5 greatest achievements of Iker Casillas' career
Iker Casillas is affectionately called 'King Iker' by his fans and teammates due to his exploits for club and country.
Widely regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers of the 21st century, the 38-year-old former Spain and Real Madrid captain suffered a heart attack early this year while training for his club Porto, and hasn't played professionally since.
In July, Casillas confirmed speculation about his intended retirement; the Spanish custodian is looking ahead to life beyond the playing arena. That brought the curtains down on a stellar 21-year playing career for club and country.
Casillas made his first team debut for his boyhood club Real Madrid in 1999-00. The then 19-year old became the youngest goalkeeper to win the Champions League that season when Madrid beat fellow LaLiga club Valencia in Paris.
The Madrid native would go on to win two more Champions League titles, five Liga titles, two Copa del Rey titles, four Spanish Super Cup titles and two FIFA Club World Cup titles with the capital club. He later moved to Porto in 2015, where he won the 2017-18 Primera Liga title and the 2018 Portuguese Super Cup.
Here are 5 of Casillas' most notable achievements during his footballing career:
#1 2008 European Championships for Spain
Appointed captain of the Spanish team bound for the 2008 Euros in Austria and Switzerland, Casillas led his team out for the first time against Russia. In a five-goal affair in Innsbruck, David Villa's hat-trick put Spain on course for a comfortable win. Roman Pavlyuchenko denied Casillas a clean-sheet on his captaincy debut, but Spain ran out 4-1 winners.
Casillas starred in Spain's 2-1 win over Sweden in Innsbruck and sat out his team's third group game against Greece in Salzburg.
Back in the starting line-up for the quarterfinals, Casillas saved penalties from Antonio Di Natale and Daniele de Rossi as Spain beat Italy 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a goalless 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time. That marked Spain's first competitive victory over Italy in 88 years, since a 2-0 victory over their friendly neighbours at the 1920 Antwep Olympics.
Casillas kept two more clean sheets in the tournament, against Russia in the semis (3-0) and against Germany in the final (1-0), as Spain ended their 44-year wait for a European Championships title.
Also check out:La Liga Champions League Schedule Champions League table