BARCELONA, Spain -- Real Madrid President Florentino Perezs confounded expression upon hearing that veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas had been dropped for Saturdays game against Malaga showed just how far coach Jose Mourinho has gone in his quest to exert control over the club. And it may be that Mourinho has finally gone too far. After waves of criticism from fans and players alike as Madrid slumped to a 3-2 loss in the game, the question arises whether Perez has reached the limits of his support for the often successful, yet equally abrasive, Mourinho. "Mourinho has his particular way of dealing with his squad," said former Madrid player and coach Jorge Valdano. "But this was him doubling down. It was an exhibition of power. It was him imposing his decision on a club legend." Mourinho did not announce his decision to drop Casillas, highly respected both in Spain and abroad for his decade of quality service in Madrids net, for the little-used Adan Garrido until minutes before the game. The move backfired in the second half when Malaga scored on the inexperienced Adan three times to deal Madrid another loss that left it flagging 16 points adrift of Spanish leader Barcelona and its league title defence hopes shattered. Mourinho said that he had picked Adan because he was "in better form" than Casillas. That argument was far from convincing to fans and players past and present. A fan poll published on Monday by Spanish sports daily Marca indicates that most of Madrids fans want Mourinho out. Eighty-two per cent of the almost 100,000 participants in the online poll voted yes to the question "Should Real Madrid fire Mourinho?" "Iker doesnt need to be punished to play better," said former Madrid goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez, an old teammate of Casillas. "This only brings to a boil the atmosphere of conflict that Madrid already has." Madrid defender Sergio Ramos said after the match that he was "surprised" by the decision. Casillas told La Sexta television on Sunday that he felt fine and that Mourinho hadnt told him why he had been benched. "Im not used to being a backup," Casillas said. "But the team is above any player. I have to keep training and try to win back my place in the starting lineup." Since arriving at Madrid three seasons ago, Mourinho has won a Spanish league title in 2012 and a Copa del Rey a year earlier. But he has also ruffled the feathers of more than one of Madrids purist fans, as well as dispatching several perceived enemies within the club. Casillas, the captain of Madrid and Spains world and two-time European championship national team, was always seen as untouchable. The 31-year-old goalkeeper is the most revered member of Madrids current squad. Many fans see him as the last link to the winning days of the "Galaticos" of David Beckham, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane and to the prior golden era of beloved forward Raul Gonzalez and Vicente del Bosque, the clubs ultimate "gentleman" coach. Two weeks ago, Perez called Casillas "a legendary captain of Real Madrid." "He is one of the great captains in the history of this club," Perez said. "He shows that above and beyond winning titles, he knows how to interpret this institution." And therein lies the potential problem for Mourinho. Perez had not been informed of Casillas exclusion when a journalist for Canal Plus television showed him the lineup minutes before the game. The 65-year-old club president, who in his 10 years has made Madrid one of the worlds richest teams, raised his glasses as if to get a better look at the player list and then, apparently stunned, just turned away. Perez has been Mourinhos biggest backer. He has defended the Portuguese coach every time he has been questioned by the sector of Madrids fans who interpret that his aggressive style goes against the clubs proud tradition of always behaving in a "noble" manner. Perez didnt flinch even when Mourinho poked Barcelonas then assistant and now head coach, Tito Vilanova, in the eye during a melee between the archrivals. Last week, with Mourinho under increasing pressure to turn things around in the league, Perez told a meeting of club members that Mourinho had his "confidence" and "affection." Mourinho is known for wanting to control how much information from his dressing room reaches the media, and he has had no problem taking on other personalities within the club. In 2011, Valdano, then the clubs spokesman, left after his conflict with Mourinho went public with the coach openly discrediting him. Mourinho belittled player Pedro Leon before he was shipped back to Getafe. He has even ostracized former Ballon dOr winner Kaka, for whom Madrid paid (euro)65 million (then $92 million) in 2009, to an almost permanent role on the substitutes bench. This season, he benched defender Ramos after a supposed dispute, and he has used various press conferences to criticize the running of Madrids B-team by coach Alberto Toril. And through all of this Perez has been there to grant him his wishes, including a contract extension last summer that ties Mourinho to Madrid until the end of the 2016 season. Mourinho, a former Chelsea, Inter Milan and FC Porto manager, has enjoyed the unquestioning support of Madrids most radical fans, which even applauded his eyepoke of Vilanova with a large sign at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium that read: "Your finger points the way forward." But that could all change after the Casillas benching. And if Mourinho losses Madrids die-hard fans it may be only a question of time before his last defender also abandons him. Columnist Tomas Roncero, who writes for sports daily AS and represents the most vehement section of Madrids fans, wrote on Sunday that "Mou threw down the gauntlet without weighing the consequences." "(Casillas) is the triumphant symbol of Spain that has dominated the European and World Cups since 2008. Mou cant understand this sensibility because its not his national