Analysing Leeds United’s newest recruit: Kiko Casilla
Roughly two months since Jamal Blackman’s loan was cut short by an unfortunate injury, it appears Leeds United have the found the answer to their goalkeeping issue. Kiko Casilla — or Real Madrid goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, as every transfer site will no doubt be happy to stress, racking up the easy clicks upon confirmation — is on his way to the Championship, having decided he’s not interested in trying to earn a fourth consecutive Champions League winners medal. Three will do, for now.
On a serious note, the signing of Casilla looks to be a quite spectacular piece of business on the part of Leeds, who had initially been pushed back on their interest in more local targets — namely Newcastle’s Karl Darlow and Fulham’s Fabricio, before turning their attentions to the squad of the reigning European champions. Indeed, key members within the management of Leeds United — namely sporting director Victor Orta — have continually stressed that January is a difficult time to recruit the right types of players, but the signing of Kiko Casilla could well prove to be an exception to the rule.
Experience
For a 32-year-old goalkeeper with 169 club appearances at the top-flight level, Casilla has a significant grounding in the game for what he will ultimately be at Leeds — a Championship player. Although he was never installed as the starter at Real Madrid, nor was he ever expected to, Casilla has still been a part of an historically good side at European level, and has featured in a number of high-stakes games for the club as they’ve looked to manage fighting on all fronts, beyond their usual domestic work.
Between 2012–13 and 2014–15, only two goalkeepers in La Liga played more minutes than Casilla at Espanyol — Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo and Athletic Club’s Gorka Iraizoz. It was during this period that Casilla cemented himself as one of the most well-rounded goalkeepers in Spain’s top-flight, while he was also considered a genuine leader within the Espanyol setup for his level of consistency and general performance. At the time of his move to Real Madrid, it was reasonable to think that he could have signed for a side with higher aspirations than Espanyol, but one where he could be the unequivocal #1; something he certainly wasn’t guaranteed in the Spanish capital.
“Real Madrid are a train that only passes once in your life,” Casilla said after signing for the club; one he’d supported as a kid and had played for as a youngster, always with the dream of playing at the Santiago Bernabeu. “For Kiko, it’s a unique opportunity. An offer like this to play for a team of this level has to be taken with your eyes closed, and you can’t reject it,” said then-Espanyol manager Sergio González. After an impressive three year stretch as the #1 at the Catalan club, Casilla’s sentimentalism and desire to be a part of one of the world’s biggest clubs could hardly be denigrated.
In joining the current Leeds setup, Casilla will instantly become one of the most senior, well-travelled players. Alongside the eternal Pablo Hernández, the Spanish pair will represent the large portion of top-flight experience within the current Leeds team, with both players having made 100+ appearances within the big five European leagues. More importantly, that experience on the part of Casilla will be added to the defensive side of the team, in the position where Leeds most desperately needed to add an established professional alongside Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Goalkeeping ability
Since earning the mantle of Espanyol’s number one goalkeeper in 2012, Casilla has proven himself to be one of the more well-rounded stoppers in Spain’s top-flight. And at the height of a goalkeepers influence, few things endear them to onlookers as much as their shot-stopping ability.
Casilla isn’t a goalkeeper with highlight reels built on the back of jaw-dropping flying saves, but relative to his 6'3, well-built frame, he’s certainly reliable as a shot-stopper who can make reflex saves and protect his goal well. Quite often bigger goalkeepers can be accused of not playing big, as in they aren’t able to maximise the effect of their size in various duties, but Casilla has consistently made a fair case to be considered outside of that bracket.
If we look at Casilla’s performance in terms of save percentage — the number of shots on target he saves — the goalkeeper has been largely dependable through his time as a top-flight player in Spain. Save percentage figures aren’t the ultimate indicator of a goalkeeper’s shot-stopping ability from an analytical perspective, but when used over a long period of time — accounting for a large number of shots on target faced — it does a serviceable job of painting a general picture in this respect.
Since the start of the 2011–12 season when Casilla began to emerge as a starter at top-flight level, he has saved 69% of the shots on target that he’s faced in La Liga. Putting that into the context of goalkeepers playing across Europe’s big five leagues in the same period, that ranks Casilla 64th out of 150 goalkeepers that have faced a minimum of 300 shots on target — or in other words, slightly above average among top-flight stoppers.
Viewing Casilla’s save abilities through stats does leave some factors unmentioned, however. Take Keylor Navas for example — Real Madrid’s (rightful) #1 in their three Champions League winning seasons — who is a smaller goalkeeper, but has a significant advantage in terms of lateral movement and ability to make quicker reflexes when needed. To compare Casilla with a player like Navas on shot-stopping alone obviously leaves him trailing, but if we judge his ability as a bigger goalkeeper (6'3) who has the advantage in stature and can perform adequately in more reflexive actions, that’s a measure more in line with what Leeds are looking for. (It’s also worth reiterating Casilla is being judged against top-flight goalkeepers, so average relative to that level means a lot more considering he’s about to join a Championship club.)
