Who is better – Liverpool’s Pepe Reina or Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas?
Hugo has an interesting article up today on back-up goalkeepers – and one of the points he makes is how first-choice keepers, when demoted to the bench, become easily frustrated and move off to greener pastures.
Hugo:
…it is in this light that we can see the desertion of a trio of excellent goalies from a Liverpool side that seems to have delighted in stockpiling exciting guardians: we are talking, of course, about Scott Carson, Chris Kirkland and Jerzy Dudek, although the latter rather insanely opted to join Real Madrid, where he is kept out of the side by a goalkeeper in Iker Casillas who is a good deal better than the man who had blocked his path at Liverpool!
Both Casillas and Reina are top-quality keepers. Both are young (Casillas turns 27 in May, Reina 26 in August), in their prime and have been on top form for quite some time now. Both are considered indispensable to their clubs (Casillas is Real Madrid for life and a club icon, and one suspects that Reina may reach the same status if he stays on at Liverpool). Along with Gigi Buffon, Petr Cech and Edwin van der Sar, these two are considered among the best goalkeepers in the world (Reina is easily one of the best keepers in the Premier League – and stats-wise, perhaps even better in the last two seasons).
So the question is – who is better – Casillas or Reina? More importantly, does the defence in front of the keeper matter (Liverpool have a better defensive record than Real Madrid), and what criteria should we use to find out which keeper is better?
reina is a far better keeper, than casillas. how he is not spains no1 is amazing, real madrid live on old memories now they are , only a shadow of there former selves. c/l proves this, i don,t think casillas, would get in to our team. without doubt reina is king in europe, bar none…
Tough call this one. As a Liverpool fans I’d like to say Reina, but I’m split.
There are far less shots at goal in the Prem League. The defending in La Liga is a joke. Therefore it’s no surprise that Real Madrid have a worse defensive record than Liverpool.
Casillas is the busier keeper, therefore has more spectacular saves, but Reina does his job a lot more efficiently, as the record of number of clean sheets in his first 50 games shows.
Being objective, there’s nothing to choose between them, it’s just unfortunate for Pepe that the Spanish side chooses Ikar.
As keepers they are matched however Reina passes like a centre midfielder and this makes him a better all round keeper and player
Gaffer is right about Iker seeing more quality shots on goal, but what separates the 2 for me is that Reina is prone to stupid mistakes every now and then. Both keepers are clearly world class, but Reina doesn’t communicate so well at times with his Defense line. Of course, that could be a result of a less experienced Liverpool Defense.
I think Manuel Almunia is the best !
Long Live L’Arsenal !
Pepe Reina is absolutley fantastic.
His positioning is what really makes him stand out.
Being the son of a former top goalie you’d expect he has been coached well.
He has broken all records so far. Clemence was phenomenal but I can see Pepe outshining him.
Casillas is a great shot stopper but not as good as an all rounder as Pepe.
I am a Liverpool fan who goes regularly and I always get wound up reading these sites.
rouman… Madrid live off of old memories?? What? Wining the league last season or being top this year? What about us? does that not make us worse for doing that?
Steve.. Reina doesnt communicate well with the defence eh? yeah I often hear him and think, Whats he saying? dont be stupid… how can we know, especially when they have been an excellent defensive unit for ages now! And prone to stupid mistakes?? I can think of maybe 2/3 since he has been at pool. Shoddy eh!
And Simon… Good man, you clearly know football and dont just make off the cuff comments..
I personally think Reina because I once heard the Casillas dropped a can of beans in the supermarket.. It was in the tabloids so I will take it as gospal.
People that make judgements from the press or match of the day, annoy me!
I’m a LFC fan but I don’t rate Reina as much as most Liverpool fans seem to.
He is a good keeper but is not a great one in my eyes. Reina does the basics very well but rarely makes incredible saves. I think the stats on clean sheets etc are more dure to a solid defence than his own abilities.
I would be very interested to see his stats regarding number of shots on target to goals conceded because I think they won’t be that great compared to other keepers.
I think Casillas is far better than Pepe Reina.Liverpool have very good defenders and midfielders that is why Reina concedes less goal and as you see he is always inactive in every match.I think Diego Lopez of Villa Real is very very much better than him.
Apparently Reina has the least work to do of all PL Keepers. For a top keeper the key is to be great even though you don’t get called on much. I think Pepe lives up to this but Casillas hasn’t been tested in this way for a couple of years. It could go either way.
