Iker Casillas is arguably the greatest goalkeeper to have ever played the round leather game. The living legend currently plays for Portuguese giants, FC Porto, but will always be best known for his incredible time with Spanish and European big guns, Real Madrid, where he spent most of his time playing between the sticks for the 13 times European champions. He was also captain of the impressive Spanish national team which had dominated Europe and the world a few years ago.
Iker Casillas Biography
Iker Casillas Fernández was born on May 20, 1981, in Móstolea, Madrid, Spain. Her father, José Luis Casillas, worked in the Ministry of Education, while her mother, María del Carmen, Fernández González, was a hairdresser. When he was 9 years old, his father took him to a public trial at Real Madrid. The coaches at the trial were impressed with Casillas’ goalkeeping skills and accepted him. He then joined Real Madrid’s youth system, LA Fábrica, and was trained by Vicente del Bosque.
club career
He spent 9 years with the Real Madrid youth team, playing for Real Madrid C and Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s B team. Aged 16, Casillas was called up by the first team for a UEFA Champions League game against Rosenberg on 27 November 1997, before remaining on the sidelines throughout the match. However, in the 1990-2000 season, he made his Real Madrid debut when he started a La Liga feature against Athletic Club Bilbao at San Mamés on September 12, 1999. He made his debut in UEFA Champions League three days later when Real Madrid took on Olympiakos. He also became the youngest goalkeeper to play in a UEFA Champions League game. He was 18 years and 177 days old. The record has since been broken by Mile Svilar.
In the UEFA Champions League final against Valencia in 2000, Casillas was in goal for Real Madrid as his season’s first-choice goalkeeper César Sánchez was injured. Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 which earned Casillas his first silverware with the club. He also became the youngest goalkeeper to play and win the last game in the UEFA Champions League, after just 19 years old.
Since 2002, Casillas has won Europe’s most prestigious club competition and was the captain of the title-winning Real Madrid side. La Decima in 2014. He was named Real Madrid captain at the start of the 2010–11 season, following the departure of the club’s first-choice captain Raúl González and second-choice captain Guti. He remained club captain until his departure in 2015.
At the beginning of 2013, the shot was injured andMadrid manager at the time. José Mourinho was quick to replace him with new signing Diego López. Casillas then made his first start against Galatasaray in a Champions League match after several months on the bench. New Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti then decided to make Casillas his first UEFA Champions League goalkeeper and Diego López to retain his top spot in La Liga.
After guiding Los Blancos to several domestic, continental and international titles, Casillas opted to leave the Spanish club after two controversial seasons. He signed with Portuguese big name FC Porto on July 11, 2015 and has remained with Porto till date.
International career
Casillas made his senior national team debut aged 19 years and 14 days against Sweden on June 3, 2000. He became Spain’s first-choice goalkeeper at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea following a injury to Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares. After the 2002 World Cup, he carved out a leading position in Spain between the sticks for several tournaments.
Casillas became the captain of his national team following Raul’s omission from the Spanish squad for Euro 2008 in Poland and Switzerland. He guided the team to the country’s first major trophy after beating Germany by a goalless draw in the tournament final. In the same year, his excellent saves and impressive run earned him fourth place in the 2008 Ballon d’Or. He was also named best goalkeeper by IFFHS.
In 2010, he became the third World Cup winning goalkeeper and also won the World Cup Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
He again captained the Spanish national team as they conquered Europe for the second time in a row after beating Italy in the Euro 2012 final. In doing so, Casillas only conceded once in tournament.
Net value
The footballer has certainly had some good times in his career and still sees in another league as he seems to be phasing out his goalkeeping career. Currently, Iker Casillas earns an annual salary of €7.5m at FC Porto. His net worth is $40 million.
Family – wife, children
Iker Casillas is married to Spanish sports journalist, Sara Carbonero. Sara was born on February 3, 1984 in Corral de Almaguer, Spain. She and the goalkeeper first met in South Africa, in the 2009 Confederations Cup which Spain lost in the final to a Neymar-inspired Brazil. They started dating the same year and got married on March 20, 2016 in Boadilla del Monte, Madrid. The couple have two children together, Martín and Lucas.
His family therefore includes his wife and two sons. Casillas also has a brother who is 7 years older than. His name is Unai Casillas. Unai is also a footballer and has played for several lower division Spanish clubs.
Height, weight and other facts
- Standing at 1.85m (6ft, 1in) tall, the FC Porto goalkeeper weighs 84kg which is equivalent to 185.1lbs.
- Casillas is the most capped player for the Spain national team.
- He holds the record for the cleanest sheet in the UEFA Champions League.
- Most appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
- First goalkeeping captain to win the UEFA European Championship.
- He has won every major trophy for club and country.
- The goalkeeper has over 1,000 professional caps, the second most capped European player of all time and the second most capped player at Real Madrid.
- He holds the highest appearance of a goalkeeper in the FIFpro XI world.
- Iker placed fourth in the 2008 Ballon d’Or.
- He is the first player to play 20 UEFA Champions League campaigns.