From the bench to indispensable

Born in Costa Rica 27 years ago, goalkeeper Keylor Antonio Navas Gamboa is the latest big-name signing for 'Los Blancos'. Navas excels at coming out of goal, has great reflexes and displays extraordinary skill with the ball at his feet. His signing means there is now a real battle on for who plays in goal at the Bernabéu. With Diego López on his way out, Navas should be fighting it out with Casillas, but his impressive stats and performances will stand him in good stead.

The new Real Madrid goalie began his career back in 2005 playing top-flight football in Costa Rica with Deportivo Saprissa, the club for which he made a total of 61 appearances and managed to win two league titles in 2006 and 2007, as well as the CONCACAF Champions League in 2005.

After five years in the ranks at Saprissa, Navas switched Central America for Spain in the 2010/11 season, joining Albacete. He played a total of 36 games and made a very good impression. The team didn't fare well in the second division and only managed 32 points, which saw them relegated. Nevertheless, Navas was one of the best players in the team and his efforts and obvious talent brought him to the attention of various clubs, Levante included, who snapped Navas up for the 2011/12 season.

Now playing in the first division, Navas went from strength to strength. Nevertheless, he only played six matches in his first year at Levante, one in 'La Liga' and five in the 'Copa del Rey', as the first-choice goalie during the Juan Ignacio Martínez period was Munúa and he spent most of the season on the bench. The following year however, Keylor won the confidence of his manager and managed to play 25 games: 9 league matches, 4 cup run-outs and 12 appearances in the Europa League, which was his first taste of a major European competition.

In his last season at Levante he turned more heads, earning himself a reputation as being one of the best keepers in 'La Liga' and the world. His performances didn't escape attention, playing 39 times in the starting line-up for Levante: 37 times in the league and twice in the cup.

Nevertheless Keylor's giant step forward came during the World Cup in Brazil, where he made a big name for himself by saving Costa Rica from defeat on several occasions. The Central American side won the man of the match award in all five games they contested during the tournament, and Navas took the accolade on three occasions.