Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas Fernández (; (born May 20, 1981 in Móstoles, Madrid) is a Spain association football Goalkeeper (association football) who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid C.F and the Spain national football team.

Real Madrid

He was a product of Real Madrid's youth system, and started in the junior squad during the 1990-91 season, but it wasn't until 1998-99 that he debuted in the senior side, replacing Bodo Illgner, and he was in Real's starting lineup the next season. In 2000, he became the youngest-ever goalkeeper to ever play in a Champions League final when Real Madrid defeated Valencia C.F 3-0 four days after his nineteenth birthday.

Casillas lost his spot to backup Cesar Sanchez after a patch of bad form during the 2001-02 campaign, but Sanchez suffered an injury in the last minutes of Madrid's 2-1 2002 UEFA Champions League Final victory over Bayer Leverkusen and was replaced by Casillas, who earned back the starting shirt the next season and has maintained it since. In February 2008, he signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2017, with an automatic extension if he plays 30 competitive matches during the final season of the contract.

National team

Casillas debuted for the national team in the U–17 level. At age 16, he was the youngest player in the Spanish squad that came runners-up to Brazil at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt.

He is currently the second-most capped goalkeeper in the history of the Spanish national team, behind Andoni Zubizarreta, who appeared in 126 matches. He won the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup and FIFA World Youth Championship with Spain in 1999. Following his full international debut at the senior level against Sweden national football team, Casillas was an unused substitute at Euro 2000. He was part of the roster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, initially as the understudy to Santiago Cañizares. Coincidentally, Casillas became the first-choice goalkeeper when Cañizares had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury from a freak accident. The 21-year-old proved himself worthy of the number 1 spot when he saved two penalties in the penalty shoot-out during the round of 16 match against the Republic of Ireland national football team.

Casillas played in all eight Group 6 fixtures during Euro 2004 qualifying, conceding just four goals. He kept a clean sheet in both legs of the playoff victory against Norway national football team, and started all of Spain's Euro 2004 matches. He was first choice for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, captaining the team twice.

With the exclusion of Real Madrid teammate Raúl González from the squad for Euro 2008, Casillas was given the captain's armband. He started the first two Euro 2008 UEFA Euro 2008 Group D games against Russia national football team and Sweden before being rested in place of second-choice goalkeeper Pepe Reina for Spain's group stage elimination of Greece national football team. Casillas saved two penalties from Antonio Di Natale and Daniele De Rossi as Spain eliminated Italy national football team in the quarterfinals with a 4–2 shootout win following a goalless draw on June 22. Spain later went on to win the competition with a 1–0 win over Germany in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final on June 29; Casillas kept clean sheets for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches, with Sweden's first round goal by Zlatan Ibrahimović being the last one scored against him. In his 82 appearances for Spain, he has kept 42 clean sheets.