With the 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League season officially underway, each of the 32 clubs in the field continue to make team-benefiting moves they hope will lead to a championship. Franchises including Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are all expected to compete at a high level while other clubs such as Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea hope to make a significant level of noise throughout their respective campaigns as well. One of the most competitive fields in all of professional soccer, this year’s Champions League draw could play out as one of the most intriguing in recent memory.
La Liga giants Real Madrid have had the most success in the UEFA Champions League (formerly referred to as the European Cup), leading all clubs with 9 championships. Opening their Champions League slate with a convincing 6-1 victory over Galatasaray, Madrid looks poised for another deep run in 2013, one year removed from a semifinal appearance in which they fell to eventual runner-up Borussia Dortmund. Though the opening victory was a great beginning to a long season, Real Madrid unfortunately had to watch as one of their own suffered an injury during the match.
Playing just 14 minutes in Real’s recent win, superb goalkeeper Iker Casillas was removed from the contest after injuring a rib during a collision with a teammate. Due to the fact that the noise level inside Galatasaray’s stadium was so loud, Madrid defender Sergio Ramos did not hear any calls coming from the Madrid net. Not able to communicate with Casillas while the goalie came out to make a catch, Ramos caught the 32-year-old with an elbow, ultimately leading to his being replaced by Diego Lopez.
“It was a shock,” Ramos said after the victory. “I could not see if Drogba was behind, we lacked a bit of communication and I jumped, with the bad luck of bumping into Iker. “These are things that happen in the game, and my first impression was it is nothing serious. We hope he is back with us as soon as possible. If he said something I did not hear it. You must congratulate the Galatasaray fans for how they support their team. It was very difficult to communicate with the rest of the team.”
Casillas has battled through injury in recent years, even having his hand broken by teammate Alvaro Arbeloa in January, and while the rib incident will certainly be something to keep an eye on, Madrid’s boss doesn’t expect the injury to keep Iker shelved for an extended period of time.
“Casillas had really bad luck, but I hope he will be okay in three or four days,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “In the first moments of the game he made a great save, showing he is in good form. He will recover quickly, I believe.”
Real Madrid takes the field again on September 22 for a La Liga showdown with Getafe. The club’s next Champions League match will come on October 2 against FC Copenhagen, and if all goes well, Iker Casillas should return to his rightful place between the pipes.
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