Maykel Galindo Castañeda (born January 28, 1981, in Villa Clara) is a Cuban former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Career

International

A rising star in the youth ranks of the Cuba national team, he made his debut in a January 2002 friendly match against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. Galindo then made the senior squad for the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious i ...

, to be played in the United States. He has earned a total of 35 caps, scoring 12 goals. He represented his country in 3 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and played at 3

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

final tournaments.

Defection

After scoring in a 3–1 loss to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, Galindo sought asylum in the United States and successfully defected in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. In an interview with Irish radio show Team 33 on Newstalk, he said of his defection: "I made my decision when I went to United States and thought 'I'm not going back to Cuba'. I remember when I called my Mum, I said 'Mum, I'm not going back. I'm going to stay here, fighting'. She's crying but at the end of the day, she said 'You're my son, you're going to be alone over there. Take care, we support you with whatever you do'. And it's been almost 12 years." He confirmed that he had made his first visit to Cuba for more than 11 years in the Autumn of 2016.

Professional

Galindo signed with Seattle Sounders of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

in 2005 but struggled through injuries during his two seasons there. He then signed with

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

prior to the 2007 season and became a regular starter for Chivas. On April 21, 2007, Galindo scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the match in a 4–0 win over

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

. He remained with the club through the 2010 season, though he was briefly loaned to

FC Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier ...

of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

in 2010. A new regime hired by Chivas USA before the 2011 season deemed Galindo expendable and his contract option was declined on January 21, 2011. He spent the 2011 preseason training with

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

though Chivas USA still held his rights. FC Dallas finally traded a

Supplemental draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

pick for his rights and signed him on April 1, 2011. Galindo stayed with FC Dallas for the 2011 campaign. At season's end, the club declined his 2012 contract option, and he entered the

2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 5, 2011 (Stage 1) and December 12, 2011 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs participated. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the traditional Wai ...

. Galindo was not selected in the draft and became a free agent.

Honours

Seattle Sounders

Champion (1):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galindo, Maykel 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Villa Clara Province Defecting Cuban footballers Men's association football forwards Cuban men's footballers Cuba men's international footballers Villa Clara (football club) players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Chivas USA players Tampa Bay Rowdies players FC Dallas players Orange County SC players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Cuban expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Cuban expatriate sportspeople in the United States USL First Division players Major League Soccer players USSF Division 2 Professional League players USL Championship players