Thibaut Courtois is remarkably talented for such a young man. At 20-years old he is already showing signs of maturity and has been a fundamental part of Atleti's success this season. (for starters he went 820 minutes without conceding a goal at the Vicente Calderon) He has a wry confidence which although understated gives his full backs every confidence in their number 1. He already possesses many strengths; consistency, shot stopping, decisions and reflexes. It remains undecided whether he will stay in Spain on loan at Atleti. The likelihood is that he will as Petr Cech is still performing at a high level. The future is bright for the young shot stopper and after watching the progress of David De Gea at Man United there is no reason why he can't have the same success in England or a top European side.
This is the rapturous report I received from the magical Matt Smith, not the Oldham striker, but he's far better. Chelsea's twenty years old, six foot six, Belgium's wonderkid keeper has an awful lot to live up to. The young keeper has took La Liga and Spain by storm, so much so, that he has a crazy called 'Thibauting' named after him. The craze similar to "planking" shows fans making a diving save in the least likely footballing areas, what is there to not like about him?
So, what is so special about Thibaut Courtois?
Well, at just twenty the young Belgian has already lifted the Europa League against Atletico Bilbao and the European Super Cup against, errr.. Chelsea.. To boot his wonderful performances have helped Atleti to compete with their city rivals in the league and come up against them in the King's Cup final. Dominant in his box to the extreme, Courtois is a defenders dream, coming and claiming at every available opportunity without fail. Commanding and controlling, Courtois's defence is rarely found out of place, mainly due to his excellent organisational skills. Also, Courtois has became one of the finest shot stoppers in the world this year, as a friend of mine said on Twitter, "Every time Atleti play all I hear is "What a save from Courtois!"" Pulling off some of the most spectacular one handed, double and even triple saves you are likely to see, the triple save against Betis is one of the best you'll see. Also, when it comes to spreading himself, he does it like the great Peter Schmeichel himself. Without Courtois Atleti would not be anywhere close to where they are, sure Falcao gets all the plaudits, but Courtois has quietly and calmly, stressing out strikers as he keeps clean sheet after clean sheet.
Time for the stats to back it all up.
100% claim rate, yes, one hundred percent claim rate. All you can really say is wow. The fact that Courtois is six foot six helps, of course, but to not have dropped all ball from a corner or cross speaks volumes. Firstly of his talent, raw talent that with time will turn him into a machine, then, his commanding nature, a vital characteristic of a good goal keeper. While he only averages two saves per game, some will say that isn't much, but Peter Schmeichel once said that,"A great goalkeeper does not always have to make saves, controlling his defence to have no shots at him is probably more important." Thibaut does this in abundance, it speaks volumes that he made seven saves against Bilbao, when they lost 3-0. Conceding just 23 goals this season, Courtois is Atleti's top performer this season, (statistically from Squawka) to top their impressive defence, and the likes of Koke and Falcao is quite the feat, especially when little or no praise is showered on him, and more so on the attacking side of Atleti. As Matt says, his consistency and concentration are second to none. I honestly don't think I can say much more than what Matt or myself have said.
Do the right thing and follow @ElasticoChop, it's Matt and his wonderfully named Twitter.
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