Iker Casillas

At 42 years old, Iker Casillas has this physical status:

Iker Casillas Fernández (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈikeɾ kaˈsiʎas feɾˈnandeθ]; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Popularly dubbed "San Iker" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce spectacular saves, Casillas is widely considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is known for his athleticism, quick reactions and outstanding shot-stopping ability. Having spent the majority of his career at Real Madrid, Casillas is one of the few players to achieve over 1000 professional career matches, and holds the record for the most clean sheets in the UEFA Champions League, as well as for the Spain national team.

At club level, Casillas started his career with the Real Madrid youth team, eventually gaining promotion to the main team in 1999, where he became the youngest goalkeeper to play in the final of the Champions League, and to win the title, at 19 years and four days. Casillas became the first choice goalkeeper at Real Madrid, winning two Champions Leagues and La Liga titles in his first three seasons, establishing himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. During his highly successful career in Madrid, Casillas won all major club titles, including five La Liga titles, four Supercopa de España titles, two Copa del Rey titles, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and the FIFA Club World Cup. After 25 years with Real Madrid, Casillas joined FC Porto in 2015 on a free transfer, where he won the Primeira Liga and a Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira title. While at Porto, he broke the record for most consecutive seasons played in the UEFA Champions League (20) and amassed the most appearances in the competition (177). He ended his playing career in February 2020, after almost a year on the sidelines following a heart attack he suffered during a training session with Porto in May 2019.

With 167 international caps, Casillas has the second most appearances for the Spain national team, making him the joint tenth-most capped footballer of all time. An unused substitute at UEFA Euro 2000, Casillas became the nation's first choice goalkeeper at the 2002 World Cup, and went on to play at UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. In 2008, he was made captain, and went on to lead the team to the European Championship title that year. Casillas also led Spain to their first World Cup win in 2010, where he kept a joint–record five clean sheets, winning the Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Spain became the first nation to retain the European Championship, winning the title again in 2012, where he set the record for most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal in the competition (509). In 2014, Casillas became one of four players to represent Spain at four World Cups.

In 2008, Casillas placed fourth overall in the Ballon d'Or, and has been selected for the UEFA Team of the Year six consecutive times from 2007 to 2012, a record for a goalkeeper. Casillas was also selected in the FIFPro World XI a record five times for a goalkeeper, and was named as the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper a record five times, alongside Gianluigi Buffon and Manuel Neuer. He was named as the second best goalkeeper of the 21st century, behind Buffon, and the second best goalkeeper of the past 25 years by the same organisation.

Early life

Casillas was born on 20 May 1981 in Móstoles, province of Madrid, to José Luis Casillas, a civil servant in the Ministry of Education, and María del Carmen Fernández González, a hairdresser. Both his parents had moved from their home of Navalacruz, Ávila.

Casillas has a brother, seven years younger, named Unai, who used to play as a central midfielder for CD Móstoles. The brothers' forenames are of Basque origin due to a family connection to the region: their paternal grandfather – an officer in the Civil Guard – was posted to Bilbao and settled in the city, their father grew up there as a result and Iker also lived in the area as a small child before the family relocated to Madrid.

On one occasion as a young child, when he was seven or eight, Casillas forgot to post his father's football predictions for the weekend; his father had correctly predicted all 15 results, and the family lost out on an estimated €1.2 million (£1 million).

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Club career

Casillas began his career in Real Madrid's youth department, La Fábrica, in the 1990-91 season. He was first called up to the senior team squad against Rosenborg in the UEFA Champions League on November 27, 1997, but he stayed on the bench throughout. He came into contention as the club's first-choice between the posts after spending a season with the C-team in the fourth tier, during which they won their regional tournament. He became the youngest goalkeeper to play in the tournament at the time, starting in 1999-2000, against Olympiakos, the youngest goalkeeper to do so at that age. In October 2017, Mile Svilar broke the record set in October 2017. Casillas had made his La Liga debut against Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés Stadium three days before. When Real Madrid defeated Valencia 3–0 in May 2000, he became the youngest goalkeeper to play and win a Champions League final, just four days after his 19th birthday.

