Real Madrid News
Real Madrid veteran starts new business venture that links him with his grassroots
Real Madrid’s win over Villarreal was not as tidy as Jose Mourinho would have hoped, but the team did manage to take all three points without conceding a single goal.
For a team that had kept only one clean sheet up until Saturday’s game, that came as a massive accomplishment, much to the delight of Thibaut Courtois.
It was, however, a special night for the goalkeeper even beyond the clean sheet, and it was the night when he debuted his own glove brand – one which bears a close connection to his roots when he was still at Genk.
A change in representation
For the past three seasons, Courtois has been associated with Elite Sport, which has made the gloves he dons. Now, the player has returned to GOAL – the brand which was with him from the grassroots level, as reported by MARCA.
His change from Elite Sports to GOAL, however, is not merely a change in representation but far more, as Courtois has gone on to acquire the Belgian glove brand – starting a new venture in the process.
In that sense, his decision to start wearing gloves of the new brand not only promotes his own personal brand and business but also pays homage to a company that supported him at the very beginning.
Elite Sport have even confirmed the same in an official statement, saying,
“Thibaut has acquired a local Belgian goalkeeper glove brand and has chosen to use gloves from his own brand.”
A need for defensive improvement
One of Jose Mourinho’s biggest concerns over Real Madrid’s start to the season, needless to say, has been the team’s defensive record, which has been poor given how much they spent on defensive reinforcements in the summer.
Returning from the international break, Los Blancos oversaw the second clean sheet of their season against Villarreal, and have thus started on the right foot.
What is more important, however, is that the trend continues and both Courtois and the defense will be crucial in the same.
So far this season, the Belgian goalkeeper has played 720 minutes for Real Madrid and has made 25 saves with a save percentage of 76%. Having just two clean sheets, needless to say, is harsh on how good the player has been.
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
