Nicolás Castillo

Nicolás Castillo
Castillo with Chile in 2016
Personal information
Full name Nicolás Alfonso Castillo Mora
Date of birth (1993-02-14) 14 February 1993
Place of birth Santiago, Chile
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Benfica
Number 30
Youth career
2005–2011 Universidad Católica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Universidad Católica 52 (17)
2014–2016 Club Brugge 30 (10)
2015 → Mainz 05 (loan) 1 (0)
2015 → Frosinone (loan) 6 (0)
2016 → Universidad Católica (loan) 23 (24)
2017–2018 Pumas UNAM 32 (24)
2018– Benfica 0 (0)
National team‡
2013 Chile U20 11 (9)
2013– Chile 14 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 March 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 October 2018

Nicolás Ignacio Castillo Mora (born 14 February 1993) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a striker for Portuguese club Benfica and the Chile national team.

Club career

Universidad Católica

Castillo was born and raised in Renca, suburb of the capital Santiago.[2] During his childhood, he was part of Universidad Católica's supporter groups[2] and later joined the club's youth ranks when he was 12.[2][3]

In 2010, Castillo made a goalscorer debut against San Pedro de Atacama football team for a cup game, sealing a 10–0 thrash of Católica after scoring the tenth and last goal of it.[4]

In 2011, Castillo debuted professionally in a league match against Cobreloa, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute during a 2–0 win.[5] On 2 March 2012, he scored his first competitive goal in a 2–0 win over Rangers, again for a league match.[6]

As a result of his performance in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Castillo was linked with Premier League side Manchester United, where his compatriot Ángelo Henríquez was playing at the time. Despite the rumours surrounding his move, the transfer never materialised.[7]

Club Brugge

In January 2014, Universidad Católica reached an agreement to sell Castillo to Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge.[8] The move became official as Castillo signed for a fee of €3 million on a deal until 2018.[9] He scored in his debut for Club Brugge in a 3–1 win over Genk on 9 February 2014.[10] He struggled to score again but did so during the play-offs in the last game of the season against Zulte Waregem, with Brugge winning 2–0.[11]

On 9 November 2014, Castillo netted a hat-trick in Brugge's 5–0 home win over Westerlo.[12] On 28 January 2015, he was loaned to FSV Mainz 05 until the end of the season, with an option to buy.[13] On 7 April, having only made one substitute appearance for the Bundesliga club, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season with damage to his right knee ligaments.[14]

Later, on 28 August 2015, Castillo joined Italian side Frosinone on loan from Club Brugge until the end of the season.[15]

Pumas UNAM and Benfica

In 2017, Castillo joined Mexican club Pumas UNAM, where he spent one season before moving to S.L. Benfica in Portugal, signing a five-year contract on 4 June 2018.[16]

International career

Castillo was listed in the 21-man squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[17] In the tournament, he scored four goals, including an opener against Egypt, and was the top-scorer for Chile.[18]

Castillo made his debut for the Chile senior team on 23 March 2013 in a 1–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) away loss to Peru, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Jean Beausejour.[19]

In 2016, Castillo was nominated for the 2016 Copa América squad and was part of the Chilean victory in the tournament. He was subbed in the 104th minute of the final against Argentina, which Chile won 4–2 on penalties, where he converted the 3rd spot kick.

Career statistics

International

As of match played 8 June 2018[20]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Chile 201310
201400
201500
201671
201720
201840
Total141

Honours

Club

Universidad Católica

Club Brugge

International

Chile

References

  1. ↑ Profile at Pumas UNAM
  2. 1 2 3 Lagos Barahona, Felipe (23 June 2012). "De la galeria a la cancha Nicolás Castillo el delantero de la UC que juega "como hincha"". Emol. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Nace el Ibra Chileno". Goal.com. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Nicolás Castillo, el mejor de los mejores". Cruzados.cl. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  5. ↑ Universidad Católica vs. Cobreloa 2–0
  6. ↑ Universidad Católica vs. Rangers 2–0
  7. ↑ "Transfer news: No Man Utd bids yet for Chile U20 striker Nicolas Castillo". Sky Sports. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "Cruzados heeft principe-akkoord met Club Brugge over "Chileense Ibrahimovic"". Nieuwsblad. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Club Brugge betaalt drie miljoen euro voor Castillo". Nieuwsblad. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "krcgenk 1–3 club brugge kv". Nieuwsblad. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Club sluit seizoen af met 2-0 zege tegen Zulte Waregem". Official Website of Club Brugge. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Sterk Club Brugge legt ook Westerlo over de knie" [Strong Club Brugge puts Westerlo on its knees]. Sporza (in Dutch). 9 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Castillo joins on loan from Brugge". FSV Mainz 05. 28 January 2015. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Nicolás Castillo se pierde el resto de la temporada en el Mainz" [Nicolás Castillo to miss rest of season for Mainz] (in Spanish). La Tercera. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  15. ↑ http://football-italia.net/71756/brugges-castillo-frosinone
  16. ↑ Rebelo, Marco (4 June 2018). "Welcome, Castillo!". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  17. ↑ "Mundial Sub 20 Turquía 2013: Chile presentó lista de convocados". La Nueve. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  18. ↑ "Egypt lose to Chile in opening Under-20 group match". BBC Sport. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  19. ↑ Peru vs. Chile 1–0
  20. ↑ "Nicolás Castillo". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
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