Casillas lost his position in the team to backup César Sánchez after poor results in the 2001–02 season, but he regained his confidence after Sánchez sustained an injury in the final minutes of the 2002 Champions League Final. Casillas continued to make a vital save to deny a tumultuous Bayer Leverkusen the Champions League crown. Real Madrid defeated 2–1.

Casillas' 2007-08 season was a fruitful one, as he helped Real Madrid regain their 31st La Liga crown while losing only 32 goals in 36 games to claim the Zamora Trophy. Rafael Ral and his club captain were granted contracts for life on February 14, 2008; Casillas signed a life deal that will keep him at the club until 2017, with an automatic transfer if he played 30 competitive matches during the season; and a buy-out provision of £113 million. For the second time, his appearances earned him a spot on the UEFA Team of the Year.

Casillas tied Paco Buyo's record of 454 games played for a goalkeeper in February 2009 and has since surpassed it to become Real Madrid's highest-capped goalkeeper of all time at 27 years old. Some Spanish media outlets announced that Manchester City had made a record £129 million bid for the goalkeeper during the 2009 summer transfer window. The club denied the rumors, but claimed that no such bid had been made. Manchester United had been rumored to have enquired about him, but no price was revealed. He had been linked to other Premier League clubs before, but Casillas himself said he had "no intention of leaving" his boyhood club.

During the 2009-2010 season, Casillas made an extraordinary save, running from one side of his goal to the other in a one-on-one, close-range match. "Casillas' reflexes are amazing," he said after the match. If he continues to play this well, he will be one of the best goalkeepers in the game's history." Casillas was the second most popular Spanish sportsman on the Internet in 2010, according to Europa Press. The report by company Vipnet360 looked at the web presence of companies like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Casillas was chosen as the first captain in the 2010–11 season, following the departure of first and second captains of Real Madrid, Ral, and Guti respectively.

Casillas was named the best goalkeeper in the IFFHS Best Goalkeeper award during the 2011-2012 season, making him only the second goalkeeper behind Gianluigi Buffon to win it four times and the first goalkeeper to win it four times in a row. In a 4–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao on January 22, Casillas played his 600th match for Real Madrid. Casillas won his fifth La Liga title and first as a captain of Real Madrid on May 2nd, 2012, with a 3–0 win in Bilbao.

Casillas was dropped by José Mourinho in a Liga match against Málaga in favour of Antonio Adán, who was not in favour of Antonio Adán. This was the start of a long line of sour talks between the Portuguese coach and the player, some of which, as well as other internal affairs, were reportedly broadcasted to the public by Casillas himself. Some of Real Madrid's supporters, who gave Casillas the nickname "topo" and "portero" (Spanish for "mole" and "goalkeeper," respectively), underwent a change in the opinions of certain areas of "goalkeeper" and "goalkeeper" respectively. Casillas received the IFFHS Best Goalkeeper Award for the fifth time in a row, making him the only goalkeeper in history to have ever been named five times (in a row).

Mourinho signed Diego López from Sevilla in January 2013, after a serious injury to Casillas. And after Casillas returned from injury, López was named first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Adán and retained his spot in the team. Mourinho left Madrid in the 2012-13 season, but Spanish midfielder Andrés Iniesta has chastised him for benching Casillas.

