Willy Caballero

Wilfredo Daniel Caballero Lazcano (born 28 September 1981) is an Argentine professional football coach and former goalkeeper.

He spent most of his career in Spain, representing Elche and Málaga and competing in La Liga with the latter club. In the summer of 2014 he signed for Manchester City, helping them win the 2016 League Cup. In 2017, he joined Chelsea where he was a backup keeper for four seasons.

Caballero made his senior debut for Argentina in 2018. He represented the nation at the 2018 World Cup, and was also a non-playing member of the squads that won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Club career

Early career

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

Caballero joined Elche of Spain in 2004, and when his daughter was diagnosed with cancer he agreed to a brief loan spell back in his country with Arsenal de Sarandí to care for her, published on Ivoox. With Elche, after a rough first season, he went on to become the undisputed starter, appearing in nearly 200 Segunda División games.

Málaga

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