Del Bosque: Casillas needs our support

Posted Wednesday, September 04, 2013 by Foxsports.com

Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque still views Iker Casillas as his first choice goalkeeper despite the latter's lack of playing time at Real Madrid.

The Real Madrid captain has been languishing on the bench since the second half of last season, after failing to convince Jose Mourinho and current Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti that he deserved to start ahead of compatriot Diego Lopez.

However, despite not featuring in any of Real's La Liga games in the current campaign, Casillas has been called up to Del Bosque's Spain squad for the country's 2014 World Cup qualifier against Finland.

Del Bosque told AS that the thought of dropping Casillas from the national fold never crossed his mind.

"Iker Casillas will always have me by his side, Casillas is captain of the side and an important part of our team. I would never say he has to play at Madrid. I am in favour of Casillas, in favour of his history and his trajectory. He is going through a bad time and needs the support of those who have respect and admiration," he explained.

"It's not a comfortable situation for anyone, but mostly it is uncomfortable for him. But having said that, I am not going against anyone, only going in favour of Casillas."

The Euro 2012 winners also called up young Los Blancos defender Nacho Fernandez and the 23-year old was in disbelief when he heard the good news.

"I was at home with my family. I heard because my phone was flooded with messages, calls and ‘Whatsapps’, I thought something was up, but not this. It was the last thing I expected. I can’t really believe it. To be honest, I didn’t really believe it even after hearing it, until this morning [Tuesday] I was finally able to get a look at the newspapers with the news and my photo in all of them," Nacho shared.

"I haven’t spoken to him [Del Bosque] yet, I’m very grateful to him for what it means for my career. I hope to repay his faith in me. Iker told me to take advantage of the opportunity and that it’s a great experience - what all players aspire to. I’m going to enjoy it."