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Iker Casillas Profile |
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Birth Date: May 20, 1981
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Birth Place: Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
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Birth Name: Íker Casillas Fernández
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Height: 6'1"
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Biography |
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.
Still only a youngster in goalkeeping terms, Iker Casillas
has nonetheless gained a huge reputation in European
football. A shot-stopper par excellence, the Real Madrid
player is gradually developing the commanding presence in
his area which could yet see him become an all-time great.
Born in Madrid in 1981, Casillas' entire career has been
spent with his hometown club Real Madrid, which he joined as
an eight-year old. He first hit the limelight at 17 when he
was pulled out of a high school art class to be told he
would be on the bench for a Champions League match. His
breakthrough came during the 1999-2000 season, when he
replaced the injured Bodo Illgner and played in Madrid's
UEFA Champions League triumph in an all-Spanish final
against Valencia CF where his senior team mates Raúl
González, Fernando Morientes and Steve McManaman scored in a
3-0 win.
Loss of form subsequently allowed César Sánchez to take the
starting position as goalkeeper, but Casillas reclaimed the
limelight after coming on as substitute for the veteran in
the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayer
Leverkusen and preserving Madrid's 2-1 lead with a series of
fine saves.Casillas came on to replace the injured Cesar
with 22 minutes remaining at Hampden Park and produced a
series of outstanding saves to ensure Real held on to their
lead. At one point Leverkusen appeared to be queuing up to
score but Casillas was at his best, his efforts to deny
Yildiray Basturk and Dimitar Berbatov particularly
brilliant.
Again the Real Madrid first choice in the 2002-03 season, an
injury-free season saw Casillas play in 15 of his side's
Champions League games as well as all 38 Primera División
matches as Madrid reclaimed the Spanish championship. In the
2003-04 season, Casillas was virtually ever-present as
Madrid relinquished their crown and lost the Spanish Cup
final, missing just one league game.
Despite Casillas' stellar performances every week, Real
Madrid suffered two trophyless seasons in the 2003-04 and
2004-05 seasons. Although Casillas was widely considered the
team's most consistent performer during this lean patch,
there was much gossip and speculation regarding a possible
transfer to another club. Manchester United was the name
that regularly cropped up in newspapers. It was speculated
that Casillas was unhappy with his salary, which was paltry
in comparison to the amounts earned by some of the team's
bigger stars. However, the saga ended when the player signed
a contract extension on the November 30, 2005, tying him to
the club till 2011.
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.
He was the first choice goalkeeper at the 2002 FIFA World
Cup held in South Korea and Japan later that year, and
enjoyed hero status after Spain knocked out the Republic of
Ireland in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the
quarter-finals. Before the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he was
almost unknown to most football fans because he was only a
substitute player. After the FIFA World Cup and his
performances against the Republic of Ireland and South
Korea, he was finally the leading goal keeper in the
national team.
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 backstopped his
country at the Euro 2004 finals.
Casillas was his country's first-choice goalkeeper during
the 2006 FIFA World Cup. |
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Other Information |
Played for Spain in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
He currently plays for Spanish soccer club Real Madrid. |
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you're soooo perfect !!!
ga cuma maennya
tapi juga mukanya
geloww!!
smoga tetep caqep sgalanya lahh!!
coba klo dya ad di indonesia.....
kapan????
casillas ....kiper yang....g cuma sekedar kiper...tapi juga orang yang baikkkkkk.....(sok kenal).....