One of the best goalkeepers in history and the president of La Liga Javier Tebas together on stage at the Sports Festival for a chat about the challenges with Barcelona, the idols and the World Cup
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A huge crowd, dozens of photos and autographs, the (full) enthusiastic audience at the Teatro Sociale. Iker Casillas said he didn’t feel like a Galactico, but in Trento they consider him one. And his chat with Javier Tebas, president of La Liga since 2013, was followed and appreciated.
MEMORIES OF THE CLÁSICO
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There was talk of ‘Clásico’: “A special match, always and in any case – says Iker -. Of the matches against Barcelona I remember the first, in 2000: I was 18 years old and we won 3-0. On the other front, among the biggest disappointments were the 5-0 at Camp Nou in Mourinho’s first Clásico and the 2-6 at home with Messi’s famous tactical shift.” With Tebas as president, the match between the Blancos and the Blaugrana was branded as a separate event, a match that makes history in itself: “It’s the most famous match in the world, and we treat it as such.”
the goalkeepers
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Casillas said he grew up admiring Peter Schmeichel, Doha recalled the long friendship and rivalry with Gigi Buffon, “Who is 3 years older than me and started early, I considered him a model to follow,” quoted Cech, Van der Sar and Kahn. “Today the strongest is Courtois, even if he is injured now. Then Oblak, Ter Stegen and also Kepa: some criticize him but for me he is an excellent goalkeeper. It’s not easy to replace Courtois.”
the criticisms
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The La Liga president criticized the new Champions League format and the proliferation of new competitions. “I don’t understand why they want to change something that works.” And Casillas: “They say that we play too much, and the number of matches continually increases, like in the Champions League, or with the Club World Cup. Luckily the idea of the World Cup every two years has been abandoned. It takes away emotion from a historic competition, exceptional precisely because it is played every 4 years. We footballers are never asked to participate in discussions on these new ideas.”
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