I think the clincher as a Liverpool fan is the fact that when we have a peno given against us or get in to s shoootout I totally EXPECT Reina to save it. He has the fastest reactions in the world – see Reading last week.
how can you say that reina does not make incredible saves, he does them all the time, the thing is most people think that you have to go flying from one side of the goal to the other to make an icredible save, you don’t.
he makes great reaction saves all the time, for sheer shot stopping he is excellent, in one on one situations he excells too, he always keeps concentration throughout a match, he is good at claiming (or quite often punching) crosses, his positioning is good, his handling is excellent and thats not to mentioned his outstanding ability at saving penalties!,
initially he suffered in the league becuase of the more physical strikers and number of crosses coming into the box each game when claiming crosses but he quickly adjusted to this. the fact is reina was quality in spain and is quality in england too, thats one more country than casillas lol,
anyways from me reina is the best around the one problem he has is maybe he is not as big as some keepers but i think the rest of his game more than makes up for this
damn tough call..im an LFC fan and am a huge fan of reina, hes an amzaing goalie. but its wrong to say tht casillas is living off old memories…hes still a worldclass keeper. im not gona make a decision on this one…but i think reina’s gonna be spains numero uno pretty soon
“But Pepe can save in a season hundreds of opportunities. It’s not just about making saves. The best goalkeeper in the world isn’t the one who makes the most saves. It’s about not allowing the strikers to score, by reading the game and giving the defenders a lot of confidence. His team-mates trust him. They know that he is top class and they have confidence in him.”
Rafael Benitez
Sep 18 2007
Curiously enough since Casillas has been Real Madrid goalkeeper they haven’t had a decent defence in all those years. Maybe is something inherent to Casillas? Even with Capello they were a joke at the back. Now Schuster has come in, a coach that managed to have the meanest defence in La Liga at lowly Getafe. But again there has been very little improvement in Real’s ability to defend, even including the addition of all those £20 + million defenders, and the defensive nous of Schuster scoring against Real Madrid is just the same as it has always been.
Not even a Mourinho, Capello; Benitez Triumvirate would make Real Madrid a solid team with Casillas goalkeeping. The Real Madrid fans will tell you that Casillas has to save more shots than any other goalkeeper in the league, when he is actually part of that problem. Apparently Capello wanted to get rid!
If Casillas was Polish, (no, no, Dudek would still be behind Casillas) but Abbondanzieri would be the Real Madrid goalkeeper now.
In my opinion Casillas is a better version of Shay Given. He looks brilliant when paltered with shots, but has many weaknesses that are often overlooked, a youtube footballer if you will.
He spills a lot of shots, he is very poor in the air, and he is not very commanding. What he does do well is almost always exaggerates every save he has to make. A bit like Dudek when he was at Liverpool? He always seemed to make more difficult saves than Reina, even if he was conceding more goals.
I rate Reina as the best in the League. Even better than Cech (who hasn’t been the same since his head injury) & Van Der Saar (who’s still prone to silly mistakes). If you look at all 3 of them play, Reina is the most perfect in terms of technical ability & fundamentals. He never seems to put a foot wrong. And i also think he’s the best penalty stopper out of the 3 of them.
As for Casillas, well what can you say? Amazing, amazing goalkeeper & regarded by many as the best in Europe. I think he just edges out Reina in terms of flair & some of the spectacular saves he makes on a regular basis.
Reina is more grounded, Casillas more flamboyant. Both are definitely the best in their respective leagues.
I have to add to my previous comment…
Having said what i’ve said, if i had the choice of ANY goalkeeper in the world (money no object) i would pick Gigi Buffon first, last & always. He’s the best bits of Reina & Casillas put together & even at his age he can wipe the floor with any of them. His bad days are average days & his best days are brilliant. What more could you want in a goalkeeper?
casillas is much better then reina……..
Casillas, probably the most overated keeper in the world. A shed load of £20+ Million pound defenders in front of him and coaches who are renowned for their defensive nous and Casillas still continues to concede goals a plenty. A keeper that creates problems for himself by not dealing with the initial threat and what some regard as flamboyance (in respect of “unbelievable” saves)looks like nothing more than a bad starting position.
Even as a Liverpool supporter i would have to say Casillas.
The guy is absolute class and is the only reason that Real have remained successful with there “we will score more goals than you” attitude. He has had an absolute dross defensive line in front of him (although Ramos will be a legend) and has dragged Real through countless games to victory because of his heroics.
This does not discount Reina’s class, but due to him playing behind a central defensive pairing of Carragher and Agger he isnt as integral to his teams results.
All things considered, Casillas is a better keeper
Casillas is a better keeper by far. He rarely makes mistakes
and has saved the leaky Real defense many times in the past.
Reina on the other hand has made lots of errors, especially
on crosses, while playing for Liverpool. The main reason
for Liverpool’s defensive record of the past few seasons is
their defenders, not so much Reina.
Although I am a Liverpool fan I think that Reina
is not even the best goalie in the Premier League (Almunia,
Cech and Dan de Saar are better goalkeepers).
Kirkland and Carson have potential but have not been given
the chances and given the trust that Benitez has on Reina,
despite his errors, I can’t believe that they have a chance
RSM, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Everyone knows that Real’s problem for several seasons now has been the quality of their defence. They’ve brought in a number of players but have struggled to get a settled/quality unit.
Quite the opposite to what you (mistakenly) suggest.
