体坛英语新闻：Real Madrid keeper, Casillas, talks about hard times at club

MADRID, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid goalkeeper, Iker Casillas admitted in a frank television interview on Monday night that there were moments when he felt like he was 'the plague' at the club and that he had considered leaving Spain to play abroad.

Casillas has won back his place as first choice keeper at the club this season after a difficult 18 months which saw him relegated to the dugout, first by Jose Mourinho and then by Carlo Ancelotti, who preferred Diego Lopez in league matches.

Lopez moved to Milan this summer, while Casillas has returned in goal, despite the arrival of Keylor Navas and the doubts of a section of the Madrid fans.

"I have had a bad streak. Especially after the injury (a broken hand bone) that had changed my life," explained Casillas, in an interview with TV network 'Cuatro.'

Much has been said about his supposed bad relationship with Jose Mourinho, but Casillas was unwilling to discuss that saying, "You would have to ask Mourinho," while at the same time praising the now Chelsea boss' work at the club.

"Jose Mourinho' s time at Madrid was good for us. I will always think that. We were equal with Barca for a while and in the first season things were good, in the last season they were not so good. I have the utmost respect for my coaches but when something goes on you should not discuss it, you should respect your boss," he said.

It was a difficult time for Casillas, who had been accused of working to get Mourinho out of the club, something he denies.

"We were not talking about Mourinho. For me, Mourinho was one of the best coaches that I' ve had. He was daring, he had character. Then it came out that we had pressured the club ..." he said.

Those rumors made life in Madrid difficult for the keeper.

"A few months ago everything was bad and I was to blame for everything. The first problem that everyone wanted to get rid of, I seemed like the plague," said Casillas, who for the first time in his 16-year career at the club was booed and whistled by a section of the fans, which he admitted "hurts."

"I had thought about leaving. You do not want to disturb things or be the reason for a bad atmosphere... But then you think "you have to compete and fight," he continued, adding "I want to finish my career here."