team, but he should be able to evaluate it," he said. "For a decade now, 70 per cent of the children who are Real Madrid fans wear the Iker shirt. He is an idol, a mirror, a hope, a hero." Cheap Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Jerseys . Elmander is Swedens only major injury worry, with the Galatasaray forward struggling to recover from a fracture in his right foot. He worked out separately on Thursday while the rest of squad held their first training session in Ukraine on the outskirts of Kyiv. http://www.cheapchinajerseys.us.com/[/... . Watch live coverage on TSN right now. The 1-5 Bombers are looking to new quarterback Joey Elliott to secure just their second win of the season. "The message has been sent, we have to pick it up," said veteran Winnipeg offensive lineman Glenn January. [url=http://www.cheapchinajerseys.us.com/]Cheap NFL Jerseys . MARYS, Ont. Wholesale Jerseys China . Since that time, Canada has lacked a figurehead - someone to oversee the technical development of the game in Canada. Now, it appears that void is about to be filled.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Its been such a whirlwind of a week for Doug Marrone -- from a bowl game at Yankee Stadium to NFL interviews in Arizona -- that it was difficult for the Buffalo Bills new coach to get his bearings on Monday. All that mattered was that he ended up in the state of New York, a place where the Bronx-born Marrone has always felt at home: Be it playing and then coaching at Syracuse, and now getting his first NFL head-coaching shot in Buffalo. "I had some opportunities to make a choice, and Ive chosen to be here," Marrone said, shortly after being introduced as the 16th coach in the Bills 53-year history. "You have to be at the place where youre most comfortable, and Im most comfortable here in western New York." Capped by a 38-14 win over West Virginia in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28, Marrone went 25-25 in four seasons at Syracuse. He was credited for reviving a program that had gone 26-57 in its previous seven seasons. In Buffalo, the 48-year-old Marrone takes over a week after Chan Gailey was fired following three consecutive losing seasons. Marrone becomes the Bills fifth coach in 12 years, and inherits a franchise that newly promoted team president Russ Brandon described as having a "tarnished" reputation. "We wanted to identify top talent to lead this organization to where all of our fans and stakeholders deserve to be, and thats back to a championship contender," Brandon said. "And we believe we just did that." Marrone was the second of only five candidates Buffalo interviewed over a four-day span in Arizona as part of what Brandon vowed would be an "exhaustive" search. Brandon described the search as being "thorough" and "exhilarating," noting the Bills met with Marrone four times before identifying him as their candidate on Saturday. General manager Buddy Nix went further in saying the Bills didnt have time to waste or risk missing out on Marrone. "We could have gone another day, and we would have been starting over," Nix said. "We knew the guy we wanted when we interviewed him. And there he is. So why go further?" Marrone also interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, and was also linked as a potential candidate for job openings in Philadelphia and San Diego. Marrones challenge in Buffalo is turning around a team whose 13-season playoff drought is the NFLs longest active streak, and a team thats not had a winning record since 2004, when it finished 9-7.dddddddddddd. "Im not going to talk about the coaches that were before me, and I dont know what their philosophy was. But I do understand the responsibility that I have," Marrone said. "Im excited about this. Ive done this before. Ive been in this league as a player, been here as a coach. Ive gone through this change. And Im excited to work with the players in this change." Described as a no-nonsense disciplinarian, Marrone returns to the NFL where the former offensive lineman spent two seasons as a player, and seven more as an assistant. He was an offensive line coach with the New York Jets from 2002-05. He then served as the New Orleans Saints offensive co-ordinator from 2006-08, where his arrival coincided with the team signing star quarterback Drew Brees. The Bills also interviewed former Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith, former Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals defensive co-ordinator Ray Horton and Oregon coach Chip Kelly. The Bills were scheduled to meet with Mike McCoy in Denver on Saturday, but the Broncos offensive co-ordinator postponed the interview. Marrone has had little time to enjoy a 38-14 victory over West Virginia in the Pinstripe Bowl, which he called his "greatest win." On Dec. 31, after driving home, he attended the mens basketball game in which the Orange beat Central Connecticut, 96-62. He celebrated new years eve at Orange coach Jim Boeheims home. Soon after, his phone started ringing with news about potential job offers. As a result, Marrone on Monday was short on answers when it came to his vision regarding the Bills. He said hed have to begin looking at film before determining the status of starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, whos future in Buffalo is in question. Nix has already said he intends to improve the position in the draft and potentially in free agency. Fitzpatrick is also due a $3 million bonus in March from the six-year, $59 million contract extension he signed in October 2011. It was too early to ask Marrone about who he might hire as assistants. He would only say hes looking for coaches with NFL experience to fill his two co-ordinators jobs. Same thing about how Marrone intends to improve a high-priced but underachieving defence that was one of the NFLs worst during Gaileys three seasons. "Im excited to get back to work soon," Marrone said. "Its a lot of responsibility. I feel Im the best person for this job." ' ' '