Bodo Illgner

Bodo Illgner (; born 7 April 1967) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During his career he played for 1. FC Köln and Real Madrid, and helped West Germany to the 1990 World Cup, where he became the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup final.

Club career

Born in Koblenz, Illgner was a product of 1. FC Köln's youth system, and made his debut in the Bundesliga on 22 February 1986 at not yet 19, in a 3–1 away loss against Bayern Munich. From the 1987–88 season onwards, he became the club's undisputed starter – as successor of Harald Schumacher in both 1. FC Köln and the Germany national team – being voted as Best European Goalkeeper in 1991.

On 30 August 1996, already having started the campaign with Köln, Illgner was signed by Real Madrid, and played 40 La Liga matches in his first year to help the capital side to the national championship conquest. In the following he lost his place to Santiago Cañizares, but regained it in time to play in the final of the UEFA Champions League against Juventus FC (1–0 win).

In 1999–2000, Illgner was succeeded by 18-year-old Iker Casillas, after which he retired from football altogether.

In April 2013, he was named by Marca as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history".

Overall, Illgner appeared 54 times for his country, and also played at the 1994 World Cup, surprisingly retiring after the quarter-final loss against Bulgaria although he was only 27.

Post-playing career Illgner later went on to work as a pundit for Sky Deutschland and English language broadcasts of beIN Sports.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Real Madrid La Liga: 1996–97 Supercopa de España: 1997 UEFA Champions League: 1997–98, 1999–2000 Intercontinental Cup: 1998

Germany FIFA World Cup: 1990 UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1984

Individual German Goalkeeper of the Year: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 Best European Goalkeeper: 1991 kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1994–95