Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said “I never doubted myself, I know what I am worth and that is not going to change” after he was whistled by his own fans.
Real Madrid superstar Courtois, 27, spoke with Spanish news agency EFE as he prepares with Belgium to square off against Russia for this Saturday’s EURO 2020 qualifying match in Saint Petersburg.
Courtois told EFE: “I never doubted myself, I know what I am worth and that is not going to change.
“It is true that after a difficult match, where I got ill and then you know the debacle that happened, you come here, a place where you know the people, the goalkeeper coach who knows me better than my father to put it one way.
“We have regained some feelings that I may have lost a little bit.”
The Belgian had to be substituted at the start of the second half in Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League group stage.
He was ill and suffering a stomach virus that reportedly caused him to vomit walking to the changing rooms at half-time which prompted Zinedine Zidane to substitute the 27-year-old goalkeeper in the 47th minute.
Courtois had conceded two goals in the first half which generated heavy criticism from fans as they whistled at him as he walked off the pitch.
However, Courtois said: “In the end, I never lost my confidence, I never felt bad. Before the Brugges match when they started to criticise me, we had won 1-0 against Sevilla and had a 0-0 draw with Atletico, both difficult pitches to win in.”
As for his current situation, Courtois sounded optimistic saying: “I have been getting those goals back to zero but in the end, it is an 11-person job, not just the goalkeeper. There are 11 of us attacking and 11 of us defending.”
The goalkeeper currently has a clean sheet record of 533 minutes with Real Madrid and is preparing with Belgium to face up against Russia this Saturday 16th November.
Belgium have already automatically qualified for EURO 2020 after their impressive record of eight wins in eight matches – with only a single goal conceded which was scored by the same Russian team they are set to play this Saturday.
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