As to who is better…..who cares!!
I think Pepe Reina is the better keeper. He is absolutely fantastic. The way he comes of his line in a flash, i think is something most goalkepeers these days can’t do. His reflexes are brilliant. And even if liverpool have a good defense ahead of him, he communicates with them very well. Otherwise the defense would not be as good. And for making mistakes, obviously he does. There is no keeper in the world who doesn’t make mistakes. Are you trying to tell me that Iker Casillas has never made a mistake in his life?
A bunch of over enthusiastic liverpool fans writng rubbish again
how can any 1 say that reina is better than casillas. Personally i believe casillas is by far the better keeper, but i cant prove it, it s all a matter of how much football u ve seen.
before last season(or more accurately when R carlos was playin for them lol), real has always had problems in defense, and consequently casillas was exposed to a lot of pressure. U have to watch the saves he make in order to understand how good he is, just because real used to concede a lot of goals doesnt mean their keeper is bad. in their case, it was purly to do with defense. u cant just go by stats. liverpool have 1 of the best defenses in europe, and personally apart from a few penalty saves, i have not seen anything special in reina.
plus lets face it, the spanish coaches who pick theirinternation Gk are teh guys who really know football, and there is a reason, casillas is no1 ahead of reina
damn crazy liverpool fans!!!
actually i like liverpool because of them… they’re great! but no way reina is better than casillas!!! casillas is the one that keeps real in the top! i’m not saying raina is not good, but casillas is the best in the world along side buffon… if u say reina has good feet, i’ll give u Helton, the best of the best, the ronaldinho of keepers!!! 
Lets see how Casillas would do if he actually had to concentrate for 90 minutes in their entirety on a regular basis as Reina does for Liverpool. The Real Madrid defence lends itself to Casillas’s reputation and has done for soo many years now. A mark of a good goalkeeper is of course when he is not tested for most of the game but when is, makes the defining save. Reina is one of the world’s best proponents of this. Put Casillas into the Liverpool team and after two or three seasons you could make a proper argument when comparing his attributes to Reina. The comparison is therefore unfair. Don’t get me wrong, Casillas is a world class goalkeeper, but in the time that Reina has been at both Liverpool and Villareal, Casillas has made far many more ‘howlers’, some shocking for a keeper of his reputation. Reina is one of the world’s best keepers. His only weakness is his lack of height. Distribution wise there is no other in his leauge, not even Buffon and Chech. AND concerning penalty saving, no one comes close…..maybe Ricardo but no other. Theres something to be said for keepers who rarely make special saves yet contribute to a defence which consistently keeps clean sheets after all……
Sorry Ahmed, but there is no debate here at all. Casillas of course is the better of the two and he is easily the best in the world and has been so since he broke into the Real Madrid first team at the start of this century.
After all, Casillas was pulled out of his arts class one fine morning when he was just 17 and told that he would be on the bench for a UEFA Champions League qualifier! How many goalies can beat that!?
Was reading the comments here and had to comment on a few things. Firstly, yes Casillas has made mistakes, but while Reina still makes some now and then its been quite some time since the last time Casillas made a mistake that resulted in a goal. Then you have the people saying: Casillas has always played in a team where he is constantly tested, so he would have to play in a team where he is only tested now and then to be comparable with Reina. Doesnt that mean Reina has to play in a team that is constantly tested to see how good he is?
Then you have RSM who claim that Casillas is the reason for Real Madrid’s problem in defense cause he isnt good at organizing it. Start with this season first, Real Madrid has the best defensive record in Spain this season. Even though their defensive line has changed throughout the season cause of injury(Pepe, Metzelder, Heinze all been injured for prolonged periods of time).
RSM mentions that Real Madrid has spent millions on defenders, and it hasnt changed anything(I assume he didnt mean this season cause it obviously did). They did however buy players that fell through completely in Spain, Walter Samuel not being able to keep up with the pace and getting booked all the time. Jonathan Woodgate being injured the time he spent there, buying David Beckham to replace Claude Makelele, Pablo Garcia who was a walking disaster. Even Fabio Cannavaro was dire in his first season, but has improved this last season. Basically Real Madrid spent a long time buying names and not players they believed would fit in the philosophy.
And finally; Real Madrid is not a finished team, or a team that lives on history alone. They went through a generation shift, all teams does now and then. The majority of their team was 30+, now theres only two players 30+ close to their starting lineup. And their on track to win their 2nd Spanish league in a row.
Pepe looked pretty weak last night being beaten on the near post twice. He doesn’t have the reflexes to be a great keeper
casillas and reina are the best
who is Reina ? This is Stupidest comparison between 2 goalkeepers. Casillas now is the best, so don’t but that’s Pepe in comparison with Iker. Close this shit topic and open new one to make a compare between Reina and Victor Valdes.
Casillas is a lot better than Reina…they dont call casillas the wall and the sait for nothing…casillas is the better goalie…
east or west
iker is the best!!!!!!!