Gracioso

Born in Madrid in 1981, Casillas’s entire career has been spent with his hometown club Real Madrid, which he joined as an eight-year old. He first hit the limelight at 17 when he was pulled out of ahigh school art class to be told he would be on the bench for a Champions League match. His breakthrough came during the 1999-2000 season, when he replaced the injured Bodo Illgner and played inMadrid’s UEFA Champions League triumph in an all-Spanish final against Valencia CF where his senior team mates Raúl González, Fernando Morientes and Steve McManaman scored in a 3-0 win.
Loss of formsubsequently allowed César Sánchez to take the starting position as goalkeeper, but Casillas reclaimed the limelight after coming on as substitute for the veteran in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Finalagainst Bayer Leverkusen and preserving Madrid’s 2-1 lead with a series of fine saves. Casillas came on to replace the injured Cesar with 22 minutes remaining at Hampden Park and produced a series ofoutstanding saves to ensure Real held on to their lead. At one point Leverkusen appeared to be queuing up to score but Casillas was at his best, his efforts to deny Yildiray Basturk and Dimitar Berbatovparticularly brilliant.
Again the Real Madrid first choice in the 2002-03 season, an injury-free season saw Casillas play in 15 of his side’s Champions League games as well as all 38 PrimerDivisions matches as Madrid reclaimed the Spanish championship. In the 2003-04 season, Casillas was virtually ever-present as Madrid relinquished their crown and lost the Spanish Cup final, missing just oneleague game.
Despite Casillas’ stellar performances every week, Real Madrid suffered two trophyless seasons in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. Although Casillas was widely considered the team’s mostconsistent performer during this lean patch, there was much gossip and speculation regarding a possible transfer to another club. Manchester United was the name that regularly cropped up in...