Farewell to two football legends

[flywoman]

This year, two of my favorite players are leaving their childhood clubs behind. Iker Casillas Fernandez, age 34, has been a goalkeeper for the first team at Real Madrid since 1999 and team captain for five years. Xavi Hernandez Creus, age 35, made his first team debut as a midfielder for FC Barcelona in 1998 and was captain this past season, when

Comments

[anna_king]

Thank you for this. Because you know exactly how I feel about these two. I love them both dearly and I have been very, very sad about their leaving.

What Xavi said was exactly what needed to be said. People should reflect carefully on their treatment of Iker, someone who you could argue was responsible (like you say, along with Xavi) for uniting the Spanish NT and helping them achieve a WC and two European Cups. It made me feel sick all season to see his disheartened face at the Bernabeu. I am a Madrid fan but I wanted to disown my club in these instances. Iker suffered at the hands of Mou and Perez and as a byproduct, the fans. I won't forgive Mou and Perez for that.

Xavi was good friend to him, and Iker in turn, was good friend to Xavi. Iker placed his friendship with Xavi above their respective clubs and made it known publicly, something Mou was never happy with. Then the whole "mole" rumours started. If you know anything about Iker, you would know that he is a gentleman. There is no doubt in my mind that the hate towards him was unjustified.

Their friendship has meant a lot to me...it has shown me how football can unite people and really be a powerful thing. It meant a lot to me as a fan to see Xavi support Iker so openly, something even his own teammates didn't do (Ronaldo unfollowed him from Twitter, only to add him back afterwards...I'm really curious as to why that is. Real Madrid also unfollowed him immediately after the presser. Is this the thanks they give to Spain's best goalkeeper?)

Apparently when the fans were cheering him at the presser at the Bernabeu, Iker stood up to acknowledge them and Perez made him sit down (according to one of the articles I read online). I don't even count that presser as legitimate. The real one was the one where Iker is addressing the press alone, because that's how he asked for it to be. He didn't want Perez up there with him for a reason. Because he felt alone and ditched by Madrid. The second presser was a total farce...one that Perez probably begged him to do for the good of the club. And Iker said yes. Because he is a saint.

This whole thing is very sad. I love them both dearly and will miss them both. It's sad to see the players from the Spanish golden era move on. I'm glad Xavi seems happy at his new club and I hope that Iker too will be happy. They have been the very best <333

[flywoman]

That's Xavi - the man who says what needs sayin'.

I definitely appreciate that Iker refused to make his Spain NT teammates "the enemy" under Mou and that this was threatening to his manager's ego/authority. And yes, of course, Iker is a true gentleman. The way he asked the fans at his presser to remember him, not as a good player but as a good person, just broke my heart.

I knew that Real Madrid had unfollowed Iker from Twitter after his presser - just shows who has all of the class in this situation, doesn't it? They don't call him Saint Iker for nothing. I had not heard that Ronaldo unfollowed him - I bet that Sergio was loyal, though!

I was sad when Puyol retired, but I was also okay with it because his body had taken so much punishment over the years and was just giving out on him. It's worse when two players I love who still have a lot to give their clubs decide to move on for other reasons (especially in Iker's case). But I know that Xavi will come back to Barcelona one day for sure. And I hope that Iker is happy wherever he ends up, bless his madridista heart.

[anna_king]

Hey, we are discussing over at Hala_Madrid whether or not Puyi and Valdes were treated well when leaving the club? Another Barca fan said that apparently they didn't get the same appreciation that Xavi did? Do you know anything about that?

(And good on Xavi...I am so glad he's brutally honest all the time. He's such a great guy and yes, I am sure he will come back to Barca and be welcomed back at that. With Iker I'm less sure...I know he'll come back or visit at some stage but while he is playing at Porto I will have this fear that he will have to play against Madrid. That would kill him for sure...)

[flywoman]

Hmm. I hope other people on my f-list weigh in, but I would definitely agree that the club did not make such a big deal about either of them leaving - whether that was the way they wanted it or not, I don't know. Actually, I strongly suspect that Valdes left because he was disgusted by current management, so maybe that's not so surprising in his case. And Puyi was going to come back as part of the sporting directorship, but when Zubizarreta was fired, he quit in protest. So maybe their political situations were more similar to that of Casillas.

[anna_king]

I hope you don't mind if I copy some of this into the discussion we're having over there...interesting. I always assumed Barca would have been different but I guess Xavi did leave on a high note, it may very well have been different for the others.