goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Málaga and competing in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

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 Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

where he was a backup keeper for four seasons. Caballero made his senior debut for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in 2018. He represented the nation at the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, 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 Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

3–1 on penalties, in the 2003 Intercontinental Cup. Caballero joined

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

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 An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

to care for her. With the former, 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 The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

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 Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

, and played all the matches until the end of the campaign, with the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

ns 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 In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

midway through the first half of an away fixture against Levante 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, tying him to the club until 2016. On 25 March, playing against Espanyol, he fractured his left hand early into the game, being sidelined for the rest of the season. Caballero returned to full fitness for

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, featuring in all but two games and helping the ''Boquerones'' to the sixth position. Goal.com named him as the best player in his position for the campaign. At the end of the following season, he was nominated as the best goalkeeper in the league alongside Thibaut Courtois of Atlético Madrid and Keylor Navas of Levante.

Manchester City

On 8 July 2014, Caballero signed a three-year deal with Manchester City, for a fee believed to be in the region of £6 million excluding add-ons. He reunited at his new club with former Málaga manager Manuel Pellegrini, and his competitive debut came on 10 August in the 2014 FA Community Shield, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–3 loss to Arsenal at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

; a week later, in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

opener, he was an unused substitute at Newcastle United. Caballero's second official appearance for City occurred on 24 September 2014, in the 7–0 home routing of

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

for the Football League Cup. He made his first league appearance away against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

three days later, relegating longtime incumbent

Joe Hart Charles Joseph John Hart (born 19 April 1987) known professionally simply as Joe Hart is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Celtic. He began his career at his hometown club Shrewsbury T ...

to the bench in a 4–2 win. Caballero's third league match was on 26 September 2015, a 1–4 defeat at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. Throughout the season, he was first-choice in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, receiving criticism in the national press before the final following a poor performance in the 1–5 loss to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

; in the decisive match at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

, he saved three attempts in the 3–1 penalty shootout triumph against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, and Pellegrini subsequently said he would rather lose the match to keep his word, whilst several pundits added that both player and manager deserved an apology with some remarking the performance was a lesson in loyalty. Following the appointment of manager Pep Guardiola in the 2016 off-season, Caballero became the starter over Hart. Soon after, with the signing of

Claudio Bravo Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz (; born 13 April 1983) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Betis and captains the Chile national team. He started playing with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Sociedad ...

, he returned to his backup role. On 19 October 2016, Caballero appeared as a substitute in a 0–4 defeat by

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

at the Camp Nou in the group stage of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. After replacing the red-carded Bravo in goal, he saved a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

from

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...

in the 87th minute of the match. Two weeks later, he deputised for the suspended Bravo in the 3–1 home win over the same opponent for the same competition. On 1 February 2017, Caballero replaced Bravo. On his return to the starting XI, he kept a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

at the London Olympic Stadium. Late into the month, in a 5–3 Champions League

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

win over

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, he saved a penalty from Radamel Falcao. On 25 May 2017, it was announced Caballero would leave the club on the expiry of his contract, which occurred on 30 June.

Chelsea

On 1 July 2017, Caballero signed for title holders Chelsea on a free transfer. He made his competitive debut on 20 September, in a 5–1 home win against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

for the League Cup. On 17 January 2018, Caballero saved a penalty from Nélson Oliveira in the shootout of a third round FA Cup replay win over

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, which had finished 1–1 after extra time. Due to an ankle injury to first-choice Thibaut Courtois, he made his Premier League debut away to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

two days later, in a 4–0 success. On 24 February 2019, during the 2019 EFL Cup Final against cup holders Manchester City, with the match at 0–0 and a penalty shootout imminent, Chelsea goalkeeper

Kepa Arrizabalaga Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta (born 3 October 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Chelsea. He is sometimes referred to simply as Kepa. A Basque native, Arrizabalaga began his senior club career with A ...

refused to be substituted off for Caballero to face his old club as the team went on to lose 3–4. With Arrizabalaga struggling to stay in form during the 2019–20 Premier League season, Caballero was selected as the starting goalkeeper for Chelsea in a cup match against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

in late January 2020. Caballero was then the starting goalkeeper for the next four league matches and a Champions League match before Arrizabalaga returned. Caballero played in the

2020 FA Cup Final The 2020 FA Cup Final, known officially as the Heads Up FA Cup Final, was an association football match played behind closed doors (sport), behind closed doors between Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Chelsea F.C., Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in London, ...

, a 2–1 loss to Arsenal On 20 May 2020, Caballero had his contract with

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

extended by one more year. On 29 May 2021, Caballero won the

2021 UEFA Champions League Final The 2021 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Cup to the ...

with Chelsea against his former club Manchester City, but was an unused substitute in the game. On 4 June 2021, Chelsea announced he would depart from the club at the end of the month when his contract expired, and thanked him for his contribution to the team with an extended article for his time and feats there.

Southampton

On 6 December 2021, Caballero signed for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on a one-month contract after Southampton's two main goalkeepers both suffered injuries. Caballero had been training with EFL League One side AFC Wimbledon since leaving Chelsea in June. On 11 December 2021, Caballero made his competitive debut in Southampton’s 3–0 defeat to Arsenal. On 7 January 2022, Caballero extended his contract to the end of the season. On 1 July 2022, Caballero signed a one-year contract extension with Southampton.

International career

Caballero played for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

at under-20 level, helping the nation win the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship by playing in the competition's last two games. In 2004, he was picked for the gold medal-winning squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics as backup to Germán Lux (also first-choice in the previous tournament). Caballero was an unused member for the senior squad at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup. In November 2014, he was called by manager Gerardo Martino for friendlies against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. He only won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

nearly four years later at the age of 36, starting in a 2–0 defeat of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 23 March 2018 in another exhibition game, played in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Caballero was included in the final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He started the tournament due to the injury of habitual first-choice

Sergio Romero Sergio Germán Romero (; born 22 February 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Boca Juniors. He has also played for the Argentina national team. Romero made his debut with Racing Club in the Argentin ...

, and made his debut in the competition on 16 June in a 1–1 group stage draw against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. In the next match against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, his mistake handed the opposition the first goal in a 0–3 defeat, and he was subsequently dropped by manager Jorge Sampaoli in favour of Franco Armani for the team's final group match against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, which ended in a 2–1 win; he also did not feature in the round of 16 game, a 4–3 loss to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Boca Juniors * Argentine Primera División: Apertura 2003 * Copa Libertadores: 2003 * Intercontinental Cup: 2003 Manchester City * Football League Cup: 2015–16 Chelsea *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 2017–18; runner-up: 2019–20 *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

: 2020–21 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

: 2018–19 * EFL Cup runner-up: 2018–19 Argentina U20 *

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...

: 2001 Argentina Olympic * Summer Olympic Games: 2004

References

External links

Chelsea official profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caballero, Willy 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Entre Ríos Province Argentine footballers Argentina under-20 international footballers Argentina international footballers Association football goalkeepers Boca Juniors footballers Elche CF players Arsenal de Sarandí footballers Málaga CF players Manchester City F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Argentine Primera División players Segunda División players La Liga players Premier League players FA Cup Final players UEFA Europa League winning players UEFA Champions League winning players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Olympic footballers of Argentina Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic gold medalists for Argentina Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine sportspeople of Spanish descent