Magazine demands he be given the prize "for all his work"

The magazine ‘France Football’, which created the Ballon d’Or prize in 1956, stated today that Spain’s captain, keeper Iker Casillas, “deserves” the prestigious best player of the year award.

“For all his work, for permanently remaining at the peak that Spain arrived at in 2008, but also for his calming presence, his personality, his influence and his skills - taking all this into account, Casillas would deserve the Ballon d’Or”, the magazine claims in its special edition dedicated to the European Cup’s best performers.

Throughout the championship, La Roja’s keeper only let in one goal (apart from the pair of penalties in the semi-final shoot-out with Portugal), which came during the first game of the group phase against Italy.

From then on – until he lifted the cup – the goalie who is now a fully-fledged “footballing legend”, went unbeaten for 509 minutes. He played a “perfect final, with aerial interceptions, reflex saves and technical expertise that were always safe and secure”, adds France Football, which recalls that Casillas has a total of 137 caps, including 100 victories and 75 clean sheets.