Nery Castillo Will Play for Mexico

Reports are emerging out of Greece that Mexican-born, Uruguayan-raised, and current Olympiacos forward Nery Castillo has decided to accept Hugo Sanchez’s call-up for the upcoming “friendly” between the US and Mexico.

Castillo, 23, has played well with Rivaldo (yes, he is still playing, and could even be coming to Necaxa), as they have led the Greek squad to the top of the table. He has been approached not only by Uruguay (his father was an uruguayan pro playing in Mexico), but also by Greece to be considered by their national sides. In fact, the greeks had gone as far as to pony up some dough to convince Castillo that Greece was where his national team future lay.

Mexico had also contacted Castillo during the La Volpe regime, but the FEMEXFUT only would consider him for under-23 duty, which Castillo rejected. Along come the Pentapichichi, who could only offer Nery the opportunity the honor of representing the country of his birth, which he ultimately accepted.

I am very excited to see Castillo “ponerse la verde” in Arizona. Mexico has never been one to score a lot of goals unless the opponent is Dominica, so I welcome every opportunity to see what this gifted goal scorer can do. Castillo will be part of the European contingency that will be called up for the match, including Rafael Marquez, Carlos Salcido, Pavel Pardo, and Ricardo Osorio. Amazingly, Guille Franco will probably not be called.