St Iker can do no wrong in the eyes of the Real Madrid faithful. And Jose Mourinho made the cardinal sin of omitting Casillas with disastrous results. You’re messing with a deity. Mourinho had a momentary lapse of reason against Malaga. After 10 days, with enough time to reflect, to do it again would be termed insanity. Unless of course, you’re intentionally giving the finger to the Real Madrid board and the fans.
So, the skinny is that even though the stand in Antonio Adan has been a bit of an inglorious bast*rd, he’s being brought back again. Casillas is going to be on the pitch for the next two matches, after which Adan returns. Mourinho does have an explanation and he points to the ridiculously easy third goal by Real Sociedad’s Xabi Prieto in which Casillas is guilty of not putting enough pressure. Real escaped with a tense, unconvincing 4-3 win. It maybe true that Casillas is not being pushed enough but the gap between the two goalies is a chasm.
The relationship between the coach and FIFA’s top rated goalie is considered glacial. The board’s reaction has been that the decision is risky but ultimately the coach’s authority has to be respected. One can be sure Florentino Perez is fuming behind the scenes with the club almost out of La Liga contention trailing behind Barca by 16 points and being overshadowed by crosstown rivals, Atletico Madrid.