Illustrious. That is the sort of career Iker Casillas Fernández has had at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The greatest goalkeeper in the history of Real Madrid, the greatest goalkeeper in the history of Spain and surely one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the beautiful game. Casillas has been the guardian of the Real Madrid net ever since 1999. But who would have ever thought the young boy from Móstoles would go on to become a club and country legend?

La Fábrica

During the 1990-1991 season at the age of nine, Casillas joined Real Madrid's youth system, known as La Fábrica. It was here that Casillas learnt what home was and where he matured both as a player and a person; it was here that a boy became a man.

On November 27, 1996, at the age of just 16, a new era at Real Madrid began when Casillas received his first call-up to the first team. Before going on to make his debut for the club, the talented young keeper would prove vital for the Spanish Junior National Teams that won the 1997 UEFA European Under-16 Championship and the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was handed his debut for Los Blancos by Welsh manager John Toshack against Athletic Bilbao on September 12, 1999. Casillas would later go on to describe his debut against the Basque club as "the greatest memory I have" in an interview with Madrid's official website. Nearly a year later, on 3 June, 2000, Casillas made his debut for the Spanish National Team in a match against Sweden. He would go on to be an unused substitute at the UEFA Euros 2000 later that summer.

After breaking into the first team in 1999, Iker Casillas would go on to make history at the 2000 UEFA Champions League Final. When Real Madrid defeated Valencia 3-0 just four days after Casillas's nineteenth birthday, he became the youngest ever goalkeeper to play in a Champions League Final. At the age of just 19, Casillas was a Champions League winner. Who knew what the future had in store for the young boy from Móstoles, the possibilities now seemed endless.

2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2001-2002 campaign did not begin the way Casillas would have liked, with the Spaniard losing his place in the starting 11 to backup goalkeeper César Sánchez after a run of poor performances. However, Iker Casillas would go on to redeem himself in the best way possible, making several key saves in the 2002 UEFA Champions League final after coming on for an injured Sánchez. Real held on 2-1 to win the title, and deny a frisky Bayer Leverkusen side. Later in the year, after a horrible injury to Santiago Cañizares, Casillas would become the starting goalkeeper for Spain in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, at the age of just 21. He played a very important role for Spain throughout the tournament. He saved two penalties in the Round of 16 shootout against the Republic of Ireland to ensure Spain's spot in the quarter finals. It was then that he earned the nickname, 'The Saint.' In the quarter final match against South Korea, Casillas made a save that was voted by FIFA as one of the top 10 best saves of all time.

In the summer of 2004, Casillas would continue his already brilliant career for the Spanish National Team by playing in all eight games at the UEFA Euro 2004. He only conceded four goals throughout the entirety of the tournament, an impressive tally. He was also chosen as the first choice keeper for La Roja at the FIFA World Cup 2006. He captained the team twice on route to their round of 16 exit.

Euro 2008

Many could argue that "The Saint's" best season for Los Blancos came in 2007-2008. He conceded only 32 goals in 26 games, as the Madrid club went on to win their 31st La Liga Championship. He also won the Zamora trophy during the season. Furthermore, in February, Casillas signed a contract that would keep him at the club till 2017. In the summer of 2008, it was announced that Casillas would captain Spain at the UEFA Euro 2008. He played two out of the three group games, and then went on to save two penalties as Spain defeated Italy 4-2 through a shootout in the quarterfinals. Spain progressed very well throughout the tournament, and with a 1-0 win over Germany on 29 June, 2008, Casillas became the first goalkeeper ever to lift the title for his country. What is even more impressive, however, is that he did this without conceding a single goal in the quarter-finals, semi-finals or the finals of the tournament.

In the 2009-2010 La Liga campaign, after losing out on the title to rivals Barcelona, Casillas was voted the second most popular Spanish Internet Sportsman of the Year. On route to the 2010 FIFA World Cup with Spain, in a qualification match against Estonia, Casilllas set the record (56) for most clean sheets by a goalkeeper for Spain, surpassing Zubizarreta on his 98th appearance.

