Mirko Castillo (born August 30, 1962) is a Peruvian footballer who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, spending his entire professional career in the United States. He played two seasons in the American Soccer League, tying

Ricardo Alonso Ricardo Alonso (born 21 March 1957) is a former soccer player who began as a forward before moving to defender later in his career. Alonso spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in Major Indoor Soccer League, at least thr ...

as the 1990 league leading scorer. He then played two seasons in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

and over a dozen years playing in five indoor leagues.

Outdoor

Although Castillo began playing soccer in Peru, including time on the

Alianza Lima Club Alianza Lima, more commonly known as simply Alianza Lima, is a Peru, Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District, Lima, La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. The club was founded under the name of Sport Alianza on February ...

youth teams, he moved to the United States in 1988 to sign with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

of the American Soccer League. In 1989, he moved to the Miami Sharks where he tied

as the league's leading scorer with ten goals. However, he finished second to Alonso in the points standings. In 1990, the ASL merged with the

Western Soccer League The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...

to form the

. That summer, Castillo played for both the

Tampa Bay Rowdies 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 tie ...

and the

Washington Diplomats The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. A ...

in the APSL. In the summer of 1991, he returned to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, but played only two games with the team.

Indoor

Castillo began his indoor soccer career with the

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978 in sports, 1978, 1979 in sports, 1979, and 1980 in sports, 1980 seasons and p ...

of the National Professional Soccer League in 1989. The Rogues traded him to the

Chicago Power The Chicago Power were an indoor soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, that competed in the American Indoor Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League. After the 1995–96 season, the team was sold to Peter Pocklington, m ...

in mid-December. He spent two seasons in Chicago before moving to the

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) where he had three goals and one assist in six games. After being released by St. Louis he was signed by the San Diego Sockers on December 6, 1991. In 1992, the MISL collapsed and Castillo moved back to the Chicago Power. Castillo played the 1992–1993 season, but was released by the Power in the summer of 1993 after he engaged in several heated confrontations with head coach

Pato Margetic Patricio "Pato" Germán Margetic (born May 17, 1960, in Avellaneda, Argentina) is a former Argentine footballer. He began his career in Argentina before playing five seasons in the North American Soccer League, as well as the Major Indoor Soccer ...

.Zieh, Len ''Power Fires Rojas; Castillo Back''; Chicago Sun-Times; January 7, 1994
/ref> On January 8, 1994, the Power shuffled its coaching staff and signed Castillo for the remainder of the season. That summer, he joined the

Houston Hotshots The Houston Hotshots are a professional indoor soccer team in Houston, Texas. They play in the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) From 1994 to 1997 and 2000–2001, the Houston Hotshots were a full professional indoor soccer team in Houston ...

of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

, a summer indoor league. He moved to the

Arizona Sandsharks Arizona Sandsharks was a U.S. indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). It was founded in 1992 and folded in 1997, along with the CISL. Club history The Sandsharks were founded on August 3, 1992, under the o ...

for the 1994 CISL season, scoring 23 goals. In the fall of 1995, he signed with the

Detroit Rockers The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team in the National Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 2001. They played in Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit, Michigan, as well as The Palace of Auburn Hills and Compuware Sports ...

, playing the 1995–1996 NPSL season. In 1996, Castillo began the summer indoor season with the

Seattle SeaDogs The Seattle SeaDogs were an indoor soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. They played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from 1995 to 1997 with home games at Mercer Arena and KeyArena. The team were owned by the ...

of the CISL, but was waived on July 25, 1996. In September, he signed with the Indiana Twisters. He played the rest of the 1996 season in Indiana and the entire 1997 CISL season there. At the end of the 1997 season, the Twisters and CISL collapsed and in September 1997 the Edmonton Drillers selected Castillo in the supplemental draft. Castillo did not sign with the Drillers, but moved to the

Baltimore Spirit The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 cha ...

for the 1997–1998 season. On February 5, 1998 the Spirit waived Castillo. He then played the 1998–1999 season with the Montreal Impact in the NPSL. He was back with the

in the summer of 1999. This time, the Hotshots were in the

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States–based indoor soccer sports league, league that operated from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its te ...

. That fall, he signed with the St. Louis Ambush of the NPSL, but played only three games.

Coaching

Beginning in 1998, Castillo has held numerous positions as a director of coaching, coach and trainer with several youth soccer clubs in the Houston area.

External links

Career Overview

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Mirko 1962 births Living people Footballers from Lima Peruvian men's footballers Peruvian expatriate men's footballers American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American soccer coaches Arizona Sandsharks players Baltimore Spirit players Chicago Power players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Detroit Rockers players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Houston Hotshots players Indiana Twisters players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Memphis Rogues players Miami Freedom players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Seattle SeaDogs players St. Louis Storm players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Washington Diplomats (1988–1990) players World Indoor Soccer League players Men's association football forwards 20th-century Peruvian sportsmen