Why Thibaut Courtois is struggling to win over Real Madrid f

When the first half ended in Real Madrid's Champions League meeting with Club Brugge on Tuesday night, วิธี สมัคร แทง บอล ออนไลน์ w88 Thibaut Courtois made his way off the pitch, the whistling loud in his ears, and everyone else's, too. Real were losing 2-0, and the goalkeeper who had conceded twice headed down the tunnel, into the dressing room and straight to the toilet, where he was sick. Dizzy, disoriented and unable to carry on, he was replaced by Alphonse Areola as Real battled back to draw 2-2. Courtois' dad drove him home, and the next day, the keeper didn't join in training. "He had ... things," coach Zinedine Zidane said after the game, unable to offer a much better explanation.

Sources close to the player have told ESPN FC that Courtois had felt unwell with gastroenteritis since lunchtime, while Real Madrid released a statement Friday denying reports the player suffered an anxiety attack. Yet as far as anyone knew, there had been nothing wrong with Courtois before the game; as far as the fans knew, there was nothing wrong with him when the team came back out with Areola in goal instead. Which made what they did more than a little pointed. For a moment, the substitution seemed like a declaration of discontent from Zidane, maybe even a lasting declaration of intent, and it was one that many of them welcomed with applause.



If Zidane's decision wasn't a blunt statement, the supporters' response certainly was. They had whistled Courtois before, and at the Bernabeu there is no hiding place, still less when you're playing in goal -- exposed, all too aware of what is happening. As the final minutes of the first half ticked away, whenever the ball came to him, it was accompanied by long, loud whistles from a lot of people. "In the first half we can blame Courtois," Zidane said afterward. "But it is all of us, me above all w88 line ."

Courtois, 27, probably shouldn't have been blamed at all, but he was. Flailing on the floor, he had looked a bit silly on the first goal, as a daft rebound off both of Emmanuel Dennis' legs wrongfooted him and dribbled past his hand into the net sufficiently slowly that some wondered if he could have even got up again to save it. For the second, Dennis had stumbled, almost falling, but had managed to lift it over the goalkeeper and into the net anyway. Maybe Courtois had started to go down too soon, and maybe he did look a little daft again. Zidane's assessment? "Both goals were a bit of a joke."

Neither goal was truly Courtois' fault; Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric were more culpable. However, he was the one in the photo: the beaten man, the breached last line of defence unable to defend the team. Which left him in the line of fire. He felt it. How could he not? The Bernabeu can be relentless and unforgiving, judgmental and cruel, even to the best of players.


Having rotated both Courtois and Keylor Navas in the final, empty months of last season, Zidane had been clear: "One thing is for sure: Next season there will be no debate in goal, I'm clear about that." But the debate about the Belgium international is now more alive than ever.

Navas had insisted that he wanted to stay and fight for his place this season, but eventually he embraced the inevitable and made a move to PSG -- with Areola going the other way on loan as backup. By then, Courtois had commented that it was clear who the No. 1 was and, while true, that didn't sit well. It also increased the pressure to prove that he was a worthy winner. Some supporters doubted that and were reluctant to entertain the idea w88 mobile ios .

Many felt Navas, a three-time European champion, didn't deserve to be asked to depart. And to be asked to depart again -- he had been literally waiting at the airport only for the deal to sign David De Gea from Manchester United in 2015 to collapse at the last minute.

Then the club had tried to sign Kepa to replace him, before Zidane blocked the move. When they eventually signed Courtois, Navas held on for a year, too. The fans admired the way he refused to take a hint, how he fought for his place, and how he saved them on multiple occasions with his performances. When he left this summer, there was no outright rejection of Courtois, but nor was there much warmth. The Belgian was good, but good is not always good enough, and the whole thing didn't feel quite right somehow.