On March 7th, 2011, FC Dallas signed Fabián Castillo from Colombia's Deportivo Cali for a reported $800K transfer fee. Castillo was just 18 years old at the time of the acquisition. The speedy winger starred for Dallas from 2011-2013, up until the time in which this series starts. Coincidentally, that is also when Castillo truly broke out. This 2011 Castillo highlight reel from FC Dallas perfectly encapsulates the type of player he is, a showcase of pure confidence, dribbling, and skill. He had already scored double digit goals and assists in his MLS career prior to the 2014 season.
In the very first match eligible for this list, Castillo scored against the Montreal Impact. Je-Vaughn Watson flicked a ball into the box that Castillo was able to run onto and open his account on the season. Despite his ability to score goals, many of his contributions are the type of plays that don't show up on the scoresheet, as is the case for many skilled wingers. Two games later, Castillo scored against, here's a throwback for you, Chivas USA. Hendry Thomas knocked down a header that Castillo steered home under goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
Then, between June 7th and August 22nd, Fabián Castillo embarked on one of the best goal scoring stretches this series will likely see. He scored 10 goals in 10 matches, adding 4 assists across MLS and US Open Cup play. The goal he scored to kick the streak off against Colorado was absolutely gorgeous, as he dribbled four defenders before roofing his shot, a game-winning goal. In ESPN's MLS Game of the Week against Portland a few days later, Castillo brought it down with his chest and cleanly finished towards the back stick. In a brace against the San Jose Earthquakes on August 16th, Fabian Castillo scored a goal that very few players could have. As if he had some sort of speed boost, Castillo caught up to San Jose defender Jason Hernandez on a deflected ball in behind, before keeping his balance, avoiding Hernandez's recovery attempt, then masterfully chipping goalkeeper Jon Busch. Even though this wasn't his second goal of the match, that came later, watch as Castillo takes on four defenders with his dribbling, allowing Tesho Akindele to follow it up with an easy rebound goal. His second goal did come the next time around, as he once again got one-on-one against Jason Hernandez, who likely had Castillo in his nightmares. Castillo changed his pace in the box, took a sharp cut, and then put a tidy finish in the bottom corner. The best way to describe Fabian Castillo's game is that he simply makes it look easy. As is the case with many of the highlights that will be shown in this article, Castillo picks the ball up very far from goal, shortens that distance exponentially, then sticks the ball in the back of the net. He did just that against Real Salt Lake. He finished the season with 10 goals and 4 assists, with another 4 and 2 in the Open Cup.
In 2015, it was more of the same Castillo magic. He got it started early once again, rounding the keeper and scoring from a Ryan Hollingshead pass against SKC. On April 18th, Castillo absolutely terrorized Toronto FC. Literally straight off the kickoff, as if this were FIFA, he ran in behind and chipped Joe Bendik inside of 30 seconds. Before ten minutes had passed, Castillo cut in on the right foot and curled it into the far corner, 2-0 FC Dallas. They fended off a Giovinco comeback attempt to win 3-2. He had another great match on May 1st against Houston. This first clip shows just how much attention he attracted from defenders, pulling two towards him and instead making an easy pass and assist. Later in the fixture, he used his signature outside of the boot setup dribble before slamming a creative shot into the side netting. Castillo scored in three consecutive games in late June and early July. He then score a game-winner against DC United after taking a one-game break from scoring. Castillo scored and assisted 9 a piece. He was named a 2015 MLS All-Star. He was also named to the 2015 Best XI. FC Dallas won the Western Conference with ease, entering the playoffs as the #1 seed. In their first match of the playoffs, Castillo made a streaking run to score. They beat Seattle in a wildly intense aggregate series, Seattle exacting revenge the next season. FC Dallas went out to Portland, the eventual champions, in the Western Conference Final.
In 2016, Castillo entered his last season in Major League Soccer. Just 21 minutes into the brand new season, he sprinted behind Philadelphia's backline, megging Andre Blake. Dallas then proceeded into a hilarious celebration, as the likes of Castillo, Maxi Urruti, Michael Barrios, Mauro Diaz, Kellyn Acosta, and Carlos Gruezo rowed the boat together. In an April match against Portland, Castillo pulled off yet another chip, this time of Adam Kwarasey. Despite all of these mouthwatering highlights, he left MLS with his best highlight of all. In literally his last MLS game ever, unless he was to return one day, Castillo chipped a ball between two defenders before stepping into the box and executing the most inch-perfect rabona cross you will ever see. It sat right on the head of Maxi Urruti, who powered it home. Castillo played one last game for Dallas, a US Open Cup Quarterfinal against Houston. His send off was a match-winning solo goal in stoppage time, and Dallas eventually went on to win the US Open Cup in 2016.
In somewhat of a shocking move for Dallas fans, and a very strange transfer saga, Castillo joined Turkey's Trabzonspor on loan for $3m upfront on August 4th. In January, Trabzonspor made the loan a permanent deal for an additional $1-1.5m. He made 38 appearances there before leaving for Liga MX's Tijuana. Since, he has been on loan in Mexico, and now in Chile with Colo Colo. He hasn't been able to find the same success as he had with FC Dallas, it makes you wonder where he'd be if he had spent more time in the States. He actually admitted a few years later that he wished he stayed in Dallas longer, and regretted forcing the move to Turkey so soon. Regardless, Fabian Castillo was a walking highlight reel in MLS, placing him at #86 in the ranking.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2016 | DAL | 1,752 | 5 | 5 |
2015 | DAL | 2,559 | 9 | 9 |
2014 | DAL | 2,282 | 10 | 4 |
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