Iker Casillas, goodbye to a winner

“The best goalkeeper in the history of Real Madrid and Spanish football”. This is how the white team fired Iker Casillas, now officially, a former professional soccer player. The end of a race marked by the lights, although with some shadow, has been atypical and abrupt, but marked by the smiles of the rise of a last title, that of the Taça de Portugal. Porto beat Benfica in the final cup (1-2), the fans asked Iker to go to the field, but the regulations turned their backs on him. However, his teammates gave him the tribute he deserved and raised the trophy as if it were one more, leaving aside the heart attack that did not allow him to enjoy the last quests of his career. There is no better end to a trajectory marked by triumphs than to end with a title in the hand.

Winner in its beginnings

And is that Iker's story is that of a winner. Born in Móstoles on May 20, 1981, He fulfilled his dream of joining the team of his loves, Real Madrid, when he was ten years old. His feline reflexes and powerful one-on-one led to him being called up by the first team when he was still a teenager. On November 27, 1998 he traveled to Norway for a Champions League game against Rosenborg, Cañizares started with the injuries of Illgner and Contreras and avoided the dream debut. While that first game came, a young Iker got used to savoring the honeys of victory: European Champion U16 (1997) and World Champion U20 (1999). In the latter he already left signs of his skills stopping penalties in the decisive round.

D-Day would be September 12, 1999. The place? 'The Cathedral' of soccer, San Mamés. That two-tie between Athletic Club and Real Madrid represented the beginning of his professional career. Throughout the season he would win the approval of a Vicente del Bosque who had held the post of John Benjamin Toshack and would end up raising 'The Eighth'. This would make him the youngest goalkeeper to play and win a Champions League final., all crowned by the Bravo Trophy of the year 2000 to the best young soccer player in Europe.

First shadows and resurgence as the best in the world

One of the shadows we were talking about earlier came in the 2001-02 season, when he lost ownership to César Sánchez. However, fate had him wanting to be cruel to the Extremaduran and he was injured in the final of the Glasgow Champions League, Entering an Iker who was immense with his stops in the final minutes and who made good goals from Raúl and Zidane (the volley) and surpassed the one marked by Lucio, thus obtaining his second Champions League.

From there he established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and his record with Real Madrid did not stop gaining weight: five leagues (01/01, 02/03, 06/07, 07/08 and 11/12); three Champions (99/00, 02/01, 13/14); two King's Cups (10/11 and 13/14); two European Super Cups (2002 and 2014); four Spanish Super Cups (02/01, 03/02, 07/08 and 12/13), one Intercontinental (2002) and one Club World Cup (2014). Also, He was included 5 times in the FIFA FIFPro World XI and was chosen 5 times best goalkeeper in the world by the IFFHS. All this adorns Iker's Madrid showcase.

Final shadows

Throughout their 725 games and 16 seasons with Madrid lived different stages and lived with countless stars: Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Cristiano, Raúl, Roberto Carlos … However, the end to such a successful period was not the dream. With the landing of José Mourinho began doubts about his performance, losing in the last season of the Portuguese, 2012-13, ownership in favor of Antonio Adán, although he would end up recovering it.

With Carlo Ancelotti he would alternate ownership with Diego López, playing Iker Copa and Champions and triumphing in the remembered final of the Lisbon Champions League against Atleti (4-1). On July 11, 2015, his march to Porto would become official and the next day he would give an emotional press conference loaded with tears from the that Florentino himself recognized that he regrets, since it considers that it was not the suitable end for a myth, although it simply respected its decision.

Legend with the Red

Between the first and the second 'orejona' we find June 3, 2000, moment in which he would make his debut with the Spanish national team in a friendly against Sweden. 167 internationals later, Casillas can be proud of having been the captain who has taken La Roja to its highest levels: the Eurocups in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in South Africa, in 2010. Playing, in all of them, a preponderant role and leaving images for history, such as the heads-up that stopped Robben in the World Cup final that allowed the 'Iniestazo' to exist.

The heart attack that marked the decline of his career

Between the 2015-16 season of your arrival and May 1, 2019 of the myocardial infarction that separated him prematurely from active football, the Mostoleño showed that, despite his departure from Real Madrid, he was still a first-rate goalkeeper. 156 games with the Dragons in which he only received 116 goals and left his goal at zero at 74 occasions.

Once recovered from the incident, he has been part of the organization chart of Porto, without forgetting the impasse marked by his candidacy for the Federation, and he was still a footballer for the squad, which has made him add up, along with what he has won on the pitch , more metal to your trophy room: two leagues (2017-18 and 19-20), a Portuguese Super Cup (2018) and the aforementioned Cup that has closed his stage as a footballer (2019-20).

To close, nothing better than the farewell words of the protagonist himself: “The important thing is the path you travel and the people who accompany you, not the destination that it takes you, because that with work and effort, comes alone and I think I can say, without hesitation, that it has been the path and the dream destination . # Grac1as“