The Spanish football journalist Graham Hunter has said that he feels that the Real Madrid goalkeeper Antonio Adan is suffering as a result of the fight between the manager José Mourinho and the number one at the club – Iker Casillas. Mourinho has recently fallen out with the 31-year-old goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who is rated as one of the important players in the Real Madrid squad. He also holds a special place in the history of the club after having made his debut as an 18-year-old, while he has been part of numerous successes over the years.
Yet, Mourinho has dropped him for the last two matches citing poor performances and form in recent weeks. In his place, the Portuguese manager has decided to use the youth team product Adan. The move has not paid dividends because Adan has been unable to prevent Real Madrid from slumping to a defeat in the recent match against Malaga, although due to no fault of his own. The journalist Hunter believes that the youngster is suffering from a lot of pressure as a result of the fight between Mourinho and Casillas because he has been subject to a lot of abuse from the Real Madrid supporters in recent weeks.
“I’ve no doubt this is a disciplinary thing based on a running feud. It’s the wrong decision, for the wrong reasons, at the wrong time. I have sympathy for Adan; he’s a decent guy, with whom Casillas has a terrific relationship, a guy who could have gone on to be Real Madrid’s goalkeeper, potentially, or gone on to another big club. He was persuaded to stay in the summer but this is part of the premium for having stayed,” said Hunter. Real Madrid have fallen a massive 16 points behind the arch rivals Barcelona in the table.