Carlo Ancelotti will be Real Madrid's head coach for the 2013–14 season beginning in December 2013. Real Madrid began the season with a 2–1 victory over Real Betis, in which Casillas was suspended once more. In the Champions League group stage match against Galatasaray, he made his first appearance in 238 days, but he was injured in the 14th minute after Sergio Ramos caught him with an accidental elbow as the goalkeeper came from his line to make a routine catch. Despite being the club's second-choice keeper in La Liga, behind Diego López, Casillas, continued to be Madrid's first choice keeper in the Champions League and Copa del Rey, winning a record of 962 minutes without losing a single goal in the previous season. In February 2014, he became the first goalkeeper to participate in every round of the Copa del Rey before losing a single goal. He captained Madrid in the final over Barcelona, Barcelona, 2–1 at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium on April 16th. Casillas captained Real Madrid in the 2014 Champions League final, defeating Atlético Madrid 4–1 in Lisbon for the third time in his career; this was the third time Real Madrid had won the trophy; it was the tenth time Real Madrid had triumphed the trophy. Despite Diego Godn's opening goal being aided by an error by Casillas, Sergio Ramos tied the game for Real Madrid in injury time, but the club went on to win the trophy in extra time.

Casillas returned to being the club's first choice goalkeeper following their Champions League win in 2014, defeating Sevilla 2–0 on August 12, 2014. Real Madrid defeated San Lorenzo 2–0 in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final later this year, making his 700th appearance for Madrid in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final. Casillas' team defeated Juventus 3–2 on aggregate in May 2015 in the Champions League semi-finals, which was contested in May 2015.

Casillas signed with Portuguese Primeira Liga side Porto on a two-year contract with the possibility of a one-year extension after much rumors concerning his future. Real Madrid's conduct in his resignation was chastised, with Casillas' parents arguing that he was being forced out of the team by president Florentino Pérez, who received calls from supporters. Real Madrid were ungrateful of Casillas' service to the club, according to former international teammate Xavi, who left Barcelona earlier this summer after a lengthy and fruitful career.

In a 3–0 victory over Vitória de Guimares at the Estádio do Drago, Casillas made his Primeira Liga debut on August 15th, with a clean sheet. He defeated Xavi in the Champions League for the second time in his 152nd appearance in a 2–1 victory over Chelsea on September 29, 2015. Casillas also broke Edwin van der Sar's record for the most clean sheets in Champions League history, defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–0, advancing to the top of Champions League Group G in January 2016.

Casillas beat Arouca 4–0 away on March 11, 2017, setting a new personal record for clean sheets in a single season. Casillas lost 1–0 away to Juventus in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League's second leg on March 14th, defeating Paolo Maldini as the player with the most appearances in European club matches.

When Casillas defeated Beşiktaş in the 2017-18 edition of the tournament, he equalled Ryan Giggs' record of playing in 19 consecutive UEFA Champions League appearances. Casillas played his 1,000th match as a professional in Porto's 2–0 loss at Belenenses on April 2, 2018. He won his first trophy with the club in May as they secured the league championship for the first time since 2013. After Sporting CP and Benfica tied their respective matches, the 2017-18 Primeira Liga crown was announced. He renewed his Porto contract for another year on May 17th.

Casillas began beating Desportivo das Aves 3–1 in the 2018 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira on August 4th. During the 2018-19 season, he beat Giggs' record, winning his 20th consecutive UEFA Champions League appearance. Casillas defeated Galatasaray 3–2 on December 11, becoming the first player to reach the knock-out stage 19 times since Cristiano Ronaldo's victory in 100 Champions League matches. He made 31 league appearances as Porto finished second in second place, but his season was cut short after he suffered "an acute myocardial infarction" during preparation on May 1, 2019. On May 6, he was released from hospital but later said he was uncertain about his future.

Casillas returned to pre-season training in July 2019, following his heart attack two months earlier. Porto revealed later that month that he had been given a job with the club's coaching staff as part of his recovery. He was selected in Porto's squad for the 2019-20 season in August. He posted the findings of his medical tests on social media in September; at the end of the month, he said he would wait until March to see how he is progressing with his recovery before deciding whether to return to playing or retire. On October, he posted a snapshot of himself working out in the club's gym on Instagram. On November 4, he resumed training.

Casillas officially announced his exit from professional football on August 4, 2020. He was expected to return to Real Madrid in July to serve as an advisor for Florentino Pérez. In December 2020, he was appointed deputy to the Real Madrid Foundation CEO.

