• Farewell to a legend, a goalkeeper touched by the gods

  • Opinion.The luck of Iker Casillas

The "universal vocation" of Real Madrid has always been one of the pride of

Florentino Pérez

, one of those vectors that have been guiding his 18 years in the presidency.

On the other hand, the return home represented a new opportunity for

Iker Casillas

, one of the most iconic busts of the club in this century.

It just took time for the pieces to fit back together.

So yesterday, five years after the trampled goodbye, Casillas became the new visible face of the Foundation

, "The soul of the club", according to the definition of the president, the pillar on which his "universal vocation" is based, now promoted by one of the most famous footballers of the last decades. Last November 18, during the presentation in Madrid of his documentary

Hang the wings

, Iker could barely bite his tongue.

“I would be especially excited to be able to return and transmit the values ​​of the former club workers.

I will never close that door ”, he assured then, with the negotiations well advanced.

Overcome the trance of the heart attack, forgetting the strange adventure as a candidate for the presidency of the Federation, Casillas needed new certainties.

And none as powerful as the one offered by the team of his life. Iker's desire to transmit the old principles of Madrid will be reflected for the moment in the Foundation, an entity far from professional sports activity, but focused on education and cooperation.

It is a first step, as it was before for

Raul Gonzalez

or

Zinedine Zidane

.

However, the future of Iker adjusted much better to the offices than to the benches.

Not only because of the heart attack that cut short his career a year and a half ago, but because of the indisputable symbolic value of his own figure.

The reference to

Emilio Butragueño

, Director of Institutional Relations since 2009, is unavoidable.

Five years later

For now, Casillas will assume as the right hand of

Julio González Ronco

, the man who has led the Foundation since its inception.

It will be a learning process for the goalkeeper, who will have to get used to his role as ambassador to all corners of the planet.

Nothing to do with the peaceful life in Porto.

Quite a challenge for someone who in recent months had to turn to his wife's serious illness.

Another impulse after that abrupt goodbye in May 2015, with the solo press conference and the rectification pose, just one day later, together with his trophies on the Chamartín lawn. Now, Casillas will be the visible head of a group of more than 70 workers and their representation work will be reflected in some of the 900 projects spread over 80 countries.

According to the club's figures, more than a million people have been helped in two decades.

Every day, Madrid receives more than 200 requests for its players to participate in charity events.

Obviously, the presence of Casillas will be a relief in this regard. His best short-term endorsement will be González Ronco, doctor in Law and with extensive experience in the sector, from his time in the Spanish Olympic Committee and the Superior Sports Council, together to

Javier Pérez Navarro

and

Rafael Cortés Elvira

.

In May 1999 he landed at the Bernabéu, with

Lorenzo Sanz

in front, but Florentino's victory in the 2000 elections changed his life.

At 52, he continues to define himself as "more Madridista than soccer fan" and showing off his work capacity.

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