José Antonio Castro

Football player infobox| playername= José Antonio Castro


fullname = José Antonio Castro González
nickname = "El Gringo"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|8|11
cityofbirth = Mexico City
countryofbirth = Mexico
height = height|m=1.73
currentclub = América
position = Right Wing Back
Right Winger
clubnumber = 3
years = 2000-
clubs = Club América
caps(goals) = 240 (3)
nationalyears = 2003-
nationalteam = Mexico
nationalcaps(goals) = 23 (0)
pcupdate = September 25, 2008
ntupdate = October 23, 2007

José Antonio Castro González (born August 11 , 1980 in Mexico City) is a Mexican football player who currently plays as a defender for Club América.

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.

International career

"El Gringo" made his international debut for the Mexican national football team in Los Angeles in a friendly match against Argentina on February 4 , 2003. His first good performance came on March 1, 2006 against Ghana, an assured display that helped him earn a spot for the 2006 World Cup. However, Ricardo Lavolpe 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. He displayed stupendous form and terrorised the Argentine defence with explosive counter strikes from the back of the field despite losing the match in extra time. Since then, he has been called up to play friendly matches. and has even been called up to play the Gold Cup and Copa América for Mexico.

Honors

Club Honors

flagicon|Mexico Club America:

* CONCACAF Giants Cup: 2001
* Mexican Championship: Verano 2002, Clausura 2005
* Campeón de Campeones (Mexican Super Cup): 2005
* CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2006

Individual Honors

External links

* [http://www.esmas.com/deportes/biografias/525498.html José Antonio Castro Article] (In Spanish)
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/index.php?dumpPlayer=7032 Football Database.com provides José Antonio Castro's profile and stats]
* [http://www.mediotiempo.com/jugadores/jugador.php?idj=4706 Profile and Statistics] (In Spanish)