Fabian Castillo is back with Club Tijuana for the 2020-21 Liga MX season, and the Colombian winger is uncovering the form that delighted FC Dallas and MLS fans alike this past decade.
Castillo, who spent 2011-16 with FC Dallas, starred for Xolos Friday evening in a 2-1 victory over CF Monterrey, the defending Concacaf Champions League winners. Both goals came in vintage Castillo fashion, as he combined speed and opportunism in the 3rd and 54th minutes to cancel out a one-time finish from Rogelio Funes Mori.
Check out Castillo’s goals below from Matchday 8, with his early toe-poke starting at the 18-second mark and his counter-attack dink starting at 3:03.
Castillo, 28, was a force for FC Dallas, scoring 34 goals and adding 30 assists across 159 MLS matches upon arriving from Deportivo Cali in his native Colombia. That generated overseas interest and a prolonged transfer saga to Turkish club Trabzonspor, first on loan in 2016 and then on a permanent basis in 2017. He had three goals and six assists in 48 matches across all competitions at Trabzonspor, only for injuries to take their toll.
Seeking a new opportunity, Castillo shipped to Mexico in 2018 and joined Club Tijuana, overlapping with now-Orlando City SC head coach Oscar Pareja, his former manager in Dallas. Castillo also played alongside now-LA Galaxy midfielder Joe Corona and now-New England Revolution forward Gustavo Bou while with Xolos. Another teammate was ex-Chivas USA (now defunct) forward Miller Bolanos.
Castillo spent the 2019-20 season with Queretaro FC in Liga MX, though clearly reached another level against Monterrey. What a performance.
