Keylor Navas has paid tribute to former Real Madrid teammate Iker Casillas, describing his fellow goalkeeper as an ‘example’ who helped him.
Navas has assumed Casillas’ position as Madrid’s first choice following the Spain international’s move to Porto and Madrid’s bungled attempts to sign David De Gea from Manchester United.
“I always saw Casillas as an example and I saw things that have helped me. He’s always been a very calm goalkeeper,” Navas considered, AS reports, in an appearance on El Laguero.
“There are a lot of good goalkeepers. I can’t pick one as the best in the world. When I was a child, my idol was [Costa Rica goalkeeper] Lester Morgan. And then it was Gianluigi Buffon.
“The key [to being Madrid goalkeeper after playing for Levante] is concentration. If you face 15 shots you have to do well to stop all 15. And if there are two shots, you have to stop both.
“A goalkeeper must also organize the defence if they don’t see an opponent, to tell them they shouldn’t be so open.
“There are so many things. A goalkeeper’s work isn’t only to make saves. You have to *concentrate.
“It was complicated [being back-up to Casillas] because you want to play, that’s the best thing, but you have to take the positives from the difficult times. You have to keep working for when the time comes.
“My relationship with Iker was normal. The relationship between goalkeepers is different. Your teammate doesn’t make the decisions. I’ll work and if the Coach chooses someone else, it’s not your teammate’s fault.
“I try not to read too much but obviously I heard [about De Gea]. I trust what I can do. And I’ve always thought that if that happened, I’d fight for the position. But listening to these things isn’t going to make you happy.”