International career

Casillas made their debut in Spain under the age of 17. He was the youngest player in the Spanish team to finish third at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt at age 16. He was later promoted to captain of the U17s. He went on to win the FIFA World Youth Championship and the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup the same year two years ago. He climbed to first-choice and eventually earned his first senior cap after some outstanding performances at club level.

Casillas is now the second most capped player in the Spain national team's history. Casillas was a non-working substitute at UEFA Euro 2000, after his full international debut against Sweden on June 3, 2000 (at 19 years and 14 days). He was in the team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, first as the understudy to Santiago Caizares. Coincidentally, he was first-choice when Caizares had to withdraw from the tournament due to a freak injury. Casillas was one of the tournament's youngest first-choice goalkeepers at 21. In the 3–2 shoot-out victory over the Republic of Ireland (1–1 after 120 minutes), he was instrumental in Spanish progress when he saved a penalty in regulation time and two more in the 3–2 shoot-out victory. Following a 5–0 loss to the Koreans, one of his saves during the 2002 World Cup was rated by FIFA as one of the top ten saves of all time; however, Spain was eliminated following a 5–3 penalty shoot-out loss.

During Euro 2004 qualifying, the Casillas participated in all eight Group six fixtures, losing only four goals. He kept a clean sheet in the second leg of the playoff victory over Norway, which ended 3–0 in Oslo, and started all of Spain's Euro 2004 games. He was the first pick for the 2006 World Cup, captaining the team twice, but La Roja was unable to stop La Roja from losing 3-1 to a Zinedine Zidane-inspired France in the Round of 16.

Casillas was given the captain's armband after he was kicked out of the squad for Euro 2008 by his Real Madrid teammate Ral. He started his first two Group D games against Russia and Sweden before being rested in their place in place of second-choice goalkeeper Pepe Reina for Spain's group stage elimination of Greece. Spain defeated Italy 3-2 after a goalless draw on June 22nd, with Casillas saving two penalties from Antonio Di Natale and Daniele De Rossi. Spain won the competition with a 1–0 victory over Germany in the final on June 29th. In all of the quarter-final, semi-final, and final matches, the Casillas kept clean sheets, with Sweden's first round goal against him scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovia. When Spain defeated Germany in the final on Sunday, Casillas became the first goalkeeper-captain to lift the UEFA European Championship trophy.

Casillas and back-up Pepe Reina set the national record for the longest time without conceding a single goal in October 2008. The pair went unbeaten for 710 minutes, much more than Spain's longest-serving goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta and Paco Buyo. Wesley Sonck of Belgium snapped a goalless streak after scoring against them in a 2010 World Cup qualifier.

Casillas was the top-ranked goalkeeper (fourth place) in the 2008 Ballon d'Or, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and national teammate Fernando Torres. Casillas was also named as the world's best goalkeeper by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics in 2008 (IFFHS). He also ranked third in the top goalkeepers of all time ranking, beating Oliver Kahn.

Casillas was Spain's starting goalkeeper at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, making four appearances as Spain finished third place in the tournament. Casillas equalled Andoni Zubizarreta's national record of 56 clean sheets after his victory over Belgium in a qualifying match for the World Cup on September 5th, 2009, when the team's next match, against Estonia, on September 9, 2009, he overtook him as the most Spanish international clean sheets (this being his 98th appearance for the national team, while Zubizarreta's equalizer). Casillas made his 100th appearance for Spain against Argentina in a friendly win over Argentina, making him only the third player in Spanish football to ever reach this far.

