Kiko Casilla is the man Spanish club RealMadrid have been chosen to replace their longtime goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Kiko has worked hard to get where he is, from his days in Madrid’s reserve team to his rather successful spell at Espanyol and his return to his boyhood club. Let’s take a look at Kiko’s journey so far.
Kiko Casilla Biography and Profile
Youth and career
Kiko was born as Francisco Casilla Cortés on October 2, 1986 in Alcover, Tarragona, Catalonia. He has an older brother named José Antonio Casilla. Born on August 29, 1979 in Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia, Kiko’s brother is a professional volleyball player. He was part of the Spanish men’s national team that finished in 9th place at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Kiko loved to play football from a very young age as a child. As a young boy, he played for local club Gimnàstic de Tarragona. At the age of 13, his skills had already attracted Real Madrid who led him to play with the youth team.
For the next four years, from 2000 to 2004, Kiko spent his time at Madrid’s youth team developing his goalkeeping skills. In 2004, he was promoted to Madrid’s C team and then to Madrid Reserve, also known as Real Madrid Castilla in 2006.
Stint with Espanyol
After earning promotion to Madrid’s reserve, Kiko hoped to get more playing time, but things didn’t go as planned. He was hoping for more playing time after first-choice goalkeeper Cobeño left. However, Cobeño would be replaced by Codina, while fellow Madrid freshman Antonio Adán would be chosen.
Kiko was frustrated with the mere appearances he had to make for the team. Looking for more playing time, he agreed to join Espanyol’s reserve team on a free transfer. But things didn’t immediately look optimistic for Kiko at Espanyol as the first-choice spot wasn’t automatically given to him.
His debut for Espanyol was in a La Liga away match against Real Valladolid in January 2008. With the team’s first choice Carlos Kameni absent for international competition, Iñaki Lafuente started the game. However, after being injured 2 minutes into the second half, Kiko was substituted. Espanyol would lose the match with a goal at 2.
In this January transfer window, Premier League side Arsenal expressed interest in Kiko but a deal was never done. Kiko would continue to have little to no playing time thanks to the return of the team’s first choice and the arrival of the club’s new signing, Argentine Cristian Álvarez.
Kiko, still in 2008, joined Segunda Division B Cádiz on loan. He returned to Espanyol after his first season with the team, but was again loaned out to Cartagena, another Segunda Division B side.
After returning from that loan, Kiko effectively struggled for more playing time. Things got even easier after Cristian Álvarez left, making Kiko Casilla the de facto first-choice keeper. During his time at Espanyol, Kiko made 115 appearances in total from 2008 to 2015. In his last two seasons with the club, he made over 200 saves.
Return from Madrid
After Kiko became Espanyol’s first choice in the 2013/2014 season, many teams started to show interest in him, including Real Madrid who did not hesitate to hire his services.
Kiko Casilla joined Real Madrid on November 17-July 2015 after signing a 5-year contract worth 6 million euros. Upon joining Madrid, he quickly won two consecutive titles: the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
International career
Kiko Casilla started playing for the Spain national team in 2005 as part of the Under-19 and later under-21. Vicente del Bosque’s manager called him up in August 2014. He made his senior debut in November 2014 in a friendly against Germany. Kiko entered the game 14 minutes after the stoppage, having been replaced by Iker Casillas.
Private life
Kiko is a married man. He is married to a certain Rosa Isern. Together they share two children – a daughter named Ainara and a son named Julen who was born in August 2016.
Kiko frequently posts cute snaps of his family on his Instagram page where he has over 2 million followers.
Height and width
Kiko is 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in), which is one of his greatest strengths as a goalkeeper. He is often seen on top of defenses claiming crosses. Kiko weighs around 84 kg.
