The art of goalkeeping is thriving in Spain

Spain are blessed with a surfeit of top footballing talent, nowhere more so than among their goalkeepers.

Powered by automated translation

I visited Real Madrid's training ground in 2003 to interview Steve McManaman, the club's English midfielder. A bright and popular member of the squad, he described each of his teammates - the team of Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos who were the reigning European champions.

When asked about Iker Casillas, Madrid's 21-year-old goalkeeper, McManaman laughed.

"Iker's the butt of everyone's jokes," he said. "He's naive, gullible and probably doesn't have the wages or earning power of the other lads because he's so young. So we wind him up about the type of car he drives. It got so bad that one day he cycled to training instead.

"He's sponsored by Reebok and every single day he wears nothing but Reebok gear and some of it is horrendous. Over-sized tracksuits and terrible trainers, he's the man for them.

"He knows we're only winding him up though and he's right to believe in himself because he's a very talented goalkeeper."

Joking aside, McManaman had a more serious appraisal of his side's young stopper.

"He's achieved so much already: a regular in the Spanish national team, European Cups, leagues and intercontinental cups. To break into a team at 19 and stay there and play as well as he did at places like [Manchester United's] Old Trafford shows his quality. I'd say he has a great future ahead of him, but he already has a great past behind him."

Today, Casillas is the captain of Spain and Real Madrid, one of few players who has won every major trophy possible for club and country.

With more appearances than any other goalkeeper in the history of the Champions League, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

Spain are blessed with a surfeit of top footballing talent, nowhere more so than among their goalkeepers.

Pepe Reina may be a joker, but the usual understudy to Casillas in the national side is one of Liverpool's best three players.

And Barcelona's Victor Valdes would be an international goalkeeper anywhere in the world if he wasn't Spanish. Atletico Madrid's David De Gea, who only turned 20 on Sunday, looks like a future Spain No 1.

The Manchester United target has been a revelation since becoming Atleti's first choice ahead of Sergio Asenjo, another hugely talented Spaniard.

These decorated stoppers are more than just another player, they are integral to their club, the main men in the dressing room. It is the same with Andres Palop, the Sevilla goalkeeper who is still going strong at 37, and Valencia's 39-year-old Cesar.

Goalkeepers are highly regarded by the Spanish, with the prestigious Zamora trophy awarded to the man who concedes the fewest league goals each season.

Their opinions are respected, with Santiago Canizares, Valencia's former keeper, now considered the most erudite analyst on Iberian television.

Another who made his mark in television after a stellar career was Andoni Zubizarreta, a Basque, whose 126 caps make him Spain's all-time leading appearance maker - a target the 29-year-old Casillas is just 10 short of.

He is now Barcelona's sporting director, a vital role at the club as he is a key voice in deciding who the Catalans should buy. Luis Arconada, another former goalkeeper from the Basque country, won three consecutive Zamora trophies in his 15 years in Real Sociedad's first team.

The Basques claimed they made the greatest goalkeepers in the world because of their immense stature and the defensive influence of their other national game pelota - think squash with poleaxes.

The newer wave are not Basque, but city boys from Madrid and Barcelona who were inspired by the Basques from the north.

For a league with so many foreign players, it stands out that none of the top clubs use non-Spanish goalkeepers. And with so much talent on their doorstep, why should they?