Diego Castro
![]() Castro playing with Getafe in 2013 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Diego Castro Giménez | ||
Date of birth | 2 July 1982 | ||
Place of birth | Pontevedra, Spain | ||
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Perth Glory | ||
Number | 17 | ||
Youth career | |||
AJ Lérez | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2001–2003 | Pontevedra | 63 | (14) |
2003–2006 | Málaga B | 90 | (2) |
2005 | Málaga | 2 | (0) |
2006–2011 | Sporting Gijón | 170 | (39) |
2011–2015 | Getafe | 129 | (18) |
2015– | Perth Glory | 75 | (33) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 April 2018 |
Diego Castro Giménez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo ˈkastɾo]; born 2 July 1982) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Australian club Perth Glory FC as a left winger.
He amassed La Liga totals of 226 games and 43 goals during eight seasons, representing mainly in the competition Getafe (four years) and Sporting de Gijón (three).
Football career
Málaga / Sporting
Castro was born in Pontevedra, Galicia. After starting out professionally with local Pontevedra CF (third division) he moved to Málaga CF, but spent almost three seasons mainly registered with the Andalusians' reserves; in December 2005, he appeared in two consecutive home losses for the main squad, against CA Osasuna (1–2)[1] and Real Madrid (0–2).[2]
After both Málaga teams dropped down a level in 2006, Castro moved to Sporting de Gijón in division two, being an essential first-team element from the start (20 league goals in his first three seasons combined – with the Asturians achieving La Liga promotion in his third – six of them in 2008–09, as the club narrowly avoided relegation).
In the following campaign, Castro was arguably Sporting's most important player as he topped their scoring charts at ten, four of those coming through penalties.[3] Sporting again managed to stay in the top division.
Castro again led Sporting de Gijón in goals scored in 2010–11, netting one goal less. On 13 March 2011, after Nacho Novo gained a penalty kick in the last-minute of an away fixture against Villarreal CF, he converted it in Panenka-style for a final 1–1 draw – the visiting team was then reduced to only nine players.[4]
Getafe
Shortly after the season ended, Castro confirmed his departure from Sporting as a free agent,[5] signing shortly after for Getafe CF.[6] On 3 June 2015, after four years as first-choice, he left the latter after his contract expired.[7]
Perth Glory
On 6 August 2015, aged 33, Castro moved abroad for the first time in his career, joining A-League club Perth Glory FC as their foreign marquee player.[8] He scored his first goal for his new team on 25 October, contributing to a 3–1 home win against Adelaide United FC;[9] he enjoyed a successful debut season, earning selection for the PFA Team of the Year[10] and winning the Alex Tobin award as well as the Johnny Warren Medal.[11]
On 7 June 2016, Castro extended his stay with Perth Glory, agreeing to a deal believed to be worth approximately $500,000.[12]
Personal life
Castro's father, Fernando Castro Santos, also had a career intimately connected with football. He coached several teams in the first and second divisions from 1992 (notably SD Compostela), also working in Portugal.[13]
Club statistics
- As of match played on 30 December 2016
Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Pontevedra | 2001–02[14] | Segunda División B | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 24 | 2 |
2002–03[14] | Segunda División B | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5[a] | 3 | 40 | 12 | |
Total | 64 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 74 | 14 | ||
Málaga B | 2003–04[14] | Segunda División B | 24 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
2004–05[14] | Segunda División B | 33 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
2005–06[14] | Segunda División B | 33 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
Total | 90 | 2 | — | — | 90 | 2 | ||||
Málaga | 2005–06[14] | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
Sporting Gijón | 2006–07[14] | Segunda División | 38 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 7 | |
2007–08[14] | Segunda División | 37 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 38 | 7 | ||
2008–09[14] | La Liga | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 34 | 6 | ||
2009–10[14] | La Liga | 35 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 10 | ||
2010–11[14] | La Liga | 28 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 9 | ||
Total | 170 | 30 | 4 | 0 | — | 174 | 30 | |||
Getafe | 2011–12[14] | La Liga | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 7 | |
2012–13[14] | La Liga | 34 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | 37 | 7 | ||
2013–14[14] | La Liga | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
2014–15[14] | La Liga | 32 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | 36 | 4 | ||
Total | 129 | 18 | 10 | 1 | — | 139 | 19 | |||
Perth Glory | 2015–16[15] | A-League | 26 | 13 | 3 | 0 | — | 29 | 13 | |
2016–17[15] | A-League | 27 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 13 | ||
2017–18[15] | A-League | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 2 | ||
Total | 63 | 28 | 3 | 0 | — | 66 | 28 | |||
Career total | 492 | 76 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 517 | 80 |
Honours
Individual
- PFA Team of the Season: 2015–16
- PFA A-League Player of the Month: February 2016, March 2016
- Johnny Warren Medal: 2015–16
References
- ^ "Osasuna mantiene el ritmo del Barça" [Osasuna keep up the pace with Barça] (in Spanish). El País. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- ^ "Sergio Ramos hace creer en López Caro" [Sergio Ramos has people believing in López Caro] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 11 December 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- ^ "Diego Castro 14 de 14 en penaltis... y a lo Panenka" [Diego Castro 14 for 14 in penaltis... and in Panenka-style] (in Spanish). Marca. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ^ Nine men snatch point; ESPN Soccernet, 13 March 2011
- ^ Diego Castro confirma su marcha al Getafe y se despide del Sporting (Diego Castro confirms Getafe signing and bids farewell to Sporting); La Nueva España, 23 May 2011 (in Spanish)
- ^ Getafe complete Castro signing; FIFA, 10 June 2011
- ^ Os deseamos lo mejor (We wish you the best); Getafe CF, 3 June 2015 (in Spanish)
- ^ "Castro Perth Glory's new marquee player". Special Broadcasting Service. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Perth Glory 3–1 Adelaide United". Goal. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ "Reds' players snubbed as PFA names team of the season". Special Broadcasting Service. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ^ "Glory star Castro wins Johnny Warren Medal". Football Federation Australia. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ^ Smithies, Tom (7 June 2016). "Perth Glory re-signs Johnny Warren Medallist Diego Castro for 2016/17 season". Fox Sports. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ^ Diego Castro y Fernando Castro Santos, duelo entre padre e hijo en Segunda (Diego Castro and Fernando Castro Santos, father-son duel in Segunda) Archived 13 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine; Hoy Sport, 23 January 2008 (in Spanish)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Diego Castro: Diego Castro Jiménez". BDFutbol. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
- ^ a b c "Diego Castro". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
External links
- Diego Castro at BDFutbol
- 1982 births
- Living people
- People from Pontevedra
- Spanish footballers
- Galician footballers
- Association football wingers
- La Liga players
- Segunda División players
- Segunda División B players
- Pontevedra CF footballers
- Atlético Malagueño players
- Málaga CF players
- Sporting de Gijón players
- Getafe CF footballers
- A-League players
- Perth Glory FC players
- Spanish expatriate footballers
- Expatriate soccer players in Australia
- Spanish expatriates in Australia