Is Iker Casillas ready to keep defending Real Madrid's goal?

He's been one of the greatest if not the greatest. But now it is time for him to accept he no longer belongs to that group of elite goalkeepers and let the club of his life try to rebuild this goalkeeper position. Iker Casillas probably said good-bye to elite football the same night when his mistake on Godín's goal almost cost Real Madrid La Décima if it wasn't for Sergio Ramos' last-minute header. It's hard to admit it and a tough one to swallow after those many years, but Iker Casillas' last three games as a goalkeeper did not happen by chance. After his tremendous mistake on Godín's goal, Netherlands found a way to score five on him, with at least three very serious mistakes by the Spanish goalkeeper.

He had the chance to redeem himself last night against Chile, but instead he showed no confidence on his goalkeeping and sent the ball right into Aranguiz's boots. A goalkeeper simply cannot clear the danger by sending the ball to the center, and Iker Casillas needed to either block that shot or send it to corner-kick or one of the wings. Even Casillas' doing on Chile's first goal could be questioned. He went for a sliding tackle inside the box, and while I get that it was not expected to see Vargas being that cold-blooded, why didn't Casillas use his hands on that challenge?

One way or another, Real Madrid and Casillas need to make a decision. There would not possibly be a better farewell to Real Madrid than lifting La Décima and then walk away. When Raúl and Guti decided to leave the club, Real Madrid did not win anything that season and both canteranos departed with a sense of failure. Casillas has the chance to leave Real Madrid with good memories.