There is no doubt that Diego Castro is if not the best player to wear the colours of Perth Glory, he is right up among the best.
Having just picked up his third “Most Glorious Player” award, he moves ahead of other two-time winners, Danny Hay and Scott Miller, but still has to achieve one more win to match local favourite Bobby Despotovski, who picked up the award in four seasons.
Despotovski also won two Championships with the club, no doubt something Castro is also hoping to have matched before he leaves, having signed a new two year deal to keep him at the club.
When one discusses players in terms of the who is the best it is of course subjective. Some may refer to statistics to make their case, the amount of games won, the amount of goals scored, or the amount of medals and trophies won while at the club. Yet often these are not a fair or true reflection of a player’s worth.
To many, to be afforded such an accolade a player must have had an influence on the club and the results that the club achieved during their time playing.
Bobby Despotovski and Damian Mori are two players frequently mentioned in unison as together they had a huge impact on the success the club achieved in the latter stages of the National Soccer League. Their goalscoring feats were the foundation upon which success was built. Their partnership was feared, they combined superbly to win games.
Diego Castro however has lit up NIB or HBF stadium since his arrival. As with Besart Berisha and Thomas Broich he has shown that a player on the fringes of top flight football in Europe can excel in the A-League.
It was former Glory assistant coach Andy Ord who was responsible for brining Diego Castro to Perth Glory. Ord who had been coaching in Thailand with Bec Tero Sasana, paid his own way to go to Spain and Portugal to boost his skills by visiting the top clubs and learning from the top coaches. Understandably during that time he built up a good group of contacts and it was through one of those contacts that Castro came to Perth Glory.
It is Castro’s individual brilliance and vision that shone through in his first season at the club. He could do things that few had witnessed in a purple shirt or even in the A-League. He was a true magician.
It may be unfair to say that his second season at the club was his worst. Aware of his abilities within the league, too often he tried to win games single-handedly. One could see him demanding the ball from players so that he could personally turn the game. Yet as time has gone on he has grown into that leadership, and a maturity has come to his game and how he can truly influence it.
This season, despite being hampered by injury may well have been his best. With a coach that managed his recovery well and used his ability perfectly, he shone brighter than ever. Coach Tony Popovic recognised that he had a diamond in his squad, but also no doubt realised that this player was an ageing one, and therefore needed to be managed carefully to get the best results.
He used Castro to suit his team’s needs best. How often did he inject him into the game as a substitute, and the tricky Spaniard with mercurial skill would unlock a tired heavy-footed defence with a well weighted precision pass that would level the scores or secure the Perth Glory a victory?
The measure of the player’s greatness has been how often he has managed to turn a game. People talk of del Piero being great for the A-league, commercially maybe, but in football terms he was dreadful. His best years when he could turn a game were well and truly behind him. Diego Castro in football terms has given the A-League far more. Here is a player that you genuinely get excited about once he is on the ball. You do not divert your eyes from the pitch, for fear of missing a moment of magic, a second of sublime skill. A feint that creates a metre of space to be exploited, that may result in a goal.
One of the aspects of Castro’s game that is a lesson for all is how rarely he plays an errant pass and how superbly weighted his passes and crosses are.
Let’s not forget this player never played International football. Invariably he was engaged in relegation battles in La Liga with a number of clubs. Yet he has come to Australia and has illuminated the A-League with his ability. We should never forget that his impact has been all about what he can do on the pitch. His lack of spoken english means that we rarely see him interviewed, and his persona on the pitch at times is best described as surly, as he hides his emotions and facial expressions under his beard. Yet the steely look in his eyes betrays the deep desire of a man who only thinks of winning.
He is a crowd favourite in Perth, and other fans across the country begrudgingly acknowledge his genius, and some secretly and sometimes openly admit they wish he wore the colours of their club.
He is clearly one of the best players Perth Glory has ever signed, and his play will be talked about for many years to come. Yet is his influence bigger than just at the club he signed for? Is he not one of the best players to have played in the A-League?
There have been some big name players who have headed to Australia to end their professional careers. There have been others like the aforementioned Berisha and Broich who had colossal impacts within the teams they played and on the competition. Yet did these players make you catch your breath the way Castro does? Did their abilities match his?
Is he the best player to have played in the A-League? If not it would be interesting to hear the case for those rated above him, and whose names crop up.
Whatever the case he has been a beacon in the League at a time when it truly needed a star. A star to guide the way forward in the League, to show what is possible and the type of players the league needs to pull in the fans. Fans want players to excite them, to give them moments to savour that will live on long after the final whistle has sounded. Only the special ones can do that, and Diego Castro is special.