World Cup Triumph

At the FIFA World Cup 2010, Casillas had a phenomenal tournament, keeping five clean sheets. He would go on to captain Spain to their first ever FIFA World Cup title on 11 July, 2010, after an extra-time 1-0 win over the Netherlands. Before the final would reach extra time, Casillas made an extraordinary save against Arjen Robben, after the Dutchman had gotten past the whole of the Spanish defence and was 1v1 against the Spanish goalkeeper. Back at Real Madrid for the 2010-2011 campaign, following the departure of fellow club legend Raul, Casillas was named captain of Los Blancos. He would also pickup his third IFFHS Best Goalkeeper, which would also be his third in a row. The following season, 2011-2012, Casillas would win the award again; becoming only the second goalkeeper ever to do so. He also became the first to win four in a row.

In the summer of 2012, he would continue his fantastic International career by captaining Spain to the UEFA Euro 2012. This was a historic title, Spain's third consecutive major title, and they became the first country ever to do so after a 4-0 in the final over Italy. After the tournament, he returned to Real Madrid for the 2012-2013 campaign, ultimately this is where things took a turn for the worse.

Mourinho

In December of 2012, then Real Manager José Mourinho did something many at the club to this day consider a sin, he dropped their beloved Casillas to the bench. This was a heavily frowned upon move by fans of both Real and the Spanish national team. In January of the same campaign, after a serious injury to captain Casillas, the Portguese manager went out and bought Diego López from Sevilla, who was named first choice keeper and kept his spot in the starting 11 even after Casillas had returned for injury. Meanwhile, Casillas had just won his fifth consecutive IFFHS Best Goalkeeper Award, another historic feat as he is the first goalkeeper ever to do so.

Carlo Ancelotti took over for Jose Mourinho for the 2013-2014 campaign, but yet Casillas still remained on the bench for La Liga fixtures. Diego López became the club's first choice goalkeeper for league matches, while Casillas was the number one choice for the UEFA Champions League and Copa Del Rey fixtures. On 16 April, 2014, Casillas captained Real to the Copa Del Rey as they defeated bitter rivals Barcelona 2-1, courtesy of a memorable goal from Welsh winger Gareth Bale. Just over a month later, the 'Saint' captained Real Madrid to a 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League final over city rivals Atlético Madrid. This was a historic victory for Real, their 10th UEFA Champions League Title.

The FIFA World Cup 2014 later that summer, would be one to forget for Casillas and his Spainsh teammates. After years of global domination, Spain went crashing out in the group stages. Casillas was blamed by many as a reason for the fall, as he made two crucial mistakes in Spain's 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands.

Casillas would later go on to describe his match against the Dutch as "The worst game I have ever played."

The end of the 2014 World Cup lead to the beginning of the 2014-2015 La Liga season. Not a single soul would have known then that this would be his last game for Los Bloncaos. Casillas captained Madrid to the FIFA Club World Cup at the end of 2014. He would then go on to break Edwin Van Der Sar's record of most clean sheets in UEFA Champions League history. That was about it however, as it turned out to be a disappointing season for Real that saw Ancelotti fired from the club.

Real Madrid Departure

And then it happened. On July 11, 2015 Real Madrid officially announced that club legend and captain Iker Casillas was set to leave the club. After such a glorified and magnificent career, what could have caused him to leave the club he called home for so many years? Many would say he never quite recovered from being dropped by Mourinho during the 2012-2013 season, but why leave? Casillas had been treated unjustly by the fans of Real during the 2014-2015 season, often being booed and blamed for the team's poor results. I guess we will never quite know what really drove Casillas to leave the club, but one thing will always remain certain.

There will never be another like him. He is not the type of player that a club gets to witness once a lifetime, he is a type of player that a club gets to witness once.

Iker Casillas: A guardian of the net and loyal servant to Real Madrid for so many years, but it had to end. But not many would have thought it would end like this or so soon, but it has. San Iker Casillas, the end of an era.

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About the author
Muhammad Tayyab
A football enthusiast and lover of the sport. Chelsea FC and Jose Mourinho fan.