Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois spoke about the importance of goalkeepers after winning the Lachine Prize last Monday.
In an interview with the French newspaper, L’Equipe, Courtois said: “Last season, we did not win the Champions League only thanks to Vinicius, Valverde, Benzema, and Rodrygo, but also thanks to me.”
He added: “The modern goalkeeper’s mission is no longer only to save goals, here in Madrid, I am the one who starts playing, and with my first pass I am the decision-maker in how to attack and get rid of the opponent’s pressure. Today we play like playmakers, the goalkeeper is more important than you think.”
Courtois continued: “Without a good goalkeeper you will not win a title, and in football awards, some forget goalkeepers, fans vote quickly for strikers who score goals and not for goalkeepers, this is very bad, but we will continue to show how important goalkeepers are.”
He continued: “Goalkeepers make headlines when they make a mistake, even if it is small. They are killed and it is said that the match went on because of them. Sometimes we forget that the striker before that may have missed 5 or 6 easy chances to score.”
And about the coaches who helped him most in developing his work: “In 2015 when I suffered a knee injury, Mourinho and Hiddink helped me do a lot of possession as a free player, and this helped me to read the games better, and helped me develop my passes and play faster under pressure.”
He continued: “I am happy when I have the ball at my feet, I can pass well, and be told that the goal started from me thanks to my first pass, I like it very much.”
Courtois concluded: “I would very much like to score, a few years ago, I shot a header against Valencia and the goalkeeper saved it, and then Karim (Benzema) scored it. I see that thanks to my height I can score.”
