.”
