If there's one thing in the world guaranteed to make you feel like a deadbeat, it's a quick glance at Iker Casillas' CV. It's hard to believe that the man charged with manning the fort for two of the most attacking sides in the world has only just turned 30.

But when most of us were busy stealing traffic cones and dodging seminars, Casillas was busy playing in the 2000 Champions League Final.

Early in his career, he was considered "too short" to be a top 'keeper and "too error prone" to survive as Real's number one. Eleven years after his début, though, the voices of dissent have been well and truly shushed. 

Throughout his twenties, Casillas has grown in stature, adding a commanding air of authority to his recognised shot-stopping ability and agility. In a golden era for Spanish goalkeeping, he's kept the challenges of Pepe Reina and Victor Valdes at bay to hold on to the number one spot since claiming it from Santiago Canizares (who lost it after dropped a bottle of aftershave on his foot) in 2000.

When erstwhile teammate Raul was in and out of the side, Casillas was awarded the national team captaincy and has led his country through the most successful period of their history. 

He captained Spain to victories at Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 to add to the multitude of honours he won at underage level. 

What's perhaps most impressive, though, is that through the fluctuation of his club side's performance, Casillas has remained a rock: the only constant in the neverending soap opera played out in the Bernebeu.

With Madrid, he has made well over 500 appearances. He has won four La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues. Whilst Barcelona have stolen the plaudits at team level, Casillas has continued to rake in the individual honours. He is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper on the planet and whilst he faces stiff competition from the aforementioned Valdes and Gianluigi Buffon, there are few who would argue against the judgement.

For his consistency and brilliance, Iker Casillas is the first Icons Legend of the Week and we're delighted to offer some cut price Casillas memorabilia in our Summer Sale to mark the occasion. Here's a quick summary of his career:

Real Madrid 

Appearances
572 (614 goals conceded)

Honours
La Liga: 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008
Copa Del Rey: 2011
Supercopa de Espana: 2001, 2003, 2008
UEFA Champions League: 2000, 2002
UEFA Super Cup: 2002
Intercontinental Cup: 2002

Spain

Appearances
121 (71 goals conceded)

Honours
UEFA European Championships: 2008
FIFA World Cup: 2010

Individual Awards

Bravo Award: 2000
Don Balón Breakthrough Award: 2000
UEFA Team of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2008
FIFA World XI: 2008, 2009, 2010
FIFA / FIFPro World's Best Goalkeeper: 2008, 2009, 2010
FIFA World Cup Golden Glove: 2010
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2010

Trivia Corner

As a youngster, Iker Casillas threw his father into a rage after forgetting to post his pools' coupon. Usually, this wouldn't have been a problem, but on the weekend in question, Casillas Snr had predicted the correct scores in all 14 games. The mistake cost the family about £1 million. It's just as well he's gone on to make a few bob himself, isn't it?

Not only is it a great time to be a fan of Spanish football, it's also bloody hard not to be. Having spent the best part of fifty years as perennial bottlers, the national side have established themselves as the best in the world, patenting their thrilling, incomparable brand of tiki-taka, to the delight of all and sundry.

The emergence of La Furia Roja has coincided with the dominance of Barcelona, who many commentators have described as the "greatest team ever." So taken with what they've seen emanating from the Iberian Peninsula, the English media have demanded that the FA do everything in their power to emulate what the Spanish have done at a grassroots level, but whether we'll ever see Englishman grace a field with such elegance is questionable. 

We at Icons have championed the Spanish game and the finest purveyors of it for many years. Given the current zeitgeist for Spanish memorabilia, we thought there would be no better way to kick off The Great Icons Summer Sale by slashing prices on some of our favourite pieces from some of our favourite Spanish or Spanish based players.

There can be little doubting the fact that La Liga plays host to the best players in the world. For the past four seasons, the top three players of the FIFA World Player of the Year either ply or have plied their trade in the Spanish top flight. Last year, the top three were all based in La Liga, a statistic reflected in the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or results. 

We're delighted to present discounted goods from many of those featured. We've got some beautiful, signed action photos of 2008's World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo (many going at half price) playing for Real Madrid.

From last year's Ballon D'Or runner up, Andres Iniesta, we've got a signed picture of his thrilling last minute winner for Barcelona against Chelsea in the Champions League a few years back (again, 50% off).

From the 2007 World Player of the Year Kaká, we have a fantastic signed and numbered Real Madrid shirt and signed boots. Alongside Kaká, Sergio 'Kun' Aguero has also established himself as one of the best foreign imports to La Liga and we've got a range of his shirts and goodies to give away at a big discount. 

But the Spanish revolution of the past five years isn't just about individual awards. Lest we forget, this is one of the only sides in history to win successive major international tournaments.

To mark their dominance, we've assembled a range of cut-price merchandise from some of the stars of their all-conquering squad, including a Real Madrid shirt signed by Iker Casillas, an amazing signed photo of Cesc Fabregas lifting the World Cup, signed photos of Xabi Alonso and Pepe Reina in their pomp for both Spain and Liverpool and their erstwhile Merseyside teammate Fernando Torres, also in his Liverpool heyday. 

We'll be running the sale for a number of weeks, with a new theme every seven days. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a Spainophile, then, this is your chance to pick up some great stuff at a fraction of the retail price. 

Last week the icons.com team were in Madrid and were pleased to meet up with Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso and his Real Madrid and Spainish captain Iker Casillas.

Both were on good form and looking forward to their away trip to La Coruna that weekend, as well as the trip to South Africa in the summer where, as joint favourites, Spain have every chance of winning the World Cup.