On a hot July 23, 2018, a Monday in the middle of summer in Madrid, the white club presented an unknown Andry Lunin, a goalkeeper who was only 18 years old, at the Santiago Bernabéu. They followed him for a couple of years, and his hiring was due to the entity's desire to start a new stage in goal, something impossible with Zidane on the bench. After the frustrated signing of Kepa in the winter market, by order of the French coach, his departure allowed Real Madrid to undertake a renewal that would not only involve the arrival of the young Ukrainian goalkeeper.
“There is a market opportunity and we cannot miss it. He is a goalkeeper for the next ten years », explained that same day a person of weight of the club to this newspaper.
That market opportunity came from Chelsea, a club that had just paid 80 million euros for Kepa, a contract that opened the door to Courtois, who Sarri did not like.
Two and a half weeks after that, on August 9, Madrid achieved its goal and struck a blow by hiring Thibaut, Gold Glove of the World Cup in Russia that same summer, for only 35 million euros. That left Keylor in an uncomfortable position, who saw how his unquestionable ownership was in question, but also generated some misgivings among some sectors of Real Madrid, who did not understand the arrival of the Belgian when Navas was still at a brilliant level and Cristiano's gap it had not yet been covered. And that was what worried most of the fans. Not the goal.
gave the same The noise did not doubt the sports management of Madrid. Courtois was the bet for the present and the future. Lopetegui did not dare to make the complete transfer of powers, and gave the title in the League to the Belgian and in the Champions League to the Costa Rican, but his dismissal in October and the arrival of Solari did culminate the change. Then, in March 2019, Zidane returned, and his chip had also changed. He adored Keylor, but understood that he had to respect the club's decision to give Courtois the stripes. So it was. Navas' departure to PSG in August 2019 ended the soap opera and marked a before and after in Thibaut's career: "Keylor's departure did not affect me at all, but it did end the debate outside."
That debate did not help Courtois in his first year in white. Unexpectedly low performance that even caused the rejection of some sector of the stands, but not the locker room. His teammates, while feeling grateful for how much Navas had given them, understood that Courtois was much more of a goalkeeper than the Costa Rican. And the passage of time has shown it. Thibaut is today, and for a couple of seasons now, by far, the best goalkeeper in the world: “Although he is two meters tall, he moves with the freshness and agility of a cat. His performance in the final had never been seen in any goalkeeper. Not even in Casillas's in 2002”, explains Santi Cañizares. "We have to thank Courtois and his 'Gadgetobrazos'", Ayuso said yesterday during the team's visit to the headquarters of the Community of Madrid. «It made me enjoy a lot for a few years. With love I tell you that those of us who supported you at that time are also on the good side, ”said Mayor Almeida, a renowned Atlético fan.
Courtois's Champions League has been a scandal. Between the round of 16 and the final he accumulated twenty top-level saves, impossible for 99% of the rest of the goalkeepers, against the best strikers in the world. Mbappé, Messi, Havertz, Gabriel Jesús, Foden, Mané and Salah are going to have nightmares about him this summer. He is radiant, at the peak of his career; he has reached Everest.
In the eyes of his teammates, Courtois is a simple, friendly, honest guy with a great sense of humour. One of those captains without a bracelet who are so necessary to maintain harmony and a good atmosphere in a locker room where egos don't make it easy. A leader who defends his team on the pitch and off it. When he has had to act as a spokesman and give a touch due to arbitrations, the calendar or criticism from rivals and the media, he has been there without hesitation.
On Saturday, in Paris, he was accompanied by his parents, his sister, his uncles, his ex-partner, his current girlfriend, his children, his assistants, and some of his best friends, such as Ibai Llanos. Asier Urbina was also there, his private cook, fundamental in his form. As is Luis Llopis, Madrid's goalkeeper coach, who returned to the club last summer and has been a giant support point for Courtois's evolution.
He was photographed with all of them at the Stade de France, and also with Rudy Gobert, a player for the Utah Jazz. It was his first Champions League and he did not want to miss the opportunity to immortalize it with all the people who have done their bit to get there and leave the best performance of a goalkeeper in a Champions final for history. He is the good side of Courtois.
