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Iker Casillas

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Iker Casillas
Personal information
Full name Iker Casillas Fernández
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Real Madrid
Number 1
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 3, 2007

Iker Casillas Fernández (born May 20, 1981 in Móstoles, Madrid) is a Spanish football goalkeeper. He is currently the first choice goalkeeper for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He is also the first vice-captain of Spain, as well as one of the vice-captains of Real Madrid.

Real Madrid

Casillas was a product of Real's youth system and his reflexes and agility have made him into one of the most important players at the club. Iker started in the junior team in Madrid during the 1990/91 season. His impressive performances were rewarded when he received a call up to the main team in the 98/99 season. From the 1999/2000 season onwards he formed part of the Real first team, in which he took his place like a veteran.

National team

Casillas was a member of the Spanish teams which won the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup and FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999. Following his full international debut against Sweden, Casillas was an unused substitute at Euro 2000.

2002 World Cup

He was selected to the Spanish national Team and ended up being the first choice goalkeeper at the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan later that year. Because of his performance, Casillas enjoyed hero status after Spain knocked out the Republic of Ireland in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the quarter-finals. After the FIFA World Cup and his performances against the Republic of Ireland and South Korea, he emerged as the first choice keeper for the national team.

Euro 2004

Casillas played in all eight Group 6 fixtures during Euro 2004 qualifying, conceding just four goals. He then kept goal in both legs of the play-off victory against Norway, keeping a clean sheet in Oslo. He then played as his country's goalkeeper at the Euro 2004 finals.

2006 World Cup

Casillas was his country's first-choice goalkeeper during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Spain was beaten by France 3-1 which marked the end of the 2006 campaign. During the tournament, he captained Spain twice.

Honors and awards

Domestic
Continental
International

Trivia

  • Due to Spanish language grammar rules his forename is often spelled as Íker. The name Iker (English: visitation) however is of Basque origin and in Basque language accent marks are not used.[1] His parents worked in Bilbao, Basque Country for some time before he was born and simply liked the name Iker so much that they decided to give it to him when he was baptized. His younger brother also has a Basque name, Unai (English: shepherd).[2]
  • Casillas was the only Madrid player to use public transport to get to training sessions in the 1999/00 season, because he was too young at the time to have a driver's license.
  • He became the youngest-ever goalkeeper to ever play in the European Cup final, when Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 four days after his 19th birthday.
  • He is dating Spanish Miss Spain 2003 and model Eva González. They split in November 2006, but reunited a few weeks later. She was once voted the prettiest footballers' partner in Spain.
  • He was born on the same day as Chelsea keeper Petr Cech, but is a year older.

Statistics

correct as of may 26, 2007.

Club Performance
Club Season La Liga Spanish Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals 12 App Goals App Goals
Real Madrid 2006/07 36 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 43 0
Real Madrid 2005/06 37 0 4 0 7 0 0 0 48 0
Real Madrid 2004/05 37 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 47 0
Real Madrid 2003/04 37 0 1 0 9 0 2 0 49 0
Real Madrid 2002/03 38 0 0 0 15 0 2 0 55 0
Real Madrid 2001/02 24 0 5 0 9 0 1 0 39 0
Real Madrid 2000/01 34 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 45 0
Real Madrid 1999/00 7 0 5 0 12 0 0 0 24 0
Total 250 0 15 0 80 0 5 0 350 0

References

  1. ^ "Iker". Behind the Name. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
  2. ^ "La estrella impasible". El Mundo. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
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