Nery
Castillo Biography - Introduction
Not a lot of young Mexican hot prospects managed to catch
the eye of the European public over the last few decades and now
we're facing
two at the same time! Both Giovani Dos Santos, playing for Barcelona
and Nery
Alberto Castillo, playing for Shaktar Donetsk in Ukraine, are extremely
talented youngsters that are the base of tomorrow's Mexican
soccer.
A lot has been said about Dos Santos, so I'm going to
write up a Nery Castillo biography to try to equal terms between the
two.
Nery
Castillo Biography – Youth Years
Born in San Luis Potosi in Mexico, Nery Alberto Castillo
came from a culturally diverse family, with roots tracing back to
Greece,
Uruguay, Italy and of course, Mexico. His father was Uruguayan and his
mother
of Italian descent, so I'm guessing he had a lot of countries
to cheer for in
the last World Cup.
Full
name
Nery
Alberto Castillo Confalonieri
Date
of birth
June
13, 1984
Place
of birth
San
Luis Potosí, Mexico
Height
5.7FT
- 1.70M
Playing
position
Forward
Moving to Uruguay at an early age and settling in
Montevideo, Castillo took up on soccer at the local club Danubio.
Immediately spotted as a quality soccer player, Nery Castillo soon got
called
to the senior team, where he made his official debut into professional
soccer
at age 15. However, he would not become a regular in the senior squad
at that
age, so he constantly changed between the senior and youth squad of
Danubio.
It was during a tournament he went on with the youth squad
that he was spotted by various European scouts from leagues such as the
Premiership, La Liga or Serie A. His father and Nery
Castillo's agent talked to
several of these scouts and got numerous offers for the young Castillo,
despite his age and decided that the best choice would be Manchester
United.
Nery
Castillo Biography – Work Permits and National
Teams
Unfortunately for the youngster, his dream of playing for
Manchester United didn't become a reality. In England, all
non-European players
require a work permit in order to play and these work permits are
rather hard
to obtain for inexperienced or young players. Even though he had a
strong
future as a soccer player, Nery Castillo wasn't granted a
work permit and had
his first contact with the bitter world of European football. Age 16,
he was
already in the middle of a transfer drama.
Fortunately for him, Manchester United wasn't the only
club to offer him and seeing how the Premiership transfer had failed,
his
father decided to take up on the second-best offer, the one from
Olympiakos in
Greece. The transfer went on and the young Mexican striker moved to his
new
club in 2000, after playing just 2 matches for his home team Danubio.
Season
Club
Games
Goals
1999-2000
Danubio
2
0
2000-2007
Olympiacos
CFP
105
30
2007-
FC
Shakhtar Donetsk
5
0
Last
Update - Oct 9, 2007
The Uruguay soccer federation had its eyes on Castillo, even
though he moved to Greece and offered him the chance to
play for
Uruguay's national side when the striker was 17 years old.
Close to this time,
the Mexican federation
did the same, seeing how the player was eligible
to play
for both countries, having been born in Mexico and having lived in
Uruguay.
As you probably know, once a footballer decides to play
(and actually plays) for a national side, he cannot "switch" to another
one, so Castillo declined both offers, stating that he was
having a hard
time
choosing between the two and needed some more time.
Nery Castillo Biography
– Olympiakos
Having moved to Olympiakos when he was 16, Nery Castillo
didn't get a place in the first team for around 2 seasons,
but in his third he
made an immediate impact, as soon as he was given a chance. He started
playing
regularly and was a favorite of the fans, being deemed the wonderkid of
the
team. His speed, stamina, aggressiveness and offensive abilities all
made him a
popular figure amongst fans and team mates alike.
In 2006 however, after 3 successful seasons in the ranks
of Olympiakos' first team, the change in management and the
arrival of an
outstanding offensive player, the Brazilian Rivaldo, Castillo
found
himself gradually taken off the first team and benching out entire
games. This
caused him a state of unrest as he had several clashes with his new
coach and
one incident remains famous.
Years
National
Team
Games
Goals
2007-
Mexico
12
5
Last
Update - Sep 27, 2007
At the end of the 2005-2006 season, thinking he would
leave Olympiakos in a few months' time anyway, he did a
memorable, if goofy
gesture. Olympiakos had a free kick and a player was preparing to shoot
it
towards goal, but Castillo sneaked around him and took the free kick
himself,
scoring a great goal. He then ran to the Olympiakos fans and
threw his
shirt in
their midst, remaining bare chested.
It was probably a funny sight seeing a half naked player
in euphoria, waking up from his joy and acknowledging the fact that he
would
not be able to regain his shirt for the match.
Since that incident however, Castillo became a much
more mature player and in the next season he was offered a new contract
and a
place in the squad. Since thereon, the Mexican striker regained his
regularity
and improved his form, scoring important goals in league, cup and in
the UEFA
Champions League for the Greek team. His goals and assists
were second
only to
Rivaldo, who became a mentor for the young striker.
Impressed by the young Mexican's
abilities, Mircea Lucescu, the coach of Ukrainian side Shaktar Donetsk
pressed
the club's board to buy the Mexican and so they did. The 20
million euro
transfer between Olympiakos and Shaktar for Nery Castillo remains the
highest
ever in both the Ukrainian and Greek leagues.
