André Castro
Encyclopedia
André Castro Pereira known as Castro, is a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 footballer who plays for Sporting de Gijón
Sporting de Gijón
Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club from Gijón, Asturias. Founded in 1 June 1905, it currently plays in Spanish first division....

 on loan from F.C. Porto, as a central midfielder.

Club career

Castro joined F.C. Porto's youth system at the age of 11, from hometown's Gondomar SC
Gondomar S.C.
Gondomar Sport Clube is a Portuguese football club based in Gondomar, Porto District. Founded on 1 May 1921, it currently plays in the Portuguese third division, holding home games at Estádio de São Miguel, with a capacity of 5,000 spectators.-History:...

. In 2007, he helped the team conquer the junior championship.

On 2 February 2008, Castro made his first-team - and top division - debut, replacing Paulo Assunção
Paulo Assunção
Paulo Assunção da Silva , known as Assunção, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid in La Liga, as a defensive midfielder....

 for the last 11 minutes of a 4–0 home win against U.D. Leiria, and appeared in a further two official games during the season.

In the following two seasons, he played with S.C. Olhanense, on loan, helping the Algarve side returned to the top level after an absence of more than 30 years in his first season
2008–09 Liga de Honra
The 2008–09 Liga de Honra season is the nineteenth since its establishment. Trofense are the defending champions.-Teams promoted to Liga de Honra:*Oliveirense*Sporting Covilhã-League table:-Summary:...

, and being named the country's Best Young Player in his second, where he scored six goals in 28 games as his team retained its division status.

Castro returned to Porto for 2010–11, but was soon deemed surplus to requirements by new manager André Villas-Boas, as practically all Portuguese players. In January 2011, after having amassed 106 minutes in six official games, he was loaned to Sporting de Gijón
Sporting de Gijón
Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club from Gijón, Asturias. Founded in 1 June 1905, it currently plays in Spanish first division....

 in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, making his La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 debut on the 23rd, playing one minute in a 1–0 home win against Atlético Madrid.

However, Castro managed to feature regularly for the Asturians
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...

 during his spell, starting in 11 games and scoring against RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....

 (4–0, away) and Getafe CF
Getafe CF
Getafe Club de Fútbol is a Spanish La Liga football club based in Getafe, a city in the Madrid metropolitan area, founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983.In the top level since 2004-05, it holds home games at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez....

 (2–0 at home), in an eventual escape from relegation
2010–11 La Liga
The 2010–11 La Liga season was the 80th since its establishment. The campaign began on 28 August 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011. A total of 20 teams contested the league, 17 of which already contested in the 2009–10 season and three of which were promoted from the Segunda División...

.

In mid-August 2011, another loan spell was arranged between Porto and Gijón.

International career

Castro gained 60 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 for Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...

 all youth levels combined, including 19 for under-21s
Portugal national under-21 football team
The Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation . They are nicknamed "Esperanças." Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugal's hopes for the future...

.

On 10 August 2011, he was called by the full side for a friendly with Luxembourg
Luxembourg national football team
The Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. The team play most of their home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel, in Luxembourg.- History :...

, but remained an unused substitute.

Honours

Porto
  • UEFA Europa League: 2010–11
  • Portuguese League: 2007–08, 2010–11
  • Portuguese Cup
    Taça de Portugal
    The Taça de Portugal is the main Portuguese national football knock-out competition. The tournament has been officially known as the Taça de Portugal Millennium since 2008, due to its sponsorship by Portuguese private bank Millennium BCP. It has occurred on a yearly basis since 1938 and is...

    : 2010–11
    2010–11 Taça de Portugal
    The 2010–11 Taça de Portugal, also known as Taça de Portugal Millennium for sponsorship reasons, is the 71st season of the Taça de Portugal. A total of 172 clubs from all four tiers of Portuguese football took part in this tournament...

  • Portuguese Supercup: 2010
    2010 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
    The 2010 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira is the 32nd Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Portuguese Liga and Portuguese Cup competitions. Played at Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, Aveiro, on 7 August 2010, and contested by league...

    , 2011
    2011 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
    The 2011 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira was the 33rd edition of the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, the annual Portuguese football season-opening match contested by the winners of the previous season's top league and cup competitions...



Olhanense
  • Second Division
    Liga de Honra
    The Liga de Honra , known for sponsorship reasons as the Liga Orangina, is the Portuguese second level football league. It was formerly called Segunda Divisão and Segunda Divisão de Honra . When the LPFP took control of the two nationwide levels, it was renamed Segunda Liga, before renaming it...

    : 2008–09
    2008–09 Liga de Honra
    The 2008–09 Liga de Honra season is the nineteenth since its establishment. Trofense are the defending champions.-Teams promoted to Liga de Honra:*Oliveirense*Sporting Covilhã-League table:-Summary:...


External links

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