In La Liga this season, Real Madrid won the league title again after three years, which is a dream of Real Madrid players and fans. Real Madrid's victory in the league further cemented Zidane's position on the Galactic Battleships, shaken Barca's dominance in La Liga, and also heralded the dawn of a new era belonging to the Whites. In fact, at the beginning of the season, Real Madrid's situation was not very good, the team did not win in the league, and continued to hit the wall in the Champions League. There was a time when Zidane was the object of "being dismissed". Fortunately, after suffering hardships and twists and turns, Zidane led the team to catch up little by little, and announced the team's strong return with a wave of ten consecutive wins after the resumption. The reason why Real Madrid can achieve such results is related to Zidane's coaching on the one hand, and the players' performance on the other hand. In terms of players playing this aspect, the role of one person can not be ignored, he is real Madrid's main goalkeeper - Thibault Courtois.
Real Madrid won the championship, and Courtois was instrumental
Compared to the previous season, Courtois' progress this season is visible to the naked eye. So far this season, Courtois has conceded 20 goals in 34 games for Real Madrid, conceding an average of 0.588 goals per game, and 18 clean sheets against opponents, including a 3-0 win over Valencia, a 2-0 win over Barca and a 1-0 win over Atletico. It is not difficult to find that when facing the strong teams in La Liga, Courtois is still capable of saving the goal.
How did Courtois perform last season? In the 2018-19 season, Courtois conceded 36 goals in 27 games in La Liga, conceding an average of 1.333 goals per game, and kept eight clean sheets against opponents. Obviously, Courtois's performance in the two seasons since coming to Real Madrid has been very different, and this season the Belgian has not only conceded fewer goals, but also kept more clean sheets.
Not only that, but this season compared to the top goalkeepers in world football, Courtois's performance is also worthy of bragging rights. This season, Premier League's Alisson has conceded 22 goals in 28 games. He conceded an average of 0.786 goals per game, with 15 clean sheets against opponents; Ter Stegen conceded 36 goals in 36 games, an average of 1 goal per game, and 14 clean sheets against opponents; Oblak conceded 27 goals in 38 games, with an average of 0.711 goals per game and 17 clean sheets against opponents; Navas conceded 18 goals in 21 games, an average of 0.857 goals per game, and 11 clean sheets against opponents; Neuer of the Bundesliga conceded 31 goals in 33 games, an average of 0.939 goals per game, and 15 clean sheets Serie A's Szczesny conceded 28 goals in 26 games, averaging 1.077 goals per game and 10 clean sheets against opponents. Obviously, Courtois is arguably the best when compared to the top goalkeepers of these five leagues.
Courtois is very shiny in the five major leagues
In view of Courtois' outstanding performances at Real Madrid this season, he won the "Zamora Award" in La Liga, the award for the best goalkeeper in the league. In the past 12 years, no real Madrid player has been able to touch this award, not even Navas, who was nicknamed "Nada" by Real Madrid fans. This shows how well Courtois performed. Today, the excellent Courtois has become the object of admiration of countless Real Madrid fans, and everyone has great respect and trust in him. This is very different from the situation when Courtois first came to Real Madrid, when Courtois once became the object of ridicule and even scorn by many fans (not only Real Madrid fans), and even some media have ridiculed him, saying that "C Ronaldo can score 50 goals in a season at Real Madrid, Courtois can also", the implication is that the door guarded by Courtois is full of loopholes and vulnerable, such remarks are really too harsh. However, courtois proved himself in one season and made Real Madrid fans successfully forget Navas, what did he rely on to redeem himself?
Courtois is not what it used to be
This can be analyzed from two aspects, one is the spiritual level and the other is the technical level. First, let's look at the spiritual level, there are two points to speak of.
1. Adjust your mindset, no longer be disturbed by the outside world, and use all negative effects as a driving force to motivate yourself to move forward.
Last season, as Real Madrid's goalkeeper, Courtois's performance was really hot-eyed, which was related to his adaptability on the one hand, and his mentality on the other. At Atletico and Chelsea, he proved himself to be a good goalkeeper, so his problem with technology is not big. Adaptability is something that many players will encounter after a transfer, so the main reason is the mentality.
