Place of birth Mexico City, Mexico Years Team Height 1.73 m Career start 1999 | Playing position Team Apps Weight 55 kg Position Defender, Midfielder | |
 | ||
Full name José Antonio Castro González Date of birth (1980-08-11) 11 August 1980 (age 36) Number 3 (Club América / Defender) Similar Pável Pardo, Germán Villa, Mario Méndez, Guillermo Franco, Gonzalo Pineda | ||
El lado ntimo de jos antonio castro
José Antonio Castro González (born August 11, 1980 in Mexico City) is a Mexican football player who last played as a defender for Atlético San Luis. He gained notoriety for his performances with Club América and at the 2006 FIFA World Cup for Mexico. He is often referred to by his nickname "El Gringo", given to him in his childhood because his parents are both Spanish, and his blue eyes.
Contents
Club career
Known for his speed and solid defensive work, Castro is a good marker and counter-attacker who was trained in the Club América youth system. He made his debut in the Mexican Championship against Leon in the 2000–2001 season. After receiving little playing time in his first two seasons with the senior team, Castro became a vital player in the Verano 2002 season, displaying fine form which helped Club América win the Mexican league championships in 2002 and the Clausura title in 2005. Since then, the talented Wingback has been a key player and is one of the two players (the other being Guillermo Ochoa) to start almost every game. The almost being when he has international duties and such. He is a regular starter for the team. For the Clausura 2008, El Gringo will have the responsibility of being the vice-captain of Las Águilas since Duilio Davino left the club and Germán Villa was given the job of being the team's captain. After a poor season with Club América, El Gringo was put on the transfer list. On December 5, 2008, Castro was loaned to UANL Tigres for an undisclosed fee.
International career
Castro made his international debut for the Mexicon national football team in Los Angeles in a friendly match against Argentina on February 4, 2003. Ricardo La Volpe played him as a Right Winger as usual, but as a midfielder instead of defender. He played his first World Cup match against Portugal in Germany, a game which the Mexicans lost 2-1. Despite the team losing the match, Castro helped his country reach the Round of 16 where they played against Argentina. Since then, he has been called up to play friendly matches. He was even called up to play the 2007 editions of the Gold Cup and Copa América for Mexico. Recently, he was called up by Mexico coach Javier Aguirre for the 2009 Gold Cup. He made his first goal against the United States in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Club honors
Club América:
International
Mexico
International goals
Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.International caps
As of 17 March 2010
