Jesús Castro González

Jesús Castro

Personal information
Full name	Jesús Antonio Castro González
Date of birth	(1951-01-23)23 January 1951
Place of birth	Oviedo, Spain
Date of death
Place of death	Pechón, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1966–1968	Ensidesa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1968–1985	Sporting Gijón	417	(0)
International career
1971	Spain U23	4	(0)
1969–1974	Spain amateur	16	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Castro and the second or maternal family name is González.

Jesús Antonio Castro González (23 January 1951 – 26 July 1993) was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He appeared in 315 La Liga games during 14 seasons with his only club, Sporting de Gijón.

Club career

Born in Oviedo, Asturias, Castro spent his entire professional career with neighbouring club Sporting de Gijón, signing on 11 March 1968 from local amateurs CD Ensidesa. He amassed 64 Segunda División appearances in his first three seasons combined, including all 38 games in 1969–70 to help the team promote to La Liga as champions.

Castro made his debut in the top flight on 13 September 1970, in a 0–2 away loss against Celta de Vigo. He finished the campaign with 25 matches, in an eventual 12th-place finish.

From 1971 until 1985, Castro all but competed in the top level. Following the emergence of fellow youth graduate Juan Carlos Ablanedo and a herniated disc injury from which he never recovered and that led to him becoming the first Spanish player to be eligible for a disability grant, he retired at the age of 36; over the course of three separate editions, he appeared in eight UEFA Cup games.

Personal life

Castro's older brother, Enrique, was also a footballer. A striker, he too spent several years with Sporting, also representing FC Barcelona and Spain.

Death

On 26 July 1993, aged 42, Castro rescued two English boys from drowning in the beach of Pechón, in Cantabria. He died shortly after, in unclear circumstances.

Honours

• Segunda División: 1969–70, 1976–77

See also

• List of one-club men

External links

• Jesús Castro profile at BDFutbol