Following Real Madrid’s impressive victory over Manchester City on Wednesday night, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois extensively addressed various media narratives. The Belgian vehemently rejected suggestions that his teammates lacked discipline or wielded more influence than their coach.
Courtois delivered another stellar performance against City, highlighted by a critical save from Nico O’Reilly and an assist to Fede Valverde for the opening goal. Post-match, he told Cadena SER: “They know I possess a strong long-range shot. While I’m not Ter Stegen, I do have a good one; we’ve practiced it, especially against teams that defend high. And with quality balls, like those used in the Champions League, such passes become effective.”
‘You think this is a nursery, but we’re professionals’
Courtois was also eager to counter persistent press narratives, asserting that much of the recent speculation surrounding the club is unfounded. “We don’t read what you say,” he remarked to Diario AS, with a laugh. “At home, I focus on analyzing what’s necessary with [goalkeeping coach] Luis Llopis. Of course, some information reaches us – we’re not on Mars – but we’re not constantly monitoring your comments. You often report things you believe to be true that simply aren’t. While no one will openly contradict you, I’ve certainly read some astonishing claims! It’s your profession, and I respect that.”
The Real Madrid dressing room has often been portrayed as a collection of star players demanding preferential treatment from any manager, lest they rebel. Courtois firmly stated that he and his teammates meticulously follow their coach’s instructions.
“You seem to think this is a nursery where we do as we please. That’s incorrect,” Courtois asserted. “We respect the coaches, the technical staff, everyone. Many criticisms are unjust, though some are valid, which is fine. Sometimes we perform poorly, like against Celta or Getafe… We bear some responsibility, and I accept that. But tonight was a collective step forward, and we must remember that if we fight for each other, success will follow.” He added, “I recall my first year here when we were in a much worse situation, yet there wasn’t this toxic atmosphere. There needs to be greater respect for the dressing room. Spreading notions that we wield more power than the manager or refused to play in Albacete is unacceptable. We are professionals, and we always adhere to the manager’s directives. Such ideas have no place here; this is Real Madrid.”
‘Nobody set Xabi Alonso up’ – Courtois
Following similar early results under Alvaro Arbeloa, blame increasingly shifted towards Real Madrid’s players. Persistent reports suggested they struggled to get along with former coach Xabi Alonso, supposedly finding his emphasis on video analysis excessive. Courtois refuted this: “I don’t believe that’s accurate. Nobody undermined Xabi. To claim we disliked his tactics or found the videos tedious… I’ve worked under Antonio Conte, where we’d spend an hour watching videos. I didn’t mind, because we are professionals. It’s part of my job. It’s different when you’re playing with friends – then it’s normal not to want to watch a half-hour video. But if I need to watch one, I watch it.”
He continued, “We prepare diligently for matches. I even discussed this with people from the NFL in the summer, and they constantly review videos. Our professionalism has been unfairly questioned. While the initial months with Xabi were very good, we did experience a difficult spell where we lost our rhythm. However, we are not in charge; the manager is, and we must respect that authority.”
It has been a challenging season at the Bernabeu, marked by two managerial changes within seven months. Trailing Barcelona by four points in La Liga, the victory over City was a rare instance of a cohesive performance from Los Blancos recently. With Arbeloa being the third manager attempting to maximize the current squad’s potential, yielding mixed results, simply changing the coach appears less and less to be a conclusive solution.
