The defeat against Rayo Vallecano has left some other collateral effect in the franjiverde environment. One of them points to the goal. Kiko Casilla did not have a good day and although he was not directly responsible for the two goals, could do something else and gave off bad feelings in the franjiverde goal. It was erratic with his feet and insecure on the balls overlooked. Edgar Badia’s shadow is still elongated in Elche and many fans are still waiting for a chance for the Catalan goalkeeper, one of the idols of the stands.
Fran Escribá has been proving for a long time that Edgar Badia is not his goalkeeper. He only kept him nine games in the title after his arrival, less than two months between the victory against Eibar, with a clean sheet, and the three goals conceded in the painful defeat against Huesca. In that match he was punished for Sandro’s goal that made it 2-1 and confirmed the comeback of the Huesca team. It was useless that he was one of the saviors in the two previous games, in draws against Getafe and Real Betis. Against the Madrilenians, he even saved a penalty that avoided defeat against a direct rival.
Edgar Badia accumulates 17 consecutive games without playing for a single minute, eight from last season and nine from the current one. Escribá, when he was questioned last Friday by the substitution of heavyweights like Javier Pastore or, above all, Iván Marcone, gave as an example the behavior of the two goalkeepers who have not yet had opportunities. In fact, they are the only footballers in the professional squad who have not yet made their debut this season.
“The competition is greater this season. The footballer must take advantage of that competition to reverse it and realize that it makes you progress. They are professional footballers and when they got here, they weren’t always headlines along the way. There are others who have not played anything, as two of the three goalkeepers, and they are an example for the rest; that is everyone’s path, to continue training in a phenomenal way, “said Escribá.
Kiko Casilla was a personal bet of Fran Escribá, supported by the reports of Marcos Abad, former goalkeeper for Elche and now at Leeds United, to bet on his signing instead of the renewal of Gazzaniga. The ex of Real Madrid and Espanyol, among others, has been questioned in some meetings, especially in the two of the capital of Spain against Atlético de Madrid and Rayo Vallecano, and now Write you will have to show if you trust the competition that exists for that position or is still willing to trust everything to Casilla. In the two previous campaigns in the First Division, he already varied, without problems, at different times with the starting goal, with Manu Herrera and Toño, first; and Tyton, in the next.
Now the duel against Espanyol, in which both goalkeepers also shared a dressing room, it seems like a key moment to know which of the two will continue in the eleven in a week in which it will be necessary to face another two more games, against Alavés and Real Madrid. The pressure for Edgar Badia is also important since in case of being the chosen one, many eyes will be placed on him and he will have to demonstrate everything he did in the two previous campaigns with Elche, in the promotion and permanence, in 90 minutes. The last word, as always, will be that of Fran Escribá.