From doubts to the Ballon d'Or?

MADRID, 4 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is experiencing his best moment since his arrival at Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, a landing that did not meet expectations, but from which he has managed to recover to become an indisputable and vital piece in the latest successes of the Madrid club .

The exhibition of Bree's goalkeeper, 30 years old, in the Champions League final against Liverpool, crowned another great year for the international and that he can even be placed in the list of candidates to opt for the Ballon d'Or that he seems to have as a favorite to his teammate Karim Benzema. At the moment, in the two years of existence of the Lev Yashin Award that France Football awards to the best goalkeeper, he has not even been among the top three.

The Madrid goalkeeper was key in achieving the 'Decimocuarta' as Iker Casillas possibly was in the 'Ninth' in 2002, with those three saves in a short space of time and having to come off the bench. Courtois did not fail against Liverpool and closed a great season where he signed great key saves and definitively bury any doubt that arose about his signing, which also caused the subsequent departure of a Keylor Navas who had the affection of the fans and who had been Very solvent in the Champions League finals of 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The Belgian arrived at the Madrid club, for which he signed for six years, just after being one of the outstanding pieces in his team during the World Cup in Russia, where Belgium finished in third place. Eden Hazard did not arrive and his signing was received with some skepticism because Keylor Navas had responded.

The two alternated the goal, although Zinédine Zidane opted more for a Courtois who played 35 league games and five in the Champions League, for the Costa Rican's 10 and three, although he conceded 36 of the 46 goals in LaLiga Santander and only kept his goal to zero in 10 of their 32 matches between the domestic tournament and the maximum continental competition. He was thrashed in the Camp Nou Clásico (5-1) and in the second leg of the Champions League against Ajax (1-4).

The outlook worsened for the goalkeeper the following season, where, already as the undisputed starter after Navas left for PSG, he was one of the targets of criticism from the fans. Against Bruges, in the Champions League, he did not come out after the break after conceding two goals and after being whistled by the Santiago Bernabéu fans. The media spoke that he suffered from anxiety, but Real Madrid denied it and blamed it all on gastroenteritis

"Unfair or not, it is what it is and he knows it. He is strong. He knows that the first part is everyone's fault. The important thing is how he feels, but he is not the only one responsible for the first 45 minutes," Zidane warned. after the clash against the Belgian team.

Courtois did not live up to the expectations placed on him, while at the same time he came out clearly the loser in the continuous comparisons with the role played by Marc-André ter Stegen and Jan Oblak at FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid. "The only thing I can do is give everything to try to be in the hearts of the madridistas. You win that on the pitch with your performances, winning games and titles, not with words," he stressed then.

But from then on, the situation changed and his level was raised until he consolidated and gradually became a 'wall' and left big interventions. Months later, he was able to savor the title of the Spanish Super Cup against his old team, Atlético, which he stopped with key saves and saving a penalty in the shootout against Thomas Partey.

He finished his second campaign with only 20 goals conceded in LaLiga Santander in 34 games and with 18 clean sheets in the domestic tournament, being the 'Zamora Trophy', the first by a Madrid goalkeeper since 2008 (Iker Casillas), and with the league title . In that final sprint of ten wins in a row after the State of Alarm, he only picked up the ball from inside his goal four times.

His third season was also of a very good level, although he was not rewarded with any trophies. She played it all, 51 games, and received 28 goals in LaLiga Santander, the second fewest goals scored and only surpassed by Jan Oblak. Months later, the club renewed his trust and extended his contract until 2026, and Courtois rewarded him with a tremendous year.

The Belgian goalkeeper was once again key and his influence in the League-Champions League double is on a par with that of Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr or Luka Modric. He did not have as many clean sheets as in the two previous years, but he avoided major upsets, especially in the continental competition where he was the goalkeeper who made the most saves, a total of 61, 20 more than the second, the Argentine Gero Rulli ( Villarreal). Despite this, the magazine 'Four Four Two' did not even place him among the ten best in the world in his position.

And his greatest influence was in the decisive round of crosses. In the round of 16, in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, he stopped Kylian Mbappé and stopped a penalty from Leo Messi, while in the second leg he also kept his team alive. In the quarterfinals, a spectacular hand to César Azpilicueta and a lot of security under the sticks on his return to Stamford Bridge, and a key hand to a header from Kai Havertz with 0-3 at the Bernabéu, a prelude to Rodrygo's goal that took the game to a extension where he remained firm.

In the semi-finals, he conceded four goals at the Etihad Stadium, but then raised his figure when things got worse in the second leg after Riyad Mahrez's 0-1 draw. The masterful kick to Jake Grealish, a true reflection of his enormous size, fueled the epic and in extra time he hit Joao Cancelo with an almost lethal header. He had to ratify all that work in the final against Liverpool's powerful attack and he did not fail, especially embittering Mohamed Salah and a huge save in the final stretch and with 1-0 on the scoreboard.