Another main area in which Leeds fans will be keen to assess Casilla is in his general command of the penalty area. This can be a pretty subjective area to analyse in goalkeepers, and usually revolves around a willingness to take charge of situations aerially — be it from set pieces into the box or general crosses from open play.
The expectancy of ‘commanding the area’ almost always seems to signify looking to catch the ball and kill any danger before it has chance to evolve, when in reality it’s probably more about deciding when and when not to get involved with dealings in the penalty area. Similarly, that willingness to try and overrule events can be down to preference of the particular coaching staff — some managers will want their goalkeepers to try and claim deliveries directly; some will prefer them to stay home and not interfere with their defenders.
In the 2014–15 season — Casilla’s last at Espanyol — he was among the goalkeepers with the highest percentage of crosses claimed in La Liga (7%), although it’s difficult to dissect whether this is more relative to quality of catches or merely the frequency. At the least, it highlights a certain willingness on the part of Casilla to be responsible in this area of the game.
What we do know is that the Catalan has the frame of a goalkeeper who should be able to impose himself aerially when needed. Add to that the experience of a 32-year-old who has played regularly at the top level, and we bring into play that finer degree of decision-making when it comes to dealing with the varying types of situations in the penalty area.
Distribution
In the case of Casilla’s skills with the ball, we have to separate those valuations across his time at Espanyol and Real Madrid; two clubs across two different periods in which the styles and objectives were starkly different.
Through Casilla’s three seasons as the firm number one at Espanyol, they were a team with few frills when it came to building play from the goalkeeper; most often just playing long into the opposition half, where the team could look to profit from the hold-up play of striker Cristhian Stuani (one of the best in the league in that role). Despite that, the Catalan goalkeeper was still considered to be solid in the fewer moments with the ball at his feet.
Contrast that with his time at Real Madrid and we see a much different remit for Casilla. The 32-year-old was much more active in constructing play — stemming from the orders of Rafael Benitez and Zinedine Zidane — as well as in line with the club’s general dominance. Real Madrid have the quality to be able to advance the ball successfully from their goalkeeper, even if not quite to the extent of other European giants (Barcelona, Manchester City etc).
On the above graphic, we can see the degree to which Espanyol played long balls into the opposition half, and then how much more specificity was required while playing for Real Madrid. At his last club we see an increased similarity between the patterns of play that Bailey Peacock-Farrell has been tasked with this season, where Leeds look to avoid having to go long into the teeth of the opposition’s defence. Even in the defensive third of the field, the importance of choosing and executing the right line of distribution has significant value within Bielsa’s system.
As as an example of this, the below clip from Real Madrid’s game against Spurs at Wembley shows how such an advantage can be gained. With Harry Kane applying direct pressure to Casilla and Christian Eriksen well-placed to hassle Sergio Ramos as the short option, Madrid are able to avoid Spurs’ press with a nicely executed chip to Marcelo on the touchline. The following clip against Valencia highlights the same aspect, with Casilla able to bypass Valencia’s attackers high up the pitch. That objective of seeking the free man is an approach that will only continue at Elland Road.
The mindset of a goalkeeper being important to a team’s construction of play is one that Casilla has been well-versed in. Given that Real Madrid hold dominance over most teams in Spain, the distribution of their goalkeepers holds more weight than that of your average stopper, and can often be the biggest part of their roles in games where they aren’t overly tested with opposition shots. Particularly at Real Madrid — where most of their opponents opt to sit back and reduce space — it’s important that their goalkeeper remains tuned to the development of play, and able to assist in maintaining the team’s attacking rhythm when the time comes.
In the two clips below from a league game against Atlético Madrid, note how little time is spared between Casilla claiming the crosses and Luka Modric receiving the ball on the half turn, with multiple Atlético players ahead of the play. That attitude of looking to get the team on the attack immediately after gathering the ball is another that will be important in Bielsa’s setup; one which does rely on high rates of possession — but crucially — always within the focus of attacking at speed once the right conditions are established.
When we consider the total sum of what Kiko Casilla represents as a goalkeeper, it’s difficult to imagine how Leeds could have found themselves a realistic option that covers as many bases as the Catalan, particularly within the usual constraints of January shopping.
The only area where Casilla is currently lacking is his match rhythm, having been the understudy to an array of the world’s better goalkeepers at Real Madrid. Prior to that, he had been one of La Liga’s most consistent and available #1’s during his time with Espanyol — the very things that earned him the eventual move — but having just turned 32, there’s still plenty of time for him to regenerate his career with regular football once more.
Regardless, in place of that weekly football at Espanyol, the last few seasons have seen Casilla experiencing life inside the world’s most demanding club, where he’s still made 43 appearances in all competitions, including some big fixtures across La Liga and the Champions League. It’s difficult to cap a value on that daily experience within Real Madrid, but co-existing with the world’s best players and being in constant pursuit of every honour possible certainly can’t be dismissed.
Nobody can say for sure that a new recruit — no matter how expensive or well-regarded — is destined to materialise in a new environment, but if we’re going on proven ability, top-level experience and a familiarity within high-achieving football organisations, there aren’t many signings at Championship level that can lay claim to having a face value higher than Kiko Casilla’s.
(Stats via Opta / clips via InStat)
