Published 18:28 IST, October 14th 2019
Spain: Ramos, Casillas, Iniesta and other most-capped Spanish players
We look at Spain's top five capped players after recently Sergio Ramos claimed the honour of being the most capped player when he made his 168th appearance.
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Sergio Ramos made his 168th appearance for the Spanish side against Norway on October 13, 2019, thereby becoming the most capped player in Spanish football history. The record was previously held by his former club captain at Real Madrid Iker Casillas. Let's have a look at the five most capped players for Spain.
Andoni Zubizaretta
Zubizaretta is only one in the list who was not a part of the legendary Spanish squad having made his 126 appearances between 1985-1998. The former goalkeeper played out his entire career in the LaLiga, making over 800 appearances in all competitions. He has won 6 league titles along with 4 Copa del Rey among other titles in his successful career and has represented Spain in seven major international tournaments. He is currently the sporting director of Olympic Marseille.
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Andres Iniesta
The legendary midfielder made 131 appearances for Spain between 2006-2018. He has been a part of the golden era of Spanish fgootball, having won the 2010 FIFA World Cup along with 2008 and 2012 Euros. It was Iniesta's goal that won Spain the 2010 World Cup. He played out his entire prime at Barcelona and won two trebles with the side. He has won 9 league titles, 6 Copa del Rey and four UEFA Champions Leagues among a host of honours for his club. Currently, Iniesta is playing for Vissel Kobe in Japan.
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Xavi Hernandez
Xavi Hernandez made two appearances more than his former teammate Iniesta between 2000-14. Like Iniesta, Xavi too played out his entire prime at Barcelona before seeing out his career in Qatar with Al Sadd. Xavi has won 8 La Liga titles and 4 Champions League titles among other trophies with Barcelona. Xavi was a linchpin important in Spain's infamous tiki-taka. Currently, Xavi is the manager of Al Sadd having retired in the summer earlier.
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Iker Casillas
Spain's second most capped player with 167 appearances between 2000-16, to his name, is the former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Known as on the most successful goalkeepers in the game and one of the best in his position, Casillas was the captain leading his Spanish side in the triumphs of 2008, 2010 and 2012. He has won 5 La Liga titles, 3 Copa del Rey, 3 Champions League cups. Casillas also won another league title with FC Porto among a host of other trophies. He left Real Madrid in 2015 to join Porto where has been plying his trade ever since.
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Sergio Ramos
Ramos made is 168th appearance on October 12. He is currently the captain of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, having won 4 league titles 2 Copa del Reys and 4 Champions Leagues and many others. Ramos is known for his aggressive defending along with his ability to score through headers. In fact, Ramos is the 10th highest goalscorer for Spain with 26 goals so far.
14:23 IST, October 14th 2019