*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:30, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
Wilfredo Daniel Caballero Lazcano (born 28 September 1981) is an Argentine professional football coach and former goalkeeper who is currently the assistant coach of Premier League club Chelsea.
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.
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.[5] 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);[6] he made his league debut on 20 February, starting in a 1–1 draw at Villarreal,[7] and played all the matches until the end of the campaign, 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.[8] On 16 October, he was sent off 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.[9]
On 18 January 2012, Caballero signed a contract extension, tying him to the club until 2016.[10] On 25 March, playing against Espanyol, he fractured his left hand early into the game, being sidelined for the rest of the season.[11]
Caballero returned to full fitness for 2012–13, 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.[12] 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.[13]
Caballero's third league match was on 26 September 2015, a 1–4 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.[19][20] Throughout the season, he was first-choice in the League Cup, receiving criticism in the national press before the final following a poor performance in the 1–5 loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup;[21] in the decisive match at Wembley Stadium, he saved three attempts in the 3–1 penalty shootout triumph against Liverpool,[22] 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.[23][24]
Following the appointment of manager Pep Guardiola in the 2016 off-season, Caballero became the starter over Hart.[25] Soon after, with the signing of Claudio Bravo, he returned to his backup role.[26]
On 19 October 2016, Caballero appeared as a substitute in a 0–4 defeat by Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. After replacing the red-carded Bravo in goal, he saved a penalty from Neymar in the 87th minute of the match.[27] Two weeks later, he deputised for the suspended Bravo in the 3–1 home win over the same opponent for the same competition.[28]
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 refused to be substituted off for Caballero to face his old club as the team went on to lose 3–4.[36][37]
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 in late January 2020. Caballero was then the starting goalkeeper for the next four league matches and a Champions League match before Arrizabalaga returned.[38] Caballero played in the 2020 FA Cup final, a 2–1 loss to Arsenal[39] On 20 May 2020, Caballero had his contract with Chelsea extended by one more year.[40][41]
On 29 May 2021, Caballero won the 2021 UEFA Champions League final with Chelsea against his former club Manchester City, but was an unused substitute in the game.[42] 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.[43]
Southampton
On 6 December 2021, Caballero signed for Premier League side Southampton 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.[44][45] On 11 December 2021, Caballero made his competitive debut in Southampton's 3–0 defeat to Arsenal.[46] On 7 January 2022, Caballero extended his contract to the end of the season.[47]
On 1 July 2022, Caballero signed a one-year contract extension with Southampton.[48] On 10 July 2023, he retired from professional football at the age of 41 years old.[49]
Caballero was included in the final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[54] He started the tournament due to the injury of habitual first-choice Sergio Romero,[55] and made his debut in the competition on 16 June in a 1–1 group stage draw against Iceland.[56] In the next match against Croatia, his mistake handed the opposition the first goal in a 0–3 defeat,[57] and he was subsequently dropped by manager Jorge Sampaoli in favour of Franco Armani for the team's final group match against Nigeria, which ended in a 2–1 win;[58][59] he also did not feature in the round of 16 game, a 4–3 loss to France.[60]
Coaching career
On 9 July 2023, Caballero was announced as the new assistant manager of Leicester City, becoming part of new manager Enzo Maresca's backroom staff.[61] He moved to a similar role at Chelsea in June 2024.[62]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[63]
^"Padre antes que portero" [Father before goalkeeper] (in Spanish). Ivoox. 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
