José Antonio Castro

José Antonio Castro González (born August 11, 1980 in Mexico City) is a former 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.

José Antonio Castro
Personal information
Full name José Antonio Castro González
Date of birth (1980-08-11) 11 August 1980
Place of birth Mexico City, Mexico
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position(s) Right wingback
Club information
Current team
 Cruz Azul U-17 (Head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Halcones de Querétaro 47 (3)
2001–2011 América 224 (3)
2009–2010 → Tigres 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)
National team‡
2003–2010 Mexico 33 (1)
Teams managed
2018– Cruz Azul Reserves and Academy
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 January 2013
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 March 2010

Club career

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 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 scored his only international goal against the United States in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final.

Honors

Club
América
UANL

International
Mexico

Individual

International goals
Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.July 26, 2009Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States United States4–05–02009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
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