Iker Casillas: First Goalkeeper to Win Both World Cup and European Titles as Captain

Spanish star Iker Casillas has become the first ever goalkeeper in the history of football to win both World Cup and European Championship titles as the captain of his country.

The 29-year-old Real Madrid goalkeeper has led Spain to win the FIFA World Cup 2010 title, just two yeas after bringing his country the Euro 2008 title, the second ever European success for Spain.

Showing some remarkable performances throughout the tournament, Iker Casillas has also clinched the Golden Glove award of World Cup 2010 as the best goalkeeper. He conceded only 2 goals in 7 games, but most important thing is that he did not concede any goal in the four knock out round matches.

Casillas has become only the third goalkeeper to win World Cup title as captain after two Italian goalkeepers Gianpiero Combi and Dino Zoff. Combi first achieved the feat in 1934 World Cup where he led his country to their first ever World Cup glory.

Dino Zoff emulated the success of his compatriot Combi in 1982 World Cup where Zoff, at 40, captained Italy to win the World Cup for the third time and became the oldest ever player to win a World Cup. Zoff was also part of Italy’s 1968 European Championship title-winning team, but he was not the captain in that tournament.

Overall, Iker Casillas has now become the part of the history and would always be considered as a Spanish legend.