Despite the fact that Casillas committed an error that resulted in Spain's 1–0 loss to Switzerland in their first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Casillas captained Spain to their first ever World Cup title, with a 1–0 victory over the Netherlands in extra time on July 11, 2010. He became the third goalkeeper to captain a World Cup winning team (along with Gianpiero Combi in 1934 and Dino Zoff in 1982; Hugo Lloris later achieved the feat in 2018). He was voted the tournament's best goalkeeper after being named to the 2010 World Cup Dream Team, and he was also crowned with the Golden Glove. In the quarter-final victory over Paraguay, he maintained a joint-record five clean sheets, all of which were set in the knockout stages, and only conceded a joint-record two goals. After the Dutchman had passed all the defenses, he made two vital stops from Netherlands' Arjen Robben in the final. Casillas will later state that photographs of the previous captains doing the same thing as a youngster was in his head, reeling them off in a good way going back to the first World Cup he saw as a youth.

Casillas became Spain's most capped player on November 15, beating Andoni Zubizarreta's record after starting for Spain in their 2–2 draw against Costa Rica on November 15, 2011. Casillas equalled Edwin van der Sar's record of 72 international clean sheets on Sunday, which was a victory over Venezuela on 5–0. Casillas scored in Spain's 4–1 victory over South Korea on May 30th, beating Pepe Reina on the 82nd minute. With 95 beating Casillas yet another record, he set a new record for foreign victories. Casillas set the record for the most international clean sheets with 74, beating China PR 1–0.

Tensions in the team's squad had been building between Spain's players and Real Madrid before Euro 2012, prompting manager Vicente del Bosque to announce that any player with this hostility would be barred from the team permanently. Casillas, Carles Puyol, and Xavi arranged a summit with the boss and the team's players in order to defuse tensions; Casillas was lauded in the media for his role in successfully uniting the dressing room. Casillas won his first international accolade for his country on July 1, 2012, beating Italy 4–0 in the Euro 2012 final as Spain defeated Italy 4–0, winning their third consecutive major international trophy. He also broke a record by 509 minutes without conceding a goal in that year's European Championships, keeping five straight clean sheets and defeating the previous record of 494 minutes set by Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff. In Spain's first match of the tournament, a 1–1 draw against eventual runners-up Italy, the only goal he conceded was scored by Antonio Di Natale. Casillas then extended his unbeaten streak with Spain to 817 minutes, until it was eventually broken by Olivier Giroud's injury-time goal on October 16 of that year, when it was 1–1 home draw against France in a 2014 World Cup qualifier match.

Casillas appeared in Brazil in June 2013 and made three appearances before Spain advanced to the final, only to be defeated 3–0 by the hosts Brazil on June 30.

Casillas was selected to represent Spain in his fourth World Cup in June 2014. The champions were defeated 5–1 by the Netherlands in the team's first match, making two mistakes that resulted in goals from Stefan de Vrij and Robin van Persie. Casillas apologised for the loss after the match and called his result the worst of his career. He appeared in Spain's second group match against Chile, losing 2–0 and being barred from the World Cup for the second time. He was chastised for his contribution to Chile's second goal, where he punched Alexis Sánchez's free kick into the path of goalscorer Charles Aránguiz. Casillas was left on the bench for Spain's last game against Australia on June 23, with Pepe Reina replacing him.

Casillas kept a clean sheet in his 100th game as Spain's captain, defeating Slovakia 2–0 Euro 2016 qualifiers in Oviedo on September 5th. Casillas kept his 100th international clean sheet with Spain in a 2–0 friendly victory over England in Alicante on November 13, becoming the first goalkeeper ever, male or female, to reach this milestone. He tied for the first caps of Latvian Vitoljs Astafjevs on March 27th, when he took part in a friendly against Romania.

Casillas was appointed to Vicente del Bosque's final 23-man Spain squad for Euro 2016. He became the most captained European player in a 6-1 friendly victory over South Korea in a pre-tournament warm-up match, but he was later replaced by debutant Sergio Rico in the second half. This was his last international appearance. He was the second-choice goalkeeper behind David de Gea during the tournament; Casillas did not appear in the tournament after Spain was eliminated in the Round of 16 after losing by 2–0 to Italy.

Casillas was left out of Julen Loegui's final 23-man Spain squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia on May 21. He predicted a return to the Spain football team and Real Madrid in November.

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