Casillas, Iker (1981-…), was a Spanish professional soccer player. Soccer is called football in much of the world. Casillas was one of the greatest goalkeepers in soccer history. With Casillas as captain, the Spanish national team, commonly known as La Roja (The Red), won three straight major championships from 2008 through 2012. For years, Casillas also captained his long-time professional club, Real Madrid CF, one of soccer’s greatest teams. CF stands for club de fútbol, meaning football club. A proven winner and outstanding shot-blocker, Casillas is known as “San Iker,” meaning “Saint Iker.” For a discussion of soccer positions and formations, see Soccer (Players and officials) .
Iker Casillas Fernández was born on May 20, 1981, in Móstoles, Madrid . As a youth, he entered Real Madrid’s famed soccer academy, La Fábrica (The Factory).
Casillas played nearly his entire professional career, which began in 1999, with Real Madrid. In 2000—at barely 19 years old—he became the youngest goalkeeper to lead his team to a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League title. The Champions League is an annual tournament among Europe’s top professional teams.
Casillas played his first match for La Roja in 2000. He played in his first FIFA World Cup tournament in 2002. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. That same year, with Casillas in goal, Real Madrid again won the Champions League title. He started in goal during the 2006 World Cup, and he was made La Roja team captain in 2008. Also in 2008, he led Spain to its first UEFA European Championship win since 1964. The European Championship is second in prestige and popularity only to the World Cup. In 2009, Casillas became Spain’s all-time leader in “clean sheets”—that is, games without allowing a goal. He later became the all-time international leader in clean sheets.
In 2010, Casillas led Spain to its first-ever World Cup championship. He won the Golden Glove award as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. In 2012, Casillas again led Spain to a European Championship title. Casillas again started at goalkeeper for La Roja in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil . In 2015, he transferred to FC Porto in Portugal . Casillas retired from soccer in 2020.
