 Castro playing withGetafe in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Castro Giménez | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-07-02)2 July 1982 (age 42)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Pontevedra, Spain[1] | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| AJ Lérez | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2003 | Pontevedra | 54 | (11) |
| 2003–2006 | Málaga B | 90 | (2) |
| 2005 | Málaga | 2 | (0) |
| 2006–2011 | Sporting Gijón | 170 | (39) |
| 2011–2015 | Getafe | 129 | (18) |
| 2015–2021 | Perth Glory | 136 | (49) |
| Total | 581 | (119) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Diego Castro Giménez (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈdjeɣoˈkastɾo]; born 2 July 1982) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as aleft winger.
He amassedLa Liga totals of 226 games and 43 goals over eight seasons, mainly representingGetafe (four years) andSporting de Gijón (three). In 2015 he transferred toPerth Glory, going on to spend six years with them in theA-League.
Castro was born inPontevedra,Galicia. After starting out professionally with localPontevedra CF (third division) he moved toMálaga CF, but spent almost three seasons mainly registered with theAndalusians'reserves; in December 2005, he appeared in two consecutive home losses for the main squad, againstCA Osasuna (2–1)[2] andReal Madrid (2–0).[3]
After both Málaga teams dropped down a level in2006, Castro moved toSporting de Gijón indivision two, being an essential first-team element from the start (20 league goals in his first three seasons combined – with theAsturians achievingLa Liga promotion inhis third – six of them in2008–09, as the club narrowly avoided relegation).
Inthe following campaign, Castro was arguably Sporting's most important player as he topped their scoring charts at ten, four of those coming throughpenalties.[4] Sporting again managed to stay in the top division.
Castro again led Sporting de Gijón in goals scored in2010–11, netting one goal less. On 13 March 2011, afterNacho Novo won a penalty kick in the last-minute of an away fixture againstVillarreal CF, he converted it inPanenka-style for a final 1–1 draw – the visiting team was then reduced to only nine players.[5]
Shortly after the season ended, Castro confirmed his departure from Sporting as afree agent,[6] signing shortly after forGetafe CF.[7] On 3 June 2015, after four years as first choice, he left the latter after his contract expired.[8]
On 6 August 2015, aged 33, Castro moved abroad for the first time in his career, joiningA-League clubPerth Glory FC as their foreign marquee player.[9] He scored his first goal for his new team on 25 October, contributing to a 3–1 home win againstAdelaide United FC.[10] He enjoyed a successfuldebut season, earning selection for thePFA Team of the Year[11] and winning the Alex Tobin award as well as theJohnny Warren Medal.[12]
On 7 June 2016, Castro extended his stay with Perth Glory, agreeing to a deal believed to be worth approximately $500,000.[13] Before the start of the2018–19 season, he was namedteam captain.[14]
Castro agreed to a two-year extension on 23 April 2019.[15] On 14 October 2021, it was confirmed that the 39-year-old would be leaving due to restrictions on visa players and the incoming signing ofDaniel Sturridge.[16][17] A statement fromCEOTony Pignata on the club's official website spoke fondly of the former player, saying:
"Diego has been one of the best players Australian football has ever seen, and undoubtedly Glory’s greatest overseas recruit of all time.
"His place in the pantheon of Glory greats is well and truly assured and on behalf of our Members and fans, I would like to sincerely thank him for the massive contribution he has made over the past six years.
"We have been fortunate to have had the pleasure of watching a player of his quality and he will always remain a cherished and much-loved member of the Glory family.
"We would like to take this opportunity to wish Diego and his family all the very best for the future."
Castro's father,Fernando Castro Santos, also had a career intimately connected with football. He coached several teams in the first and second divisions from 1992 (notablySD Compostela), also working in Portugal.[18]
Besides his native language, Castro is also able to speak English, describing it as that he had fully learned the language while in Australia as part of the challenge of playing abroad.[19]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pontevedra | 2001–02[20] | Segunda División B | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| 2002–03[20] | Segunda División B | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5[a] | 3 | 40 | 12 | |
| Total | 54 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 64 | 14 | ||
| Málaga B | 2003–04[20] | Segunda División | 24 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05[20] | Segunda División | 33 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2005–06[20] | Segunda División | 33 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| Total | 90 | 2 | — | — | 90 | 2 | ||||
| Málaga | 2005–06[20] | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Sporting Gijón | 2006–07[20] | Segunda División | 38 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 7 | |
| 2007–08[20] | Segunda División | 37 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 38 | 7 | ||
| 2008–09[20] | La Liga | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 34 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10[20] | La Liga | 35 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 10 | ||
| 2010–11[20] | La Liga | 28 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 9 | ||
| Total | 170 | 39 | 4 | 0 | — | 174 | 39 | |||
| Getafe | 2011–12[20] | La Liga | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 7 | |
| 2012–13[20] | La Liga | 34 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | 37 | 7 | ||
| 2013–14[20] | La Liga | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15[20] | La Liga | 32 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | 36 | 4 | ||
| Total | 129 | 18 | 10 | 1 | — | 139 | 19 | |||
| Perth Glory | 2015–16[21] | A-League | 26 | 13 | 3 | 0 | — | 29 | 13 | |
| 2016–17[21] | A-League | 27 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 13 | ||
| 2017–18[21] | A-League | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 7 | ||
| 2018–19[21] | A-League | 22 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 9 | ||
| 2019–20[21] | A-League | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 4 | |
| 2020–21[21] | A-League | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 3 | |
| Total | 136 | 49 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 149 | 49 | ||
| Career total | 581 | 119 | 21 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 615 | 123 | ||
Perth Glory
Individual