Video clip Rating: 3 / 5

Bayern Munich lead by four goals on aggregate, which is unlikely to be overturned even by the best team in the world. Real Madrid watched one of the transfer targets in the summer – Robert Lewandowski – destroy them by scoring four goals. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the sole consolation for Real Madrid, but Casillas believes that there is still 90 min of football left to decide the winner of the semi-final. The final will be played at Wembley, which also hosted the final few seasons ago. Casillas has said that Real Madrid will give themselves a great chance if they go into the halftime of the second leg with a two-goal advantage.

“The belief in the comeback exists. I think there is a great opportunity. We are playing at home, the fans will be motivated and what we need to do is ask for their support. For the individual and collective qualities, I think that in the Bernabeu we have the players to come back in this tie. The ideal thing, without underestimating Dortmund, would be to go into half-time 2-0 up. I believe we have more individual quality than them,” said Casillas, who has already lifted the trophy with Real Madrid in the past.

Video Ranking: 4 / five

There has been a lot of talk about the tension between Mourinho and Casillas in recent months. Casillas is regarded in high esteem amongst the Real Madrid faithful after having made his debut as an 18-year-old. Now at 31 years of age, Casillas is regarded as one of the most important members of the squad.

However, there has been a lot of rumours about a rift between the Portuguese and Spanish contingent at Real Madrid, with Unibet even opening a sportsbook on whether Casillas will be there next season.

Mourinho took the extraordinary step of dropping Casillas in favour of a reserve goalkeeper. However, results did not help the manager and he had to bring in the 31-year-old back to first-team action. Casillas, though, suffered a broken finger a few weeks back that helped him stay away from the headlines. He is closer to a return to first-team action, but he will not be available for the crucial second leg last 16 encounter against Manchester United according to Mourinho.

“We will have to defend stoutly but we are here to attack, there is no doubt about that. Everyone is fit and ready to play with the exception of Iker Casillas. The emotion is high and it’s a pity the match is not now and that we have to wait until tomorrow,” said Mourinho ahead of the match. Madrid definitely have to score in the match in order to have any chance of progression. They trail Manchester United on away goals after having drawn the first leg 1-1. Madrid come into the match on the back of a great run of form.

Movie Ranking: five / 5

De Gea and Casillas have come up against each other on numerous occasions in the past when the current United goalkeeper used to play for Real Madrid’s archrivals Atletico Madrid. The 22-year-old has insisted that the absence of Casillas will be a major disadvantage for the Spanish club because he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The 31-year-old was recently nominated for several awards FIFA Ballon d’Or award. He would have become the first goalkeeper to have won this award, but he was not in the final three members shortlist. Even though not publicly, he has fallen out with the manager Mourinho.

“Every time Iker Casillas is not there, he is a great loss. It is a great loss because he is the captain of Real Madrid and Spain. But Real have two other keepers who can play as well as Casillas does,” said de Gea ahead of the match. Pressure will be extremely high on the shoulders of the young Spaniard, as he attempts to keep out the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain from scoring. He was recently criticised for his poor performances in the English competitions.

Video clip Score: 4 / 5

Even though his position at the club has been undermined in the last few weeks by the manager José Mourinho, Casillas still continues to remain as one of the important members of the team. He has managed to win all the major trophies with the club. This includes several league titles and Champions League titles during the last decade. Casillas managed to secure 224 votes compared to the second placed Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus, who had secured 128 votes. The Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who managed to win his first Champions League title got 92 votes. Casillas has not been at his best recently, and he was recently dropped for the match against Malaga by the manager.

This led to an outrage from the Real Madrid supporters, who hold Casillas in the highest esteem. This has been an extremely tough season for Real Madrid, as they have fallen 16 points behind the leaders Barcelona in the table. The manager José Mourinho is widely expected to leave the club at the end of the season. Madrid, though, will be looking to get back on track and the winter break could not have come soon enough. Real Madrid are currently third in the Spanish la Liga table.

Video Rating: 4 / five

This incredibly successful goalkeeper has said that he wants to play in the American Major League Soccer some day. Iker Casillas already has the England midfielder David Beckham to speak to welcome some moving from the Santiago Bernabeu to play for an MLS club. He has said that critics are already extremely vocal about him even at 31 years of age. Hence, he cannot contemplate the criticism that he will receive from the media when he is 37 years of age. Hence, he wants to have some peace and tranquillity in the final few years of his career and he has identified MLS as a perfect opportunity.

“I would like to play out my soccer in the future in a more relaxed environment, and if I have to play somewhere else then it would be for a team that would not come into direct competition with Real Madrid. For example, in the USA, which I love. I would like to retire with Madrid, but if the critics are fierce when I am 31, imagine what they will be like when I’m 37,” said Casillas in a recent interview. Real Madrid are 11 points behind Barcelona in the table.