#bitter #fate #real #Madrid #star
It wasn’t long ago that Thibaut Courtois was considered the best goalkeeper in the world alongside Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer. In October 2022, France Football magazine awarded him the Jashin Trophy as the world’s best goalkeeper of the year.
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But recently Courtois has disappeared a bit from the scene due to injury problems and can be found more at galas with his girlfriend Mishel Gerzig than on the pitch. There were headlines, when Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco recently made it clear that Courtois would be missing from the Belgian European Championship squad.
This statement was made just a few days before Courtois’ comeback for Real Madrid at the weekend, where he kept a clean sheet in the 3-0 win against Cadiz. Especially in the second half, he was able to excel several times and received a grade of 2 from RealTotal. Due to Barcelona’s defeat at the same time, he was then allowed to play straight away celebrate the Spanish championship.
Trouble with Belgium’s coach Tedesco
While the Royals are happy about the 31-year-old’s return, this leaves Tedesco relatively cold. The long absence of Courtois after the cruciate ligament tear plays no role, because the tablecloth between the two was already cut before his injury.
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“Everything has been said on the subject. Every insider and every outsider can get an overall picture,” Tedesco simply explained in a virtual conversation with German media representatives, alluding to the captain’s quarrel last year.
At that time, Tedesco had chosen Romelu Lukaku as replacement captain for the injured Kevin De Bruyne. According to Belgium’s coach, Courtois left the national team “insulted” before the European Championship qualifier in Estonia and was also publicly “shocked” about it.
Courtois didn’t like that and so he indirectly accused the German-Italian on Instagram of lying – or at least of unconscious distortion: “I would like to make it clear that the trainer’s assessments do not correspond to reality.”
Thibaut Courtois on his return to the Real goal
Since Courtois himself declared his participation in the European Championship ruled out last December – and cited the serious injury as the official reason – Tedesco does not have to justify his decision to do without the star keeper.
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Courtois can become a real hero again
But this could change again if Courtois shines at Real with good performances up to the European Championships. The Royals are said to still be planning with the Belgian and the game against Cádiz was just the beginning.
Of course, Courtois has top-class competition at Real, including Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spaniard was signed last summer as a replacement for the injured regular goalkeeper and even turned down FC Bayern – but has only played more than 90 minutes once since the end of January.
Speaking of FC Bayern: Coach Carlo Ancelotti will again rely on Ukrainian Andriy Lunin for the second leg against Munich. The Italian confirmed this at the press conference on Tuesday: “Lunin will play. Courtois was good, but he still needs time to get back to his best.”
But Ancelotti has not yet wanted to answer what a possible final appearance looks like. Quite a few suspect that Courtois could then be ahead. After all, he has the necessary experience and already won the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2022.
After the final against Liverpool, Courtois was voted Man of the Match and hailed as a “Belgian wall” by the press. Marca even wrote at the time: “A cast should be made from Courtois’ hands and exhibited in a museum.” For the as, he was simply “extraordinary”.
De Bruyne could have thrown Courtois out
While Courtois is considered a hero at the Royals for that reason alone, things never went quite as smoothly for Belgium. Belgium’s often highly praised team never fully lived up to expectations. The best result was third place at the 2018 World Cup, where Courtois was voted best goalkeeper.
He also made headlines for his 2013 affair with Caroline Lijnen, which De Bruyne mentions in his book “Keep it Simple”. Afterwards, the then coach Marc Wilmots even left it up to him to decide whether Courtois would stay in the national team.
“I don’t think I had the right to say he can’t play for the national team anymore because he did something wrong. Of course he remains a good goalkeeper. So I said he could stay,” wrote De Bruyne, who said he later clashed with Courtois.
Nevertheless, this chapter also fits with Courtois’ difficult years in Belgium’s national team. His focus is Real Madrid – and possibly another heroic role in a Champions League final.
