Football, the beautiful game, has gifted the fans with a number of legendary players over the years since its inception. One such player was born 37 years ago in Spain named Iker Casillas. The former Real Madrid goalkeeper led his club and country to a number of accolades and also achieved quite a few personal milestones throughout his career so far, on both the international as well as club level.
Casillas started his career with Real Madrid in the year 1990. The Real Madrid youth system, popularly known as “La Fabrica” developed him into a highly rated young custodian. He made his way into the senior side just at the age of 16 for the encounter against FK Rosenberg in the UEFA Champions League. However, his big break came in the 1999-2000 season when he was chosen as the first choice shot-stopper and became the second youngest goalkeeper after Mile Svilar to start in a Champions League match. In May 2000, he became the youngest ever goalkeeper to feature in the final of the Champions League and win it as Real Madrid got the better of Valencia by 3-0.
In the 2010/11 season, “Saint Iker”, as he is popularly known among his fans, was handed over the captain’s armband, which he bore with absolute responsibility and made his way into Real Madrid’s hall of fame as one of the legends of the club. He made a whopping 725 appearances in total for the club and won five La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey titles, four Supercopa de España titles, three UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. He finally parted ways with the Galacticos in 2015 as he went onto join Porto, where he is currently plying his trade.
On the international scenario as well, Casillas is considered as one of the most respected players. In 2010, he captained Spain in the World Cup and eventually lifted it by beating the Netherlands in the final of the tournament. He also won the UEFA Euro Cup in 2008 and 2012, before being omitted from the national team ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
An epitome of glory, perseverance and victory, Casillas was forced off the pitch after collapsing due to a heart attack during a training session at Porto club grounds a few days. Though it was rumoured that the 37 year old is set to call it a day after this unfortunate incident, the Spaniard has nullified these speculations and has said that he is yet to hang up his gloves.
On his birthday, we wish him all the very best for his future and thank him for entertaining us with his amazing footballing skills since his arrival at the European football scenario. We doff our proverbial hat to one of the legends of the game for sure, Iker Casillas.
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