Gonzalo Castro

German footballer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gonzalo Castro

Gonzalo Castro Randón (born 11 June 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.[2] He is also a former Germany international.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...
Gonzalo Castro
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Castro with VfB Stuttgart in 2018
Personal information
Full name Gonzalo Castro Randón
Date of birth (1987-06-11) 11 June 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Wuppertal, Germany
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7+12 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder, Centre-back
Youth career
Post SV Wuppertal
Viktoria Rott
–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)
2018–2021 VfB Stuttgart 79 (9)
2021–2022 Arminia Bielefeld 12 (1)
2025- Roland Bürrig
Total 459 (44)
International career
2005 Spain U19 1 (0)
2006–2009 Germany U21 21 (3)
2007 Germany 5 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner2009 Sweden
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
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Club career

Summarize
Perspective

Bayer Leverkusen

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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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] He played 21 times in the 2005–06 season as a substitute.[citation needed] From 2006, Castro moved from midfield to the back four of Leverkusen and played with solid performances in the starting eleven.[citation needed] For four consecutive seasons 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.[citation needed]

Castro trained as a sports and fitness administrator at Bayer 04 Leverkusen.[citation needed]

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]

Arminia Bielefeld

On 21 December 2021, Castro signed for Arminia Bielefeld on a contract until the end of the season with an option to extend the deal for a further year.[9]

In September 2022, after his contract with Arminia was not renewed, Castro announced his retirement from professional football.[10]

International career

In his youth, Castro was invited by the Spanish Football Federation to several courses.[11] He played a single match for a Spanish junior selection and chose at the age of 18 to play for the German Football Association.[12][13] Castro has played for the German national U-21 team at the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.[14] 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.[citation needed]

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. Following this, Castro would never again feature in the national squad.[3]

Career statistics

Club

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Castro with Borussia Dortmund in 2015
More information Club, Season ...
Club Season League DFB-Pokal Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayer Leverkusen 2004–05[15] Bundesliga 130001[a]000140
2005–06[16] Bundesliga 210202[b]01[c]0260
2006–07[16] Bundesliga 2631011[b]01[c]0393
2007–08[17] Bundesliga 3311011[b]0451
2008–09[18] Bundesliga 27260332
2009–10[19] Bundesliga 29110301
2010–11[20] Bundesliga 233108[d]3326
2011–12[21] Bundesliga 312108[a]0402
2012–13[22] Bundesliga 316306[d]2408
2013–14[23] Bundesliga 3053060395
2014–15[24] Bundesliga 222307[a]0322
Total 286252206052037030
Bayer Leverkusen II 2005–06[16] Regionalliga Nord 103103
Borussia Dortmund 2015–16[25] Bundesliga 2535311[d]1417
2016–17[26] Bundesliga 283607[a]11[e]0424
2017–18[27] Bundesliga 19021601[e]0281
Total 7261342422011112
VfB Stuttgart 2018–19[28] Bundesliga 252102[f]0282
2019–20[29] 2. Bundesliga 28330313
2020–21[30] Bundesliga 2642000284
Total 7996020879
Arminia Bielefeld 2021–22[31] Bundesliga 12100121
Career total 459444148476059055
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  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Cup
  3. Appearance in DFL-Ligapokal
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearance in DFL-Supercup
  6. Appearances in Bundesliga relegation play-offs

Honours

Bayer Leverkusen[32]

Borussia Dortmund

Germany U21[33]

Individual

References

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