Nery Castillo

Olympiacos

At the age of 16, Castillo's father and agent accepted an offer from the Greek club Olympiacos. Three years after he joined Olympiacos, Castillo became a regular starter in both domestic and European competitions. He became a fan favourite with the Gate 7 Ultras and was even given the number 7 shirt in deference to them. Castillo was part of the Olympiacos squad that won the next three consecutive league titles. He was the club's leading scorer during the preparatory phase for the 2006–07 season, accumulating seven goals in friendly games. He finished the season second to Rivaldo in goals scored and assists for the club, with three goals scored in five Champions League games. In early 2006, his father and agent began negotiations with Mexican club Guadalajara, but talks were suspended because Olympiacos weren't interested in selling the player at the time. Subsequently, in 2007, Olympiacos accepted Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk's offer of €20 million for Castillo's services. Castillo therefore, did not want to leave the club as he was satisfied. He did this, after big pressure from president's son Petros Kokkalis due to the large offer. Before this, in what Castillo correctly anticipated would be his last game for Olympiacos, he scored with a free kick shot, after "stealing" the kick from the teammate who was preparing to take it.

Shakhtar Donetsk

On 31 July 2007, Castillo joined Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk on a five-year contract for a fee…

Choosing nationality

Castillo was eligible for citizenship in four countries; Uruguay because his father is from there; Italy due to his maternal grandparents; Greece because he resided there for more than six years and Mexico where he was born. His first experience of international football came when he was called up to a Uruguay U-17 training camp. However, he was released after playing a few friendly games. Next the Greek coach Otto Rehhagel tried to secure his services for the Greece national football team. Greece were reportedly willing to pay Castillo $800,000, including fast-tracked citizenship as part of the offer. Ultimately, Castillo decided to play for the country of his birth and joined the Mexico national football team.

Mexico national team

He made his international debut for Mexico on 2 June 2007 vs Iran, in his hometown San Luis Potosí with Mexico winning the game 4–0, and went on to represent his country in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he scored his first international goal against Cuba, and in the 2007 Copa America. In the 2007 Copa America, a pre-tournament injury to Jared Borgetti gave Castillo a starting berth, and he scored l in Mexico's first match of the tournament, a 2–0 win against Brazil. He scored again against Ecuador, as Mexico secured a place in the knockout stages, and scored a brace in the quarter-final against Paraguay, the first goal from the penalty spot. Overall, Castillo was the third highest goal scorer of the…

Club

As of 20 July 2015

International

As of match played 6 September 2009

International goals

Olympiacos

Super League Greece: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 Greek Cup: 2004–05, 2005–06 Shakhtar Donetsk

UEFA Cup: 2008–09 Individual

Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2007