.jpg) Casilla playing forEspanyol in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Casilla Cortés[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-10-02)2 October 1986 (age 39)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Alcover, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000 | Gimnàstic | ||
| 2000–2004 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2006 | Real Madrid C | 8 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Real Madrid B | 5 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Espanyol B | 25 | (0) |
| 2008–2015 | Espanyol | 115 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | →Cádiz (loan) | 66 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | →Cartagena (loan) | 35 | (0) |
| 2015–2019 | Real Madrid | 25 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Leeds United | 56 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | →Elche (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Getafe | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 349 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | Spain U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2008 | Spain U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2014 | Spain | 1 | (0) |
| 2010–2014 | Catalonia | 5 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Francisco "Kiko"Casilla Cortés (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈkikokaˈsiʎa]; born 2 October 1986) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper.
He started playing forReal Madrid, but only represented thereserve teams in the early stage of his career. He went on to appear in 126 competitive matches forEspanyol over sixLa Liga seasons before returning to his previous club in 2015, with whom he won threeUEFA Champions League titles as backup toKeylor Navas. In2019–20, he won promotion to thePremier League withLeeds United.
Casilla won onecap forSpain, in 2014.
Born inAlcover,Tarragona,Catalonia, Casilla did not enjoy much playing time in his two-year stint withReal Madrid reserve side,Real Madrid Castilla. In the2005–06 season, he played inSegunda División after having graduated from theC team, being only third choice afterJordi Codina andDavid Cobeño.[3]
After only four appearances, Casilla was expected to receive more opportunities after the departure of Cobeño. However, Codina became the starter andAntonio Adán, a fellow youth graduate, the backup, and Casilla ended up playing only in the last game ofthe campaign, with an eventual relegation befalling.[4][3]
In August 2007, Casilla was acquired byRCD Espanyol on afree transfer. On 20 January 2008, he made his debut inLa Liga in a 1–2 away loss againstReal Valladolid, coming on as asubstitute for injuredIñaki Lafuente two minutes afterhalf-time as the habitual starterCarlos Kameni was away oninternational duty.[5][6] That month, news surfaced thatArsenal were interested in acquiring the young Spaniard's services.[7]
Barred by Kameni and new signingCristian Álvarez, Casilla joinedSegunda División B sideCádiz CF on loan for2008–09.[8] The move was extended for the entirety of the following campaign after theAndalusians returned to division two, and he again started most ofthe season, but the team was immediately relegated.[9]
Casilla still sat on the bench for Espanyol's first game in2010–11 but, on 31 August 2010, moved again on loan, to second division clubFC Cartagena.[10] Subsequently, returned to thePericos, he constantly battled for first-choice status with Álvarez.[11]
After the Argentine left, Casilla became the undisputed starter. On 1 February 2015, he wassent off againstSevilla FC for handlingIago Aspas' shot outside of the penalty area, and his replacementPau López could not prevent an eventual 2–3 defeat.[12]
On 17 July 2015, Casilla returned to Real Madrid on a five-year contract for €6 million.[13] He made his competitive debut on 31 October, in a 3–1 win overUD Las Palmas.[14]
Casilla played understudy toKeylor Navas in hisfirst season,[15] appearing in seven official matches. Two of those came in thegroup stage of theUEFA Champions League,[16][17] as the tournament ended in conquest.[18]
On 9 August 2016, Casilla was in goal for injured Navas in the3–2 victory against fellow Spaniards Sevilla in theUEFA Super Cup, inTrondheim.[19] He managed to contribute more in hissecond year,[20] and the club won the national championship after a five-year wait.[21][22] HisChampions League input consisted of the 2–1 group phase defeat ofSporting CP,[23] as they again emerged victorious in the competition.[24]
Casilla made two appearances in theChampions League[25] and 17 in all competitions[26] during2017–18, as Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall title in the tournament.[27] In thefollowing campaign, after the summer signing ofChelsea'sThibaut Courtois, he was further demoted down the pecking order.[28]
On 17 January 2019, the 32-year-old Casilla moved abroad for the first time in his career and signed a four-and-a-half-year contract atLeeds United of the EnglishChampionship.[29][30] He made his debut nine days later, in a 2–1 win againstRotherham United.[31]
In September 2019, Casilla was accused ofracially abusingCharlton Athletic forwardJonathan Leko in a match between the two teams.[32] He was charged byThe Football Association but remained available for selection during the investigation.[33] On 28 February 2020, he received an eight-game ban and £60,000 fine after being found guilty.[34]
Casilla played his first game in thePremier League on 16 January 2021, in a 0–1 home loss toBrighton & Hove Albion.[35] He was second-choice to young FrenchmanIllan Meslier overthe season.[36]
On 12 July 2021, Casilla was loaned toElche CF for the nextSpanish top-division season.[37] Initially a starter, he eventually lost his place toEdgar Badia.[38]
Casilla's contract at Leeds was terminated by mutual consent on 31 July 2022.[39]
On 10 August 2022, Casilla joinedGetafe CF on a one-year deal.[40]
Casilla representedSpain atunder-21 level once, playing 29 minutes in a 2–0friendly defeat ofFrance inBenidorm.[41] On 29 August 2014, he was called up to full side managerVicente del Bosque's 23-man squad for matches againstFrance andMacedonia in September, as third-choice behindIker Casillas andDavid de Gea.[42] He only made his debut, however, on 18 November, replacing the former for the last 14 minutes of a friendly withGermany inVigo and being beaten byToni Kroos for the game's only goal.[43]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Madrid Castilla | 2005–06 | Segunda División | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| Espanyol B | 2007–08 | Segunda División B | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| Espanyol | 2007–08 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||||
| 2012–13 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||||
| 2013–14 | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 41 | 0 | |||||
| 2014–15 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 115 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 126 | 0 | |||||
| Cádiz (loan) | 2008–09 | Segunda División B | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | Segunda División | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 66 | 0 | |||||
| Cartagena (loan) | 2010–11 | Segunda División | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| Real Madrid | 2015–16 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 25 | 0 | 12 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |||
| Leeds United | 2018–19 | Championship | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 56 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 61 | 0 | |||
| Leeds United U21 | 2020–21 | — | — | — | — | 1[e] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Elche (loan) | 2021–22 | La Liga | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Getafe | 2022–23 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 341 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 381 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Real Madrid
Leeds United
