Edgar Eduardo Castillo Carrillo is a Mexican-American soccer player who plays
for Monterrey in Liga MX. Castillo is noted for being one of only two players
to earn a senior cap for both sides of the United States-Mexico rivalry.
Youth Castillo grew up in Las Cruces, New
Mexico and played for Mayfield High School under coach Arturo Garibay. 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 led Mayfield
High School to two state championships games .
He first gained the notice of professional teams in 2005 playing for
his local club 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 lost 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 on the reserve team for Indios de Ciudad Juarez
of Mexico. Professional career
Castillo began his professional career with Santos Laguna of the Primera
División de México. After becoming a first team regular at Santos, and
winning the championship in 2008, Castillo transferred mid-season to Club
América in January 2009. During the off-season, Castillo was on loan to
Tigres UANL and played for them during the 2009/10 season. He scored his first
goal for Tigres against his former side, Santos Laguna, on 30 August 2009.
On 23 November, 2011, Castillo agreed to being loaned to Club Tijuana; on 7 June
2012 he joined Tijuana, permanently. Castillo moved to Atlas during the 2014
off-season. International career
= Mexico = In early August 2007, Mexico coach Hugo
Sánchez called-up Castillo for the three upcoming friendlies with Colombia,
Panama, and Brazil. On 22 August 2007 Castillo made his debut with the Mexico
national team and entered at the 53rd minute in the friendly 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 2008
Summer Olympics. He was called up by Sven-Göran Eriksson
to be on the 23-man roster for the Mexico national team, but he was benched
during the game against Honduras on 20 August 2008. On 12 November 2008,
Castillo appeared in a 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 28 January 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 28 March and 1
April 2009 but was unable to travel to either match because he had "lost" his
Mexico passport. = United States =
Under a recent change in FIFA regulations, Castillo became eligible to
play for the United States. The new rule allowed players of any age to make a
one-time national affiliation change if they held citizenship in their new
country and yet have not played in a competitive senior level match for their
previous nationality. The previous rule only allowed a change if the player was
under 21. 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."
On September 2009, Castillo was cleared by FIFA to join the United States
national team. 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". Castillo made his USA debut as a
second-half sub in a friendly against Denmark in which they lost on November
18, 2009. He is now the second player to earn caps for both Mexico and the United
States, joining Martin Vasquez, who played non-FIFA-recognized matches with
Mexico in 1992 and 1993 before receiving official call-ups to the US starting in
1996. Castillo's decision to join the USMNT
triggered a strongly negative response from Mexican fans. "When I changed to
the U.S. national team, it was a hard time for me because people called me a
traitor and stuff like that," Castillo remarked. He further elaborated on his
decision, ultimately stating, "It's a big priority," Castillo said of playing
for the United States. "I was born in the U.S.[....] I've played a lot in
Mexico because Mexico has been treating me good, I changed to the U.S. national
team and I think I made a good choice." Castillo has since been recalled to the
USMNT under new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and started against Mexico on
10 August 2011. Honors
= United States = CONCACAF Gold Cup:
Winner: 2013 = Tijuana =
Liga MX: Apertura 2012 = Santos Laguna =
Liga MX: Clausura 2008 References
External links Edgar Castillo stats
Edgar Castillo Liga MX stats at Medio Tiempo.com