Gonzalo Castro

Gonzalo Castro Randón (born 11 June 1987) is a German footballer[2] who plays for VfB Stuttgart as a midfielder.

Not to be confused with Uruguayan footballer Gonzalo Castro Irizábal.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Castro and the second or maternal family name is Randón.
Gonzalo Castro
Castro with VfB Stuttgart in 2018
Personal information
Full name Gonzalo Castro Randón
Date of birth (1987-06-11) 11 June 1987
Place of birth Wuppertal, West Germany
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 VfB Stuttgart
Number 8
Youth career
Post SV Wuppertal
Viktoria Rott
0000–1999 Bayer Wuppertal
1999–2005 Bayer Leverkusen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Bayer Leverkusen II 10 (3)
2004–2015 Bayer Leverkusen 286 (25)
2015–2018 Borussia Dortmund 72 (6)
2018– VfB Stuttgart 53 (5)
National team‡
2005 Spain U19 1 (0)
2006–2009 Germany U21 21 (3)
2007 Germany 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:42, 18 September 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 January 2017

Career

Bayer Leverkusen
Castro before coming on in a match in 2012

Born in Wuppertal to Spanish parents, he began his career with Post SV Wuppertal. Other clubs during his youth were Viktoria Rott and SV Bayer Wuppertal. In 1999, he moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. At 17, he played his first game for the Leverkusen senior team in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League.[3] In his first year, he played the last 13 matches of the season. He played 21 times in the 2005–06 season as a substitute. From 2006, Castro moved from midfield to the back four of Leverkusen and played with solid performances in the starting eleven. For four years in a row he largely held his place. Only in the 2010–11 season, he saw his place on the right side of defence contested by Daniel Schwaab. Since the 2012–13 season, Castro has again played in midfield.

Castro trained as a sports and fitness administrator at Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Borussia Dortmund

On 24 May 2015, it was announced that Castro would join Borussia Dortmund after a transfer release clause of 11 million was met, signing a four-year deal.[4] On 28 October, Castro scored a brace in a 7–1 win against Paderborn in the second round of the DFB-Pokal. On 29 November, Castro scored his first league goal for Dortmund in a 4–1 win over VfB Stuttgart.[5] On 20 April 2016, he was one of three goalscorers as Borussia won 3–0 away at Hertha BSC in the semi-final of the same competition to reach the 2016 DFB-Pokal Final.[6] In March 2017, the club extended his contract until 30 June 2020.[7]

VfB Stuttgart

On 29 June 2018, Castro signed a three-year-contract with VfB Stuttgart, enabling him to join the club on 1 July 2018.[8]

International career

In his youth, Castro was invited by the Spanish Football Federation to several courses.[9] He played a single match for a Spanish junior selection and chose at the age of 18 to play for the German Football Association.[10][11] Castro has played for the German national U-21 team at the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.[12] After three test caps at the beginning of 2006, Castro gained a place in the German squad for the finals of the U-21 European Championship 2006 in Portugal. There he delivered solid performances. His biggest footballing success was winning the U-21 Championship 2009 in Sweden under coach Horst Hrubesch. In a 4–0 victory in the final against England, Castro scored the first goal in the 23rd minute.

In the European Championship qualifier against the Czech Republic on 24 March 2007, Castro was called up to the senior squad for the first time and four days later, he made his debut against Denmark. This was followed by four more international appearances. Since then, Castro has never featured in the national squad.[3]

Career statistics
Castro with Borussia Dortmund in 2015
As of 18 September 2020
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOther1TotalRef.
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayer Leverkusen2004–05Bundesliga130001000140 [13]
2005–06210202010260[14]
2006–072631011010393[14]
2007–0833110110—451[15]
2008–0927260—332[16]
2009–1029110301[17]
2010–112331083326[18]
2011–123121080402[19]
2012–133163062408[20]
2013–143053060395[21]
2014–152223070322[22]
Totals286252206052037030—
Bayer Leverkusen II2005–06Regionalliga Nord103——103[14]
Borussia Dortmund2015–16Bundesliga25353111417[23]
2016–17283607110424[24]
2017–18190216010281[25]
Total7261342422011112—
VfB Stuttgart2018–19Bundesliga25210—20282[26]
2019–202. Bundesliga28330—313[27]
2020–21 Bundesliga 0000000000[28]
Total53540—20595—
Career totals421393948376053950—

Honours

Club
Bayer Leverkusen[29]
Borussia Dortmund

International
Germany U-21[30]

Individual

References
  1. https://www.bvb.de/eng/Teams/First-Team/Gonzalo-Castro
  2. Haslam, Andrew (14 June 2009). "Castro commits to nurture over nature". UEFA. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  3. "Gonzalo Castro profile". UEFA. Archived from the original on 21 June 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  4. "LEVERKUSEN'S CASTRO AGREES MOVE TO DORTMUND". Bundesliga.com. 24 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  5. "Borussia Dortmund 4–1 Stuttgart". BBC Sport. 29 November 2015.
  6. "Marco Reus drives Borussia Dortmund past Hertha Berlin to German Cup final". Deutsche Welle. 20 April 2016.
  7. "Borussia Dortmund verlängert Vertrag mit Gonzalo Castro". bvb.de. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  8. "VfB sign Gonzalo Castro". VfB Stuttgart. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  9. https://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/news/y=2005/m=3/news=blood-thicker-than-water-for-spanish-promise-castro-96758.html
  10. http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2009/06/13/mas_futbol/1244874431_850215.html
  11. http://www.sefutbol.com/en/today-its-catanhas-birthday-43-do-you-know-how-many-players-born-abroad-have-worn-spain-jersey
  12. "Castro entscheidet sich für Deutschland". Leverkusen.com. 10 November 2005. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  13. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  14. "Gonzalo Castro » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  15. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  16. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  17. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  18. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  19. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  20. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  21. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  22. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  23. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  24. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  25. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  26. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  27. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  28. "Gonzalo Castro". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  29. "G. Castro". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  30. Gartenschläger, Lars (6 June 2013). "Khedira, Özil, Neuer – Aufstieg der Euro-Helden" (in German). welt.de. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  31. "UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 20 May 2016.
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