Home > Football > Real Madrid's classy Casillas is the cream of Euro 2008
by Chris Goldsmith on 06 July 2008
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I am sure everyone has their views on the player of Euro 2008, everyone sees something different in each player. As winners of the tournament I have chosen a player from the Spanish squad as my player of the tournament - Iker Casillas.
Goalkeepers rarely get the recognition they deserve in major tournaments as the goal-scoring of attackers and the flair of the midfielders often grab all the headlines and limelight.
Casillas was outstanding in Euro 2008. He did his team and their supporters pround and is one of the most likeable characters in Spanish football. Iker has kept 42 clean sheets in 82 matches for Spain in his career and, while that is also down to good defenders in the team, the Spainsh keeper has been simply world-class ever since he came through the Real Madrid youth system.
During Euro 2008, Casillas played the first two matches in the group stages before being rested in the third match, after Spain had already qualifed. He amazingly kept clean sheets in the quarter-final, semi-final and final matches during the tournament which allowed his fellow countrymen to use their striking skills up front to destroy their opponents.
The Spanish keeper's biggest success in the tournament was the quarter-final match against bitter rivals Italy. Casillas saved two fantastic penalties in the shootout to give Spain a 4-2 win to progress to the semis. You couldn't have wished for a better keeper to be in goal at such a pressured moment than Casillas and he didn't disappoint.
He was the hero of the match and, when Spain lifted the trophy last Sunday, it was clear to see how much his fellow players acknowledged what a great tournament he had had when lifting him up on the stage with the trophy held aloft. He is definitely the number one for Spain and the best in the tournament.
As captain of the international side, Casillas knows how much the trophy meant to the fans all across the country. The trophy, he said, was not just for the players but for all the country as one. At only 27 years of age, Casillas has many more years in the game. In goalkeeping terms, he's still a youngster.
He has just been contracted to Real Madrid until 2017 and so I am sure there is much more silverware on its way to the Casillas trophy cabinet. He should still be the Spainsh number one when the World Cup take place in 2010, and who would bet against the fantastic keeper captaining the Euro 2008 champions to world glory?
Casillas was a revelation throughout the tournament and conceding only two goals is a signal that the team is going to be a successful one. Casillas is a real character on the pitch and it is his enthusiasm for his team that ultimately brought the team together.
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