Few players’ rise to the top of the English game has been as graciously welcomed as that of Manchester City keeper Joe Hart. For decades, England have been plagued by their lack of an assured presence between the sticks, the regularity of crosses flapped at and shots spilled in high profile international matches as much a trope of the national game as brass bands, bulldog spirit and penalty shoot-out misery.

But Hart’s emergence has brought about a fresh optimism. Not since Peter Shilton has England had such a commanding, agile shot stopper at their disposal, and with his performances growing in spectacle and assurance each week for the Premier League champions, there’s a genuine sense that Hart may be the man to return England to the world-beaters they once were.

At club level, he has proven himself to be up there with the very best. When Manchester City claimed their first title in 44 years in the dying seconds of last season, it was Sergio Aguero who scored the goal but Joe Hart the cameras panned to. The irony was rife – for all the billions of pounds spent turning Roberto Mancini’s squad into one of the best in Europe, the man who had driven them to a much sought after Premier League trophy was bought for just £600,000.

Hart made 20 clean sheets in 2011/12 (a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact his defence are considered the weak link in Mancini’s team) to put the Blues on their way to glory, pulling off stunning save after stunning save to deny opponents. But it was more than his performances that made him the face of Manchester City’s most glorious campaign. In a glitzy, star-studded squad during a season marred by Carlos Tevez’s petulance and the outlandishness of one Mario Balotelli, Hart was its likeable counterpoint: consistent, dedicated, professional. To the Eastlands crowd, that title-clinching goal belonged to him as much as it did Aguero.

That the 25-year-old, who started his career for Shrewsbury Town while still studying for his GCSEs, was recently chosen to appear on the cover of the latest in EA’s popular run of football games, FIFA 13, is further proof of his currency – usually the honour is bestowed to goalscorers and forward-drifting midfield maestros. Maybe it helps that Hart is not without his own attacking acumen – in addition to his astonishing athleticism and agility in goal, he’s regularly seen chasing the game in the opposition’s box, running up for corners and causing havoc.

A determined performer and a born leader, he is as well rounded a keeper as the world has seen. “Iker Casillas is regarded by many as being the best in Europe, if not the world,” says Hart’s England predecessor David James, “bur Joe Hart kicks a better ball than him, fills his area better than him and can produce any save that Casillas makes. Everything about him is superb.”

A more surprising admirer, though just as full of praise, is Sir Alex Ferguson. The Manchester United manager isn’t famed for dishing out compliments to opposition players, let alone those from his fiercest rivals, but admitted last year that missing the opportunity to sign Hart was one of the biggest regrets of his career. “I could have bought Joe Hart for £100,000 so we all make mistakes," said Ferguson.  "If you look at the England goalkeeper situation for the last 20 years, I would think he's easily the best."

At this summer’s Euro 2012 he left that beyond any doubt, arriving at his first international tournament in the number 1 jersey with the confidence of a World Cup veteran.

His organisational presence was felt as England looked a transformed side, their discipline in wins against Ukraine and Sweden a world apart from the shambolic performances in South Africa two years previous, engineered on the pitch by the City keeper. Roy Hodgson’s team of course eventually went out on penalties to an impressive Italy team, but that Hart and co. were able to keep the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Antonio Di Natale at bay for 120 minutes was an achievement in itself.

So talismanic was Hart during those matches that people have begun to whisper. Steven Gerrard, the current England captain, is 32 now and his inclusion in the 2014 World Cup is not guaranteed. Might the Manchester City man take the captain’s armband? Time will tell. In the meantime, if the Sky Blues wish to retain their Premier League crown, they’ll be relying on Hart to produce the same incredible feats in goal that brought frustration to strikers and crowds to their feet last season.

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We are delighted to congratulate Icon Leo Messi on winning his third consecutive Ballon d'Or award. The 24-year-old Barcelona and Argentina superstar beat team-mate Xavi and Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo to land the prestigious title of world's best player. 

After legends Marco van Basten, Michel Platini and Johan Cruyff, Messi becomes the fourth player to win the award three times. And at such a young age, he is perfectly placed to smash the record set by his predeccesors in years to come. 

Messi played the starring role in Barcelona's Champions League triumph last season, and was named man of the match in the final against Manchester United. He also won the Primera División with Barcelona, as well as the the UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and Spanish Super Cup. 

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Brazil legend Pele and UEFA president Michel Platini were among a host of leading football figures to lavish praise on Messi at the awards ceremony in Zurich. 

At Icons we have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Leo, having conducted our first signing with him when he was just 18. We met up with him for our sixth signing session together in December 2011. You can see our full range of signed Messi products here.

We are also proud to say that six of the FIFA 2011 World XI are on the Icons roster. Iker Casillas; Xabi Alonso; Andres Iniesta; Wayne Rooney; Cristiano Ronaldo; Leo Messi - the world's best six-a-side team?!

The rest of the World XI is made up of Sergio Ramos; Gerard Pique; Dani Alves; Nemanja Vidic and Xavi. We are working on adding more of those names to our list, so sign up to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter for the latest news!

We are delighted to see our Icons making up nine of the 23-man shortlist for the prestigious Ballon d'Or. Barcelona and Argentina's Leo Messi is the overwhelming favourite, and will match Michel Platini's record of three consecutive Ballon d'Ors if he is triumphant. Last year there were five Icons on the shortlist. This year we have grown. Let us know who you would like to see next on the site by getting in touch on Twitter or Facebook.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is the only Englishman to have been nominated, and is one of only five players connected to the Premier League on the shortlist. Of those five, Manchester City's Sergio Aguero only played half of 2011 in England, while ex-Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas now plays for Barcelona. In Spain, Barcelona lead the way with an incredible eight nominees, while rivals Real Madrid boast five.

Which Icon will be crowned World Player of the Year? Here is the complete shortlist:

Eric Abidal (France), Barcelona

Sergio Aguero (Argentina), Manchester City

Karim Benzema (France), Real Madrid

Iker Casillas (Spain), Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Real Madrid

Dani Alves (Brazil), Barcelona

Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Anzhi Makhachkala

Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Barcelona

Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Inter Milan

Andres Iniesta (Spain), Barcelona

Leo Messi (Argentina), Barcelona

Thomas Muller (Germany), Bayern Munich

Nani (Portugal), Manchester United

Neymar (Brazil), Santos

Mesut Ozil (Germany), Real Madrid

Gerard Pique (Spain), Barcelona

Wayne Rooney (England), Manchester United

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Bayern Munich

Wesley Sneijder (Holland), Inter Milan

Luis Suarez (Uruguay), Liverpool

David Villa (Spain), Barcelona

Xabi Alonso (Spain), Real Madrid

Xavi (Spain), Barcelona

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?

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.