José Antonio Castro González (born 11 August 1980) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current manager of the Mexico national under-15 team. 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.

José Antonio Castro
Castro playing for San Luis
Personal information
Full name José Antonio Castro González[1]
Date of birth (1980-08-11) 11 August 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Mexico City, Mexico
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
Mexico U15 (Manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Halcones de Querétaro 47 (3)
2001–2011 América 224 (3)
2009–2010Tigres UANL (loan) 47 (2)
2011–2012 Necaxa 23 (0)
2012 Tecos 11 (0)
2012 San Luis 12 (0)
2013 Atlante 4 (0)
2014 Atlético San Luis 0 (0)
Total 368 (8)
International career
2003–2010 Mexico 35 (1)
Managerial career
2018–2020 Cruz Azul Reserves and Academy
2020–2021 Querétaro (Assistant)
2022 UAT (Assistant)
2023– Mexico U15
Medal record
Representing  Mexico
Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009
Runner-up CONCACAF Gold Cup 2007
Third place Copa América 2007
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

Known for his speed and solid defensive work rate, Castro was 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 for the club 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. The talented wingback was a key player and is one of the two players (the other being Guillermo Ochoa) to have started every game of the 2004–2005 season. For the Clausura 2008, El Gringo had 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 Tigres UANL for an undisclosed fee.

International career edit

Castro made his international debut for the Mexico national 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 scored his only international goal against the United States in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final.

Honours edit

América

Tigres UANL

Mexico

Individual

Career statistics edit

International edit

As of match played 18 March 2010[2]
National team Year Apps Goals
Mexico 2003 5 0
2005 1 0
2006 8 0
2007 8 0
2008 1 0
2009 11 1
2010 1 0
Total 35 1

International goals edit

Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. July 26, 2009 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States   United States 4–0 5–0 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup

References edit

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Mexico" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ José Antonio Castro at National-Football-Teams.com

External links edit