Iker Casillas is a very famous Spanish football goalkeeper who became World and European Champion with the Spanish national team. What is interesting about his biography and the personal life of an athlete?
Biography of Casillas
The future goalkeeper of the Spanish national team was born on May 20, 1981 on the outskirts of Madrid in the town of Mostoles. This is a small town, the inhabitants of which mainly work in factories and plants. Since childhood, Casillas spent a lot of time with his peers, playing football. He really liked to stand at the gate. The boy's father was an avid football fan. Therefore, sometimes he took his son to Real Madrid matches. Iker was so inspired by the atmosphere of large stadiums that he persuaded his dad to enroll him in a football school.
At the age of eight, his father took Casillas to see him in Real Madrid. The boy was praised, but not taken due to his too young age. And a year later, Iker was enrolled in the world-famous academy.
Casillas went through all the age teams of Real, and from the age of 15 he began to be called up to the national teams of Spain. So he became the world champion three times at 15, 16 and 21 years old.
In 1999, the young goalkeeper was called to the base of Real. And just ahead of the Champions League final, the main goalkeeper of the club was injured. The head coach took a chance and put Iker on the gate. As a result, a dry victory was won, and Casillas became famous throughout the country.
After that, however, he was returned to the second team to gain game practice. But in 2001, they finally transferred to the base of Real. Once again, it was the Champions League final in which the Royal Club beat Bayer Leverkusen.
From that moment on, Casillas became the main goalkeeper of Real for many years. He was always distinguished by the ability to play on the goal line, as well as quick reaction, jumping ability and the ability to control defenders. As part of the Madrid club, Iker has played more than 500 games. During this time, he became the champion of Spain five times, won the Champions League three times, and won the Spanish Cup twice.
In parallel with a successful club career, Casillas became a real hero of the Spanish national team, which, with his direct participation, was able to win twice at the European Championship and once at the World Championship in 2010. Iker was named the best goalkeeper of the year by FIFA five times.
But nothing in this world can be eternal. Therefore, Casillas's career is gradually moving towards its decline. In 2015, he moved from Real Madrid to Portuguese Porto. At first, things were not going well for him at the club, but then Iker became the main goalkeeper and helped his team win the Portuguese title in 2018. So far, the 37-year-old goalkeeper does not think about retirement and continues to delight loyal fans with his game.
Personal life of Casillas
For a very long time, Iker was so passionate about football that he did not pay attention to the girls. In 2009, he met the Spanish journalist and model Sara Carbonero and immediately fell in love. These feelings were reciprocal, but young people were in no hurry to start a family. Only in 2014 did they have a child, son Martin. And two years later, the second son Lucas was born. The couple is very happy and tries to devote a lot of time to raising children.
