From Iker Casillas to Gareth Bale, Real Madrid’s problems mount and margins shrink

Real Sociedad coach David Moyes and his assistant Billy McKinlay were recently soaking up the atmosphere ahead of their first game in charge of a team at the Bernabeu.

Their side were underdogs, like most are when they visit Real Madrid, and one of the host's coaches knew it.

“I bet your players are petrified,” said the Madrid employee to his rivals as they surveyed the stands.

Moyes would not let any of his players be petrified but there is not a player in world football who would fail to be awed at football’s most impressive ­stadium.

Juventus players will experience the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, where they will start with a 2-1 lead from the first leg of their Uefa Champions League semi-final tie.

Madrid are European Cup holders and remain favourites to reach a second consecutive final as they aim to become the first team since AC Milan in 1990 to retain the trophy.

But it is a difficult moment for Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. His team look tired when they have their most important matches of the season.

They did not win in Turin, they did not win at home to Valencia on Saturday, when Barcelona opened up a four-point lead at the top of the La Liga table with two games remaining.

Madrid face a season without a trophy and problems are ­evident.

On Saturday, club legend Iker Casillas was whistled by his own fans.

Casillas was irked by the lack of support from those who pay his wages and was seen cursing.

Despite continual speculation about his future since he fell out with former manager Jose Mourinho in 2011, Casillas, 33, has said that he plans to go ­nowhere.

He said he believes it is a minority who are against him and intends to see out the nine-year deal that he signed in 2008 and that still has two years to run.

Casillas is Madrid’s second-highest paid player and it is implausible that they will want to bring in another top goalkeeper while he remains on a huge contract, yet Madrid are interested in Manchester United’s Madrid-born goalkeeper David De Gea.

Fellow Spain international De Gea is reluctant to go head-to-head with Casillas and is waiting to see what happens in Spain.

The goalkeepers get on well, but Casillas needs to become popular again at the Bernabeu to stay.

He will sit down with his president Florentino Perez at the end of the season to discuss his future, but the season is still in the balance and Wednesday is a huge game for Casillas, who, along with Barcelona’s Xavi, has played the most Champions League games.

Another Madrid player receiving criticism from his fans is Gareth Bale.

The Welshman has said almost nothing publicly, but his agent defended his client against criticism that he was too greedy in attack and too lax in defence.

Like Casillas, Bale has been jeered by his own supporters, but he is adamant that he is staying at Madrid next season.

The agent also claimed that Bale’s teammates were not passing to him.

There is some evidence to back that, but Bale’s decision making in possession has been criticised. Several times in Turin, he chose options that resulted in his side losing possession.

The 25-year-old Welshman has enjoyed a good second season in Spain and his stats are similar to last term, but being merely “good” is not good enough at a club where greatness is demanded.

Greatness will be needed on Wednesday and Ancelotti claimed that “small errors are costing us dearly” after the draw against Valencia.

The margins for error against the Italian champions, who hold a one-goal advantage, are tiny.

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