Wilfredo Caballero

Willy Caballero

Personal information
Full name	Wilfredo Daniel Caballero Lazcano
Date of birth	28 September 1981 (1981-09-28)
Place of birth	Santa Elena, Argentina
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Málaga
Number	13
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2004	Boca Juniors	15	(0)
2004–2011	Elche	186	(0)
2006	→ Arsenal Sarandí (loan)	13	(0)
2011–	Málaga	25	(0)
National team
2001	Argentina U20	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Olympic medal record
Men's football
Gold	2004 Athens	Team

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Caballero and the second or maternal family name is Lazcano.

Wilfredo 'Willy' Daniel Caballero Lazcano (born 28 September 1981 in Santa Elena, Entre Ríos) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Málaga CF in Spain, as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Caballero started his playing career with Boca Juniors in 2001, where he won three major titles in 2003. On December 14 of that year, he witnessed - in the bench - his team beat A.C. Milan 3–1 on penalties, in the 2003 Intercontinental Cup.

He joined Elche CF of Spain in 2004, and had a brief lone spell back in his country with Arsenal de Sarandí in 2006. With the former, after a rough first season, he went on to become the undisputed starter, amassing nearly 200 Segunda División matches.

On 10 February 2011, Caballero was transferred to Málaga CF in La Liga for €900,000 and two 1/2 years, as an emergency transfer - after the 31 January transfer deadline - due to a serious knee injury to Sergio Asenjo (the club's previous starter, Rubén, was also unavailable due to physical problems); he made his league debut on the 20th, starting in a 1–1 draw at Villarreal CF, and played all the matches until the end of the season, with the Andalusians finally escaping relegation.

On 1 October 2011, Caballero entered Málaga's history books as he kept his goal clean for 480 minutes, beating the club's previous record of 429 held by Pedro Contreras since the 2001–02 season. On 16 October, he was sent off midway through the first half of an away fixture against Levante UD after touching the ball with his hands just outside the box - the hosts eventually won it 3–0.

On 18 January 2012, Caballero signed a contract extension, keeping him with Málaga until 2016.

International career

Caballero played for Argentina at under-20 level, helping the nation win the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, playing in the competition's last two games.

In 2004, he was also picked for the gold medal triumph at the 2004 Summer Olympics, as backup to Germán Lux (also first-choice in the previous tournament).

Honors

Club

Boca Juniors

• Argentine League: Apertura 2003
• Libertadores Cup: 2003
• Intercontinental Cup: 2003

Country

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2001
• Summer Olympic Games: 2004

External links

• Málaga official profile
• Argentine League statistics (Spanish)
• Statistics at Irish Times
• BDFutbol profile
• Futbolme profile (Spanish)
• Transfermarkt profile