Iker Casillas To Make 500th Appearance For Real Madrid

Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas is set to make his 500th appearance for the capital side against Xerez this weekend, according to los Blancos' official website. The agile shot-stopper has made an astonishing 368 appearances in La Liga, 101 in the Champions League, 16 in the Copa del Rey, and another 14 among other competitions. Casillas has been a fan favourite for los Merengues ever since his brilliant performance against Bayern Leverkusen in the Champions League final back in 2002. The young Spaniard, only 19 years of age at the time, pulled off several outstanding saves after replacing the injured Cesar Sanchez in the 70th minute. He has been the Real Madrid No. 1 ever since then. Casillas, who is also the captain of the Spanish national team, is the second-most capped goalkeeper after Andoni Zubizarreta, with 101 international appearances to his name. He was selected by the IFFHS as the World's Best Goalkeeper of 2009 back in January, but did not win the 'Best Goalkeeper of Recent History' allocade, which was awarded to Gianluigi Buffon. This season, he has conceded a toal of 22 goals; 15 in the Spanish League and 7 in the Champions League, making him one of the least scored against goalkeepers in Europe. Real Madrid face Xerez this weekend before meeting Lyon in a tough away trip to France, where Casillas will be hoping to keep a clean sheet.