No stopping Captain Casillas
A hugely impressive 2-0 victory over France in Paris last week
cemented Spain's status as one of the hot favourites for the 2010 FIFA
World Cup South Africa. Dominating possession with their customary élan,
the Spaniards showed why they are widely considered to be a cut above
the rest of the field and gave their goalkeeper and captain another
relatively comfortable evening's work in the bargain.
The Stade de France in Saint-Denis has become a happy hunting ground
for Iker Casillas. It was there that he collected his first UEFA
Champions League winners medal with Real Madrid 10 years ago, and it was
there last Wednesday that he collected his 102nd cap, equaling the haul
of his Merengue team-mate Raul.
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Iker Casillas
Iker Casillas Fernández
(born 20 May 1981 in Móstoles, Madrid) is a Spanish football
goalkeeper who serves as captain for the Spanish national
team. He is currently first-choice goalkeeper for both club
and country and serves as a vice captain for his club. As
captain of the national side, he led a young Spanish team to
their first European Championship in 44 years, his first
senior international honour.
Since bursting onto the
scene as a teenager, Casillas has been recognized as one of
the best goalkeepers in Europe, illustrated by the many
awards he has received. He was ranked 4th in the 2008
European Footballer of the Year voting, and also the highest
ranked goalkeeper in 2009. At the end of 2009, he was voted
into the UEFA Team of the Year for the third consecutive
time. |
Still only 28, the goalkeeper stands joint second on the all-time
list of most-capped Spain players and it seems only matter of time
before he surpasses fellow goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta's record of 126
appearances. What is more, St Iker, as he is affectionately known in his
homeland, has a better record between the posts than his illustrious
predecessor, having let in an average of 0.55 goals per international
match, better than Zubi's career mean of 0.79.
One of the high points of Casillas's decade at the pinnacle was
captaining his country to success at UEFA EURO 2008, only Spain's second
tournament win in their history and an experience he very much wants to
repeat at South Africa 2010.
"I'd love to," he tells FIFA.com in an exclusive interview. "It would
be amazing to lift the Trophy. Those are just words, though. It's deeds
that count, and when we go to South Africa we'll be looking to make them
a reality. All the work Vicente del Bosque has done so far in taking us
to that objective has been first class."
It wasn't easy, but I think it did us good in the end. It reminded us
of what it feels like to lose again. Iker Casillas on the defeat to the
USA in last year's Confederations Cup
Spain barely put a foot wrong on the road to the finals, topping
their qualifying group with 10 wins out of 10, matching the perfect
record that Brazil achieved en route to glory at Mexico 1970. "If we can
go on to do what they did, that would be just fantastic," he says. "But
times have changed. The other national teams know more and more about
how Spain play. They have a better understanding of when to attack us
and create problems for us. What we have to do, though, is try and keep
this fantastic run of ours going.
"The most positive thing about our qualifying campaign was that we
bounced back from losing to USA in the semi-final of the FIFA
Confederations Cup," he continues. "That was a tough defeat for us to
take as we really wanted to reach the final. But the team picked itself
up, got its confidence back and started on another winning run."
South Africa revisited
Like most of his international team-mates, Casillas has a positive
reading to make of that shock defeat to the Americans. "It wasn't easy,
but I think it did us good in the end. It reminded us of what it feels
like to lose again."
Though Spain's FIFA Confederations Cup adventure did not have the
happy ending Casillas would have wished for, he believes it will stand
them in good stead for the main event this year, which be his third
appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals.
"We've experienced what South Africa is all about and that's going to
be useful for us," he explains. "We'd never played in cold weather in
June before, for example, but now we've had a taste of that. We know the
atmosphere, the people and the stadiums and that means we'll adapt more
quickly at the World Cup.
We'll try to do better than we did at the Confederations Cup, but we
know it's going to be a very demanding tournament."
Group H rivals Switzerland, Honduras and Chile will be the first
sides to test Spain's mettle. "On paper we're favourites to go through,
and I think that we have to try and finish top of the group," he says.
"Our first objective is to get nine points. The draw for the knockout
rounds is tough, but if you want to reach the World Cup final then you
have to go out and beat the best."
La Roja's opponents in the Round of 16 will come from the Group H
quartet of Brazil, Portugal, Cote d'Ivoire and Korea DPR, one of the
toughest sections in the first round. Cautious to a fault, however, when
the inevitable question is put to him, Iker declines to select a
potential rival, preferring to take things "step by step" instead.
We have to be a force in Europe again, and I think we deserve to be
in the semi-finals at least, among the top four teams in Europe.
On top of that we have to win the league and be the dominant force in
the domestic game. On Real Madrid's 2010 aims.
fifa.com
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