The Spain goalkeeper has made a habit of falling short of expectations for his country of late, but what is behind his downturn in form?
How many rare errors can somebody make before the word ‘rare’ no longer applies?
David de Gea, the absolute model of consistency when pulling on a Manchester United shirt, has suffered the kind of run of form playing for Spain that would see many a fellow goalkeeper thrown to the lions.
Mistakes will always punctuate the career of a number one but it is generally the frequency that is considered the ultimate barometer of a keeper’s value. And while on that scale De Gea is possibly the greatest club goalkeeper of the last five years, he is rapidly developing a reputation at national level for failing his side with too great a regularity.
The high-profile error which saw him spill Cristiano Ronaldo’s speculative effort into the back of his net in the 3-3 World Cup draw against Portugal on Friday is far from the first from the 27-year-old when donning Spain colours in recent times.
In March he misjudged the bounce on Nicolas Otamendi’s header for Argentina, allowing it to go between his separated hands as he dived. Then in the warm-up clash with Switzerland earlier this month he failed to hold Stephan Lichtsteiner’s tame cross-shot and Ricardo Rodriguez tapped in.
After that error he had told the Spanish press: “Better now than in Russia.” But that not only glossed over the problem, it also did nothing to address the mistakes he had also made in La Roja’s disappointing Euro 2016 campaign in France when he was last on the big stage.With a matter of minutes remaining against Croatia, and Spain destined for top spot in their group, De Gea conceded at his near post to Ivan Perisic when attempting to block with his feet rather than dive towards the strike. And in the very next game he got caught in two minds dealing with Eder’s free-kick and his bungled stop allowed Giorgio Chiellini to sweep home Italy’s first in the Spaniards’ 2-0 quarter-final loss.
Whether judging De Gea in the present context or the historical big-game context his record at international level has not been good enough. He has made three vital errors in the last four national team fixtures, three in three in tournament matches.“It’s a mistake he doesn’t make with us… Player of the Season, fantastic performances,” United manager Jose Mourinho told RT after Friday’s game. “But that happens to the best. The good thing with the best is that in the next match he will be there, not afraid, confident to go and ready to help the team.”
And that is what Hierro and Spain are banking on. The hope is that against Iran and in potentially five more games to come, it will be the David de Gea of Manchester United between the sticks rather than the pale imitation they have had in goal of late.