From Manchego to Madrid

South Korean midfielder Lee Young-pyo (R) and Spanish midfielder Ivan Helguera jump for the ball during their quarter-final match at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan in Gwangju, 22 June 2002. The winner will meet Germany in the semifinal match on June 25 in Seoul. AFP PHOTO/Christophe SIMON

Real Madrid's midfielder Iván Helguera (R) fights for the ball with Milan AC's Ukrainian midfielder Andriy Shevchenko during their Champions League second round Group C match, 26 November 2002, at Maezza Stadium in Milan. AFP PHOTO GABRIEL BOUYS

Those who believe Real Madrid are weak in defence should look to Ivan Helguera, who was on fine form during the Merengue's 2000 and 2002 Champions League campaigns and while helping Spain to the World Cup quarter finals in 2002.

Helguera is a native of Santander and started his professional career at regional outfit Manchego, famous for its cheese and the fictional character Don Quixote rather than producing top drawer football.

But at 20, and playing for Manchego, Heguera had a fixed vision of where his career was heading.

"My mother still has newspaper clippings in which my stated objective was to play at Real Madrid and for the Spanish national side. Few people back then believed I'd make it" he says.

After a season in the second division with Albacete, Italian side AS Roma gave him his big break in 1997, where he won his first major trophy, the Italian Cup in his only season in the Serie A.

Rome no holiday

Bizarrely, the central defender claimed he was worn out by the AS Roma training sessions and moved to Espanyol in Barcelona the following year, again for a single season before John Toshack took him to the mighty Real Madrid in 1999.

Real Madrid players gather at around the Toyota Cup and the Intercontinental Cup (bottom) to share a joy after an awarding ceremony for the Toyota Cup, Europe/South America football club championship in Yokohama 03 December 2002. Spain's Real Madrid defeated Paraguay's Olympia 2-0. First row F-R: Ivan Helguera of Spain and Raul Gonzalez of Spain. Second row F-R: Claude Makelele of France, Roberto Carlos of Brazil, Esteban Matias Cambiasso of Argentina, Fernando Morientes of Spain (camera) and Zinedine Zidane of France. AFP PHOTO/Toru YAMANAKA

Real Madrid's Ivan Helguera (R) vies with River Plate's Maschemano (L) during their 'Santiago Bernabeu' Trophy friendly match beetwen Real Madrid and River Plate in Santiago Bernabeu stadium of Madrid. 23 September, 2003. AFP PHOTO/ Javier SORIANO.

Madrid fired Toshack in favour of Vicente Del Bosque in November 1999, and the latter man gave him a place in the starting eleven. He has since won the Spanish championship twice, the Champions League twice and the Intercontinental Cup.

And since the demise of Fernando Hierro in May 2003, he has become the club's leading man in the centre of the defence too.

Hierro's international retirement has also cleared the way for him with the national set up.

He was a mainstay in the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign under coach Inaki Saez, appeared five times in the 2002 World Cup run to the quarter-finals and played in all of Spain's matches at Euro 2000, where they again fell in the quarters to France.

The former midfielder and sweeper gets the odd goal too and enjoys particular luck in that department in the Champions league. His brother Luis was also a footballer.

In the final of Euro 2004 Helguera should prove an invaluable well of experience as Spain take on Portugal, Greece and Russia in the first round.