‘San Iker’ or ‘Saint Iker’ as he is known in Madrid, pretty much tells you everything you need to know about Iker Casillas. A goalkeeper who as captain for both Real Madrid and Spain has won everything you can possibly win in the game. Blessed with superb agility, impressive reflexes and the ability to produce spectacular saves, the Spaniard is surely the number one for any fantasy football team.
From an early age, Iker Casillas was destined to be one of the best goalkeepers of his generation. Rising through the ranks of the C and B teams at Madrid at an impressive rate, he first tasted the limelight in the 1997/1998 season, where he was called up into the first team squad for the match against Rosenberg in the Champions League. Aged just 16, he watched the game from the bench, but it wouldn't be too long before Iker was not just part of the Madrid squad, but actually making his debut.
A year later, the youngster got his chance, making his first appearance for the club in a 2-2 draw against Athletic Bilbao. From that game onwards, Casillas made the goalkeeping position is own at the Bernabeu.
Intelligent and quick, Iker was fast becoming a Madrid favourite, and in the Champions League final of 2000, Casillas became the youngest goalkeeper to play and win in the final of the competition, just four days after his nineteenth birthday. At such a young age, the man from Madrid was quickly gaining a very impressive reputation as one of the most talented young keepers in Europe. Success was quickly becoming a regular habit a well for Casillas, with Madrid claiming the La Liga title in 2001.
However, during the 2001-2002 season, a handful of errors saw Casillas dropped from the starting eleven and replaced by the more experienced Cesar Sanchez. It was tough lesson for the young goalkeeper, but it was an important lesson which he learned from and came back in stunning fashion. The Champions League final of 2002, involved Real Madrid and Bayern Leverkusen. A game most remembered for a memorable goal by Zinedine Zidane, could have had a very different outcome if it wasn’t for Casillas. Cesar Sanchez had started the final but with the game poised at 2-1 in the second half; the keeper had to come off with an injury. Casillas came on and played a crucial role in helping Real win their ninth Champions League title, making three outstanding saves to keep the German side at bay.
Since that second half performance in Glasgow, Iker Casillas has been the undisputed number one at Real Madrid .During this time, success was common nature to the Spaniard who picked up league titles in 2003, 2007 and 2008. The 2007/2008 season was particularly eventful on a personal level for Casillas. Not only did it see the club lift its 31st league title, but Casillas conceded just 32 goals in 36 games, helping him claim the Zamora trophy which is for the lowest goals let in per game ratio. UEFA in the same year named him in their team of the year for the second time.
Casillas by now had established himself as the world’s best goalkeeper at both club and international level. A view held by many of the biggest names in football.
“He’s a fantastic goalkeeper, someone who unites the two factions in the Spanish camp, the Madrid and the Barcelona camps,” said former Holland and Manchester United keeper Edwin Van der Sar. “He’s a steadying influence and that’s what I like in a goalkeeper, someone who does their job without a fuss and makes sure that the team works in front of them. “He’s got good reaction saves, he’s brave and he makes the right saves at the right moments. He certainly has the trophies to say that he’s the best goalkeeper in the world.”
Iker Casillas continues to break records for both Real Madrid and in the Spanish national team. Casillas picked up the record for the most international clean sheets, with this recent game being his 82 clean sheet.
As Spain’s most capped player with over 130 caps, Iker Casillas, at the age of 31, also has his eyes set on overtaking the record of the most capped international player of all time, Lothar Matthaus, whose record of 150 caps is not too far away from the Madrid shot stopper. As Spain’s last line of defence, they will again be looking at their number one to show why he is not just the best goalkeeper in the world, but the greatest ever.
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