Edgar Castillo

Personal information
Full name	Edgar Eduardo Castillo
Date of birth	October 8, 1986 (1986-10-08) (age 23)
Place of birth	Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	UANL (on loan from América)
Number	15
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2008	Santos Laguna	72	(3)
2009–	América	13	(0)
2009–	→ UANL (loan)	14	(2)
National team‡
2008	Mexico U-23	3	(1)
2007–2009	Mexico	4	(0)
2009–	United States	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:51, 10 November 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02:51, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Edgar Eduardo Castillo (born October 8, 1986, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States) is a Mexican-American soccer player. He currently plays for UANL on loan from América.

Contents 1 Youth 2 Professional career 3 International career 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Youth

Castillo grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico and played for Mayfield High School from 2001 and 2004 under Coach Arturo Garibay, one of New Mexico's most successful high school soccer coaches. In 2002, as a sophomore, he was named NSCAA/Adidas High School State Player of the Year. He was one of the top players in New Mexico as he helped and led Mayfield High School to two State Championship games.

He first gained notice from professional teams in 2005 playing for his local club team in the Dallas Cup, one of the world's top youth tournaments. His team made it to the Dallas Cup final for the Super Group but went down to Atletico Paranaense of Brazil 1-0.

Castillo was also a player for the Olympic Development Program regional pool for many years. His younger brother, Noel Castillo, is currently on the reserve team for Indios de Ciudad Juarez

[edit] Professional career

Castillo began his professional career with Santos Laguna of the Primera División de México. After becoming a first team regular at Santos, Castillo transferred mid season to Club América in January 2009. During the off-season, Castillo was placed on loan to Tigres UANL and will play for them during the 2009/10 season. He scored his first goal for Tigres against his former side, Santos Laguna, on August 30, 2009.

[edit] International career

In early August 2007, Mexico national football team coach Hugo Sánchez called Castillo for the three upcoming friendlies with Colombia (August 22), Panama (September 9) and Brazil (September 12).

On, August 22, 2007, Castillo made his debut with the Mexican national squad and entered at the 53rd minute in the friendly match against Colombia. In March, 2008 he was also a member of the Mexico U-23 squad which participated in the 2008 CONCACAF Men Pre-Olympic Tournament in order to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

He was called up by Sven-Göran Eriksson to be on the 23-man roster for the Mexican national team, but he was benched during the game against Honduras on August 20, 2008. On November 12, 2008, Castillo appeared during the friendly match against Ecuador in Phoenix, Arizona. He replaced Francisco Fonseca as Mexico beat Ecuador 2–1. He was called up for the national team again on January 28, 2009, in a friendly against Sweden. Castillo was called up to the national side for World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica in Mexico City and Honduras in San Pedro Sula on March 28 and April 1, 2009, but was unable to travel to either match because he had lost his Mexican passport.^[1]

Under a recent change in FIFA regulations, Castillo is still eligible to play for the United States because he has yet to make an appearance for Mexico in a competitive match at senior level, as opposed to an international friendly or an age-grade international.^[2] The new rule allows players of any age to make a one-time change of footballing nationality if they hold citizenship in their new country and have not played in a competitive match at senior level for their previous country. (The previous rule only allowed a change if the player was under 21.)^[1] On June 29, 2009, he was asked about possibly playing for the United States, saying, "I would play for the United States. I'd want to talk to them first, but I want to play for the U.S. I think it would be a very good opportunity for me, for my career. If they call me I would play for them." Castillo also said, "I have made my decision. I want to represent the country where I was born, the place where I live."^[3][4]

In September 2009, Castillo was cleared by FIFA to join the United States national team.^[5] On October 31, 2009 Castillo reveals to Mexican media after a Tigres UANL match vs Estudiantes Tecos that he had received a call earlier that day and stated "I was called up for training with the USA team and I am expected to appear to play against Denmark ....I'm hoping to give a good impression". It has been rumored that the US team might call Castillo to fill a spot on the FIFA World Cup 2010 squad.^[6]

Castillo made his U.S. debut as a second-half sub in a friendly against Denmark in which they lost on November 18, 2009.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Edgar Castillo stats
• Edgar Castillo stats at MedioTiempo.com (Spanish)

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