When he first arrived at Real Madrid, Courtois's mentality was mainly affected by three aspects, one was the fans of the former team, due to Courtois's own reasons (he was indeed not a "ruled" young man), resulting in his relationship with his former old club Atletico Madrid and Chelsea fans was very stiff, and everyone was looking forward to seeing his jokes; second, some Real Madrid fans, Courtois replaced Navas's position as soon as he arrived at the team, which made many fans feel indignant, and indeed, why did his poor performance replace Navas? The third is his successive sluggish performances on the pitch, just arrived at Real Madrid Courtois can be described as repeatedly creating a tragic "record", including the International Champions Cup real Madrid 3-7 by Atletico Madrid bloody abuse, when Courtois conceded 5 goals in the half, the angry Zidane directly replaced him in the second half. In the face of multiple pressures, it is difficult for players with strong psychological qualities to play their true level.
Courtois was once the object of verbal abuse
After a season of grinding, Courtois changed his mentality little by little, he no longer took other people's views so seriously, put almost all his energy on the pitch, and constantly gave himself confidence. With the change of mentality, his level was stimulated little by little, his own level was stimulated, he gained self-confidence again, and his mentality changed positively again, just like that, the cycle began, and the cycle went on and on. Obviously, this is a virtuous circle. The mentality is adjusted, and the road is natural and comfortable.
2. Take the reward of heaven as a criterion for self-action, and use hard work to train to make your ability stronger.
After Real Madrid won the league this season, Courtois wrote a paragraph on his social media, four of which were impressive - "heavenly reward" (of course, this is the meaning of translation), which is his encouragement to all of Real Madrid's staff and a spur to himself. In fact, this is a true portrayal of Courtois this season. Since the beginning of this season, Courtois has adhered to the concept of "rewarding hard work" and used it as a code of conduct. He trained hard off the field, he worked the field, he knew that if he wanted to achieve fame in Real Madrid, it was not enough to eat his own old roots, he had to keep moving forward, only when he became stronger, his position in the team would be more stable, and the help to the team would be greater. As a professional player, Courtois has also been more diligent in the past, but this cannot be compared to his performance at Real Madrid this season. It turns out that rewarding hard work may not be the only way to succeed, but it is definitely a powerful weapon for self-improvement.
Heavenly reward is the king's way
Looking at the technical aspect, there are four points to speak of.
1. Pay attention to the saver type, try to hit the ball out of the bottom line or close to the two sides of the body, and do not give the opponent the opportunity to easily make up for it.
At the time of the save, Courtois seemed to have developed a habit of subconsciously narrowing the angle between his two palms and turning sideways to the side of his body, not letting it sit directly in front of him. Why? Because according to physics knowledge, if you do this, the ball will be deflected in the direction of the goalkeeper's body, rather than ejecting directly in front of the goalkeeper. In such a situation, after the goalkeeper makes a save, other offensive players have a hard time making up for the shot, after all, the shooting angle is much smaller. In addition, sometimes Courtois will also use the save action of the ball, and in this way, the ball will fly directly out of the bottom line in many cases. In such a situation, the other side does not even have the opportunity to make up for it.
For example, in this save. Barca's pass pierced directly through the Real Madrid backline, and Messi instantly formed a one-handed opportunity after receiving the ball. Messi took a few steps and directly chose to shoot, but Courtois was not afraid, he moved a little sideways, facing the oncoming ball directly to the right side of the body. Note that when Courtois made the save, his hands were slightly tilted towards the right side of his body, and his hands were not fully open.
For example, in this save. The opponent fired a tactical free-kick and an attacking player found a hole in Real Madrid and managed to grab the ball landing point, but his shot was finally deflected by Courtois. This time, Courtois single-handedly lifted the ball out of the bottom line. If he doesn't, the other side is likely to get a second chance to attack. As a precaution, Courtois did a good job this time.
2. Do not easily choose to abandon the door to attack this way of saving, but once the abandonment of the door to attack, the timing must be just right.
Abandoning the goal is one of the most reluctant ways for goalkeepers to choose the ball, because once they can't stop the opponent, then they are opening the door and giving empty opportunities in vain. But sometimes goalkeepers have to do that. This requires the goalkeeper to weigh the pros and cons in an instant, gain insight into the crisis, and see whether he is abandoning or not giving up. Courtois has done a great job in this regard, and he knows when he chooses to enter or defend.
