Spain midfielder Cazorla defends Casillas over recent form

Spain midfielder Cazorla defends Casillas over recent form

 MADRID, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Spain midfielder, Santi Cazorla strongly defended the form of goalkeeper Iker Casillas on Wednesday as the Spanish national side prepared to fly to Minsk ahead of Friday's World Cup qualifying match against Belarus.

Casillas has come in for criticism after making some errors in the opening matches of the season, where he has looked less assured than on other occasions. Some have even suggested he should have saved Leo Messi's free kick which put FC Barcelona 2-1 ahead in the 2-2 draw in the Clasico in the Camp Nou on Sunday night, noting that his arm was not fully¹ extended as the ball flew into the net.

However, Cazorla, one of the brightest and cheeriest characters in the Spain squad², put up a solid defense³ of Casillas and David Villa⁴, who is on his way back to full fitness.

"There is no sense in doubting players such as Iker and Villa. They have given a lot to their teams and there is no sense at all in questioning them," he said, before focusing on the Messi goal

"Messi's goal is difficult to stop and at the end of the day the foul⁵ was really well taken by Leo and it is complicated for Casillas. It is a question more for Casillas than for me," he said.

The Arsenal⁶ player added that he saw no sense in looking at the words of Madrid defender⁷, Pepe, who accused some Barcelona players of diving during the Clasico. With so many Barca and Madrid players in the Spain squad, Pepe's words could be a bone of contention⁸, but Cazorla madde light of them

"People always look for controversy⁹ and fortunately there is none here. The last Clasico was a clean game and I don't think anything strange happened at all," he said, before discussing his change of scene from Spain (Malaga) to the English Premier¹⁰ League.

"People have spoken about me more in the short time I have been in England than in all the time I played in Spain. The main thing is to be happy. I feel I am an important player for Arsenal and I feel comfortable there. It has been a step forward in my career and i hope to continue impriving as a player," said Cazorla.

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

5 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

6 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

7 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

8 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

9 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

10 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。