Ramiro Castillo Salinas (March 27, 1966 – October 18, 1997) was a football midfielder who was capped 52 times and scored 5 international goals for Bolivia between 1989 and 1997.^[1] He made one substitute appearance at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Castillo was born in Coripata, a small town in the sub-tropical Yungas region. His first professional team was The Strongest, club with which he always identified. From there he went to play successfully in the Argentine football, defending the colors of Instituto de Córdoba, Argentinos Juniors, River Plate, Rosario Central and Platense. He set a record for the most appearances in the Argentine league by a Bolivian player with 152 games, he scored 10 goals in Argentina too.

Later in his career he returned to Bolivia where he played for The Strongest and Club Bolívar.

Castillo's nickname was "Chocolatín" by the colour of his skin.

He played at the Copa América 1997 (in Bolivia), where Bolivia were runners-up, losing the final to Brazil. Despite being the tournament’s MVP, Castillo missed the final game due to the sudden death of his infant son. Castillo never recovered from this and committed suicide shortly thereafter.

The Bolivian football association announced a month of mourning after his death, and the derby game between his former clubs The Strongest and Bolívar was postponed. In Argentina there was a minutes silence at the game between his former club Platense and Gimnasia de Jujuy where the players wore black armbands.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Argentine Primera statistics (Spanish)
• National Football Teams (Spanish)
• Article on the 10 year anniversary of his death (Spanish)

Ramiro Castillo international tournaments v • d • e Bolivia squad – 1989 Copa América 1 Galarza • 2 Arías • 3 Borja • 4 Etcheverry • 5 Ferrufino • 6 Fontana • 7 García • 8 Martínez • 9 Melgar • 10 Paniagua • 11 Á. Peña • 12 Barrero • 13 Rimba • 14 Roca • 15 Saldías • 16 Salinas • 17 Sánchez • 18 Takeo • 19 Villegas • 20 Castillo • Coach: Habberger v • d • e Bolivia squad – 1991 Copa América 1 Barrero • 2 Rimba • 3 Jiguchi • 4 Saldías • 5 Ferrufino • 6 Rivero • 7 Borja • 8 Melgar • 9 Suárez • 10 Etcheverry • 11 Moreno • 12 M. Soria • 13 J. Peña • 14 Medrano • 15 Soruco • 16 Sánchez • 17 Chávez • 18 Molina • 19 Á. Peña • 20 R. Castillo • 21 Baldivieso • 22 Aragón • Coach: Blacutt v • d • e Bolivia squad – 1993 Copa América 1 Rojas • 2 J. Peña • 3 Sandy • 4 Rimba • 5 Quinteros • 6 Borja • 7 Villarroel • 8 Melgar • 9 Á. Peña • 10 Etcheverry • 11 Moreno • 12 Torrico • 13 Soruco • 14 Ríos • 15 Pérez • 16 Cristaldo • 17 Ramallo • 18 Noro • 19 I. Castillo • 20 R. Castillo • 21 Sánchez • 22 Baldivieso • Coach: Azkargorta v • d • e Bolivia squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup 1 Trucco • 2 J. Peña • 3 Sandy • 4 Rimba • 5 Quinteros • 6 Borja • 7 Pinedo • 8 Melgar • 9 A. Peña • 10 Etcheverry • 11 Moreno • 12 Rojas • 13 Soruco • 14 Ramos • 15 Soria • 16 Cristaldo • 17 O. Sánchez • 18 Ramallo • 19 Torrico • 20 Castillo • 21 E. Sánchez • 22 Baldivieso • Coach: Azkargorta v • d • e Bolivia squad – 1997 Copa América Runners-up 1 Trucco • 2 Peña • 3 Sandy • 4 Rimba • 5 Ó. Sánchez • 6 V. Soria • 7 S. Castillo • 8 Melgar • 9 Moreno • 10 Etcheverry • 11 Gutiérrez • 12 M. Soria • 13 Jiguchi • 14 Tufiño • 15 Blanco • 16 Cristaldo • 17 Méndez • 18 Coimbra • 19 I. Castillo • 20 R. Castillo • 21 E. Sánchez • 22 Baldivieso • Coach: López Habas

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