For example, in this save. A cooperation in the opponent's front court directly tore through the backline of Real Madrid, and it has to be said that the Real Madrid defense line in this game is too brittle. The attacking player directly formed a one-knife situation after receiving the ball, and in the face of such a situation, Courtois quickly made a judgment, he chose to stand still, waiting for the opponent to move first. In the end, Courtois made a wonderful save that defused the opponent's sharp shot. Courtois did not choose to abandon the goal, partly because he saw his teammates returning to the defense, and partly because he knew the level of his opponents.
For example, in this save. Barca looked for an opportunity in front of the field and launched a quick counter-attack, Artur took the ball and sped across the road, and he was in the real madrid penalty area in a moment. Faced with the critical moment in front of him, Courtois immediately blocked artur when he first entered the box, and finally he single-handedly defused Artur's shot, and Real Madrid's goal was saved. Courtois chose to abandon the goal because he did not want to leave the near corner for the Barca midfielder, he deliberately left the far corner for the opponent, and then wanted to use his height and arm length to gamble on the opponent's shot. Sure enough, he was right. Artur could only choose to shoot into the far corner against Courtois' attack, but he ignored the Belgian's arm length.
3. The ability to operate coherently is extremely strong, and the secondary save action is very rapid, often able to occupy the ball one step ahead.
Don't look at Courtois's height is close to 2 meters, but he is very flexible, the movement is very coherent, especially in the second save, quite good. This season, this characteristic of his has been vividly displayed. Whether it's the first moment affected by a fake move, or the ball is out of hand, he can always react in the next instant.
For example, in this save. The opposing player was in the Real Madrid penalty area, a player with the ball pretended to shoot, Courtois saw the situation and made a fall to the ground to save the posture, but the player suddenly stopped, it turned out that he was using a fake action, just when he thought that He could open Courtois to hit the empty goal, did not expect Courtois to jump up immediately and hit the ball out with one hand. This time in the save, Courtois showed what a super reflex is. Trying to tease him and then break the door is hard to drip.
For example, in this save. Real Madrid's back line has a problem, the opposing attacking player seized the opportunity to complete the shot, Courtois blocked the threatening ball with his body for the first time, the ball bounced back after hitting Courtois, the opposing attacking player saw the situation and rushed to make up for it, at this time Courtois had a long arm and blocked the running line of the ball with his fingertips. Finally, the ball rolled to the side and the rest of the Real Madrid players quickly took control of the ball at their feet. Just ask the level of this second save, who else?
4. Comes with a long-range shooting attribute, unless it is a very tricky and lucky shot, it is difficult to pass him this level.
Long-range shooting is a very difficult way for goalkeepers to defend, because such a shooting angle is sharp, fast, powerful, and such a goal is more humiliating for goalkeepers, which can be said to be a humiliation. When he was at Atletico, Courtois was humiliated by Ronaldo with world waves one after another. This season, however, Courtois has his own unique perspective on defensive long-range shooting, and whoever it is, it's hard to pry open his ten-finger mark with world waves. It is also because of this that many teams do not easily use such a shooting method when playing against Real Madrid.
For example, in this save. An attacking player advanced with the ball and suddenly he shot at the top of the arc of the penalty area, an attack that surprised the Real Madrid backline and no one interfered. Seeing the ball coming towards the goal like a cannonball, Courtois flew sideways to defuse the crisis. If Courtois had reacted a little slower, the ball would have gone straight into the dead.
For example, in this save. An attacking player saw a gap in the front of the midfield, then he pulled out his foot and fired furiously, to be honest, the ball had a matte component, but not to mention that it was really accurate, the ball arced towards the right side of the goal. It was too late, it was fast, and Courtois made a save just as the ball was about to enter the net. The shot was brilliant, but Courtois' save was even more eye-catching.
It can be said that Courtois was able to complete self-redemption by relying on self-knowledge and self-improvement. Such a player may have a lot of slots in private, but he is ashamed and brave, and the process of completing the transformation is commendable. In the future, he will be the real madrid goalkeeper. Perhaps, he is real Madrid's next Casillas.
Courtois