This is a Portuguese name; the first family name is Rosa Vale and the second is Castro.

José Eduardo Rosa Vale e Castro (born 13 January 1983 in Coimbra), aka Zé Castro, is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for Deportivo de La Coruña in the Spanish first division, as a central defender.

[edit] Club career

Castro entered hometown Académica de Coimbra's youth ranks as a child, and made his first division debuts on October 3, 2004, playing 20 minutes in a 2-1 home triumph against Gil Vicente F.C.. Despite his young age, he eventually became an undisputed starter and team captain.

In the 2006 off-season, after unfinished advances by Portugal's Big Three, Castro signed with Spain's Atlético de Madrid;^[1]in his first year, he benefitted (mainly) from injuries to teammates, going on to appear in 22 top level matches, with two goals (namely an 83rd minute-strike against CA Osasuna for the game's only goal, at home, on 20 January 2007), but featured rarely in the following.

In the summer of 2008, Castro joined fellow league side Deportivo de La Coruña, on a season-long loan, with the Galicians having a buyout clause of €2 million for 50% of the player's rights (the remaining 50% being owned by a company).^{[citation needed]}Again due to injury (habitual starter Pablo Amo was sidelined for months with an Achilles tendon problem), the Portuguese was able to start most of the season, and the option was activated for a permanent move.

[edit] International career

Shortly after his debuts with Académica, Castro became a defensive stalwart for the Portuguese U21s, and appeared at the 2006 European Championship on home soil. There, he appeared in three complete matches, as Portugal exited in the group stage, and scored an own goal in the 0-2 defeat against Serbia.^[2]

On June 10, 2009, Castro finally made his full debut, in a 0-0 friendly match in Estonia.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• PortuGOAL profile
• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Portuguese League profile (Portuguese)
• BDFutbol profile