Thibaut Courtois’ Summer Has Been One Giant Victory For Undersized Keepers

It’s been something of a rough summer for Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with regards to getting chummy with his shot-stopping peers. Back on June 29, Belgium defeated England 1-0 thanks to a marvelously taken goal by Adnan Januzaj. A weird spat then commenced between Courtois and England No. 1 Jordan Pickford, with Courtois being quoted as saying that Pickford would’ve saved the shot if he were 10cm taller and had not been “too busy throwing his legs in the air.”

The 6-1 Pickford (Courtois is 6-6) would ultimately have the last laugh after turning in a string of heroic performances against Colombia, Sweden and Croatia. That’s not to say that Courtois had a poor tournament — he was sensational and rightly awarded the Golden Glove.

Now, however, the Frankenstein’s monster-looking dude has been left in the lurch by another undersized keeper, the bizarrely underrated 6-1 Costa Rican Keylor Navas.

While Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has been seemingly hellbent on replacing Navas over the last couple of seasons, the managers at Real Madrid have been far more reluctant to drop Navas.

Former manager Zinedine Zidane was glowing in his praise for Navas, going as far as to block incoming transfers due to his belief in Real’s No. 1. However, with Zidane's departure back in May, Perez finally got his wish and signed the Chelsea keeper for over $40 million.

The only problem is that Real’s new manager, Julen Lopetegui, appears to rate Navas more than Courtois as well. On Sunday, for the second straight match in LaLiga, Navas started in goal while Courtois settled for a spot on the bench.

Navas was brilliant in Real’s 4-1 win, recording four saves, including one that quickly transitioned into a counterattack and goal from Gareth Bale.

@NavasKeylor + @isco_alarcon + @GarethBale11 = @RayHudson #HalaMadrid#GironaRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/EvW6yqCBzT

— Aziz Habouria (@azizhabouria) August 26, 2018

After the match, Lopetegui outlined the problem that every coach in the world loves to endure: having too many talented players at one position. 

“It’s not a situation that’s easy to understand, but it’s simple enough to explain,” he said. “I’ve got some really good options in goal and there are no problems in that area. We’ll decide what’s best for each game. 

“Keylor got the nod today and did very well. There’s great competition and that makes us stronger in the goalkeeping department. I’ve got some thoughts in my mind, but I’m not going to share them. Over the course of the season, I’ll look for solution to solve the next immediate challenge.”

So there you have it — Lopetegui will decide what’s best for each game before making the decision. What does that mean? Well, for starters, it means that Courtois will certainly not be in goal for El Clasico, thus avoiding being nutmegged by Lionel Messi for the millionth time.