Diego Castro

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)
Playing position	Winger
Club 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	26	(13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 April 2016.

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) and Real Madrid (0–2).

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

Getafe

Shortly after the season ended, Castro confirmed his departure from Sporting as a free agent,^[3] signing shortly after for Getafe CF.^[4] On 3 June 2015, after four years as first-choice, he left the latter after his contract expired.^[5]

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.^[6] He scored his first goal for his new team on 25 October, contributing to a 3–1 home win against Adelaide United FC;^[7] he enjoyed a successful debut season, earning selection for the PFA Team of the Year^[8] and winning the Alex Tobin award as well as the Johnny Warren Medal.^[9]

On 7 June 2016, Castro extended his stay with Perth Glory, agreeing to a deal believed to be worth approximately $500,000.^[10]

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.^[11]

Club statistics

As of 17 April 2016

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Pontevedra	2001–02[12]	Segunda División B	21	2	0	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	24	2
	2002–03[12]	Segunda División B	33	9	2	0	5[lower-alpha 1]	3	40	12
	Total		64	11	2	0	8	3	74	14
Málaga B	2003–04[12]	Segunda División B	24	0	—		—		24	0
	2004–05[12]	Segunda División B	33	1	—		—		33	1
	2005–06[12]	Segunda División B	33	1	—		—		33	1
	Total		90	2	—		—		90	2
Málaga	2005–06[12]	La Liga	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
Sporting Gijón	2006–07[12]	Segunda División	38	7	0	0	—		38	7
	2007–08[12]	Segunda División	37	7	1	0	—		38	7
	2008–09[12]	La Liga	32	6	2	0	—		34	6
	2009–10[12]	La Liga	35	10	0	0	—		35	10
	2010–11[12]	La Liga	28	9	1	0	—		29	9
	Total		170	30	4	0	—		174	30
Getafe	2011–12[12]	La Liga	31	7	0	0	—		31	7
	2012–13[12]	La Liga	34	7	3	0	—		37	7
	2013–14[12]	La Liga	32	1	3	0	—		35	1
	2014–15[12]	La Liga	32	3	4	1	—		36	4
	Total		129	18	10	1	—		139	19
Perth Glory	2015–16[13]	A-League	26	13	3	0	—		29	13
Career total			455	61	17	1	8	3	480	65

1. Appearances in Promotion Play-offs

Honours

Individual

• PFA Team of the Season: 2015–16
• PFA A-League Player of the Month: February 2016, March 2016
• Alex Tobin Award: 2015–16
• Johnny Warren Medal: 2015–16

References

1. "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.
2. Nine men snatch point; ESPN Soccernet, 13 March 2011
3. 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 (Spanish)
4. Getafe complete Castro signing; FIFA.com, 10 June 2011
5. Os deseamos lo mejor (We wish you the best); Getafe CF, 3 June 2015 (Spanish)
6. "Castro Perth Glory's new marquee player". Special Broadcasting Service. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
7. "Match report: Perth Glory 3–1 Adelaide United". Goal.com. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
8. "Reds' players snubbed as PFA names team of the season". Special Broadcasting Service. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
9. "Glory star Castro wins Johnny Warren Medal". Football Federation Australia. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
10. Smithies, Tom (7 June 2016). "Perth Glory re-signs Johnny Warren Medallist Diego Castro for 2016/17 season". Fox Sports. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
11. Diego Castro y Fernando Castro Santos, duelo entre padre e hijo en Segunda (Diego Castro and Fernando Castro Santos, father-son duel in Segunda); Hoy Sport, 23 January 2008 (Spanish)
12. "Diego Castro: Diego Castro Jiménez". BDFutbol. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
13. "Diego Castro". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 October 2015.

External links

• Diego Castro profile at BDFutbol