Iker Casillas’s Biography Everyone in the world who loves soccer – the king of sports, should know that the Goalkeeper is the most important position in the team’s formation. Throughout the history of world soccer, many goalkeepers have become absolute legends. To be a legendary goalkeeper, one has to be more than a shot-stopper, he has to become a captain of his team’s defenders, he has to be the one that his team trust the most. In the recent years, who has been the best goalkeeper that have all the essential points above? There are many answers, but most people will say it is the captain of the Spain National Team, also the captain of Real Madrid Soccer Club – Iker Casillas, the best goalkeeper of the world that no one can replace his position. Iker Casillas Fernandez is one of the most famous goalkeepers in the world. He was born on 20 May 1981 in Mostoles, Spain. He grew up playing soccer with his brother – Unai Casillas, his father and friends in the neighborhood. The first club he joined was the Real Madrid Youth System, he was nine years old at the time. “The agile Casillas emerged as a star goalkeeper as a teenager” (Bio. A&E Television Networks), he helped the Spanish junior national teams won the 1997 UEFA European Under-16 Championship and the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. Casillas joined Real Madrid's first team in 1999. He became the youngest starting goalkeeper in a UEFA Champions League final in May 2000 when he was only nineteen years old, and he also made his debut for Spain's national team in the same year. In his first four seasons, Casillas helped Real Madrid win two La Liga league titles, two Spanish Super Cups and a UEFA Super Cup. He was benched in some matches in the 2001-2002 season after some bad performances, but he came back with many amazing saves that helped the Real Madrid win 2002 UEFA Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen. Casillas became Spain's starting goalkeeper during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and he helped Spain reached the quarterfinals, but they lost against South Korea – the host of 2002 FIFA World Cup. From there, the nickname “Saint Iker” was born, to honour many great performances of Casillas. “Throughout his 15-year career, Casillas has won everything there is to win for a pro -- including the World Cup -- and his epic saves have earned him the nickname "Saint Iker" from devout fans.” (abcNews)
He became the captain of the Spain National team after the 2006 FIFA World Cup. This is the year that started his several titles with team and individual. He helped Real Madrid win two league titles in 2007 and 2008, as well as the 2008 Spanish Supercup. He was named the best goalkeeper in many games; that’s why he also was named to the UEFA Team of the Year for the six straight years, from 2007 to 2012. Casillas also helped Spain win the 2008 European Championship. Spain went on to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2012 European Championship, and he was named to the All-Star teams of all three tournaments. With Casillas, Spain is the first national team that was successful in defending the European Championship (2008 and 2012). Casillas is also the owner of the Golden Gloves Award and Best European Goalkeeper Award in 2010, after Spain won the FIFA World Cup. Casillas claimed another league title and Super Cup victory with Real Madrid in 2012, but he was still benched in the following season because of some conflictions with manager José Mourinho, and Diego Lopez replaced his position. Although he had conflictions with Mourinho, Casillas still praised his manager: "He [Mourinho] has formed a competitive team with aggressive character and he has made us more mature."(Goal.com) Then he came back with the most successful season in the club’s history, becoming the champion with Real Madrid in three tournaments of the 2013-2014 season: La Liga, World Club Cup, UEFA Champion Leauge. Casillas is a loyal member of Real Madrid. There were many rumors that he
