Osvaldo Castro

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Osvaldo Castro

| image =

| full_name = Osvaldo Castro Pelayo

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|04|14|df=y}}

| birth_place = Copiapó, Chile

| height = 1.71 m{{Cite web |last=Strack-Zimmermann |first=Benjamin |title=Osvaldo Castro (Player) |url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/21242/Osvaldo_Castro.html |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=www.national-football-teams.com |language=en}}

| position = Forward

| currentclub =

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1965–1968

| years2 = 1969–1971

| years3 = 1972–1975

| years4 = 1975–1978

| years5 = 1978

| years6 = 1979–1981

| years7 = 1981–1982

| years8 = 1983–1984

| clubs1 = Unión La Calera

| clubs2 = Deportes Concepción

| clubs3 = América

| clubs4 = Jalisco

| clubs5 = Universidad Católica

| clubs6 = Deportivo Neza

| clubs7 = Atlético Potosino

| clubs8 = Pumas UNAM

| caps1 = 95

| caps2 = 109

| caps3 = 88

| caps4 = 130

| caps5 = 5

| caps6 = 85

| caps7 = 36

| caps8 = 53

| goals1 = 71

| goals2 = 65

| goals3 = 45

| goals4 = 91

| goals5 = 0

| goals6 = 45

| goals7 = 24

| goals8 = 9

| totalcaps = 601

| totalgoals = 350

| nationalyears1 = 1966–1977

| nationalteam1 = Chile

| nationalcaps1 = 28

| nationalgoals1 = 7

| manageryears1 = 1984–

| managerclubs1 = Pumas UNAM (youth)

}}

Osvaldo Castro Pelayo (born 14 April 1947) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played league football for clubs in Chile and Mexico, as well as playing international football for the Chile national team.{{NFT player|21242|accessdate=}}

Career

Castro started his career Chilean club Unión La Calera in 1965, before joining Deportes Concepción.{{cite web |title=Osvaldo Castro: "Pata bendita" |url=https://apuntesderabona.com/osvaldo-castro-pata-bendita/ |website=Apuntes de Rabona |access-date=8 August 2022 |language=es |date=16 October 2021}} After three seasons he transferred to Mexican side Club América.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Castro joined Club Jalisco for the 1975–76 season, scoring 26 goals in 32 league appearances. In all he scored 91 league goals for the club in his four seasons with them. Following Jalisco's removal from the Primera División, Castro returned to Chile and joined Universidad Católica for about a month.{{cite web |last1=Vera Valdés |first1=Juan |title=Osvaldo "Pata bendita" Castro: "Sólo Deportes Concepción una vez me invitó a un homenaje" |url=https://www.adnradio.cl/futbol/2020/06/11/osvaldo-pata-bendita-castro-solo-deportes-concepcion-una-vez-me-invito-a-un-homenaje.html |website=ADN |publisher=ADN Radio Chile |access-date=8 August 2022 |language=es |date=11 June 2020}} Next, he joined Deportivo Neza in 1979–80, before moving on to Atlético Potosino for 1981/82. He played his last Mexican seasons with Pumas de la UNAM, finishing with them in 1983/84.[http://www.mediotiempo.com/jugador/osvaldo-castro&id_liga=1&id_torneo=136 Castro's Mexican career stats at mediotiempo]

He played for the Chile national team on four occasions during the 1978 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110727194306/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=47402/index.html FIFA Profile]

Following his retirement, he has worked as coach for the Pumas UNAM youth ranks.

Personal life

His nickname was Pata Bendita (Blessed Foot) since he was a young player, due to his strong shoots.{{cite web |last1=Navarrete |first1=Luis |last2=Fernández |first2=Denís |title=Osvaldo Castro: El genio de la pata bendita |url=https://www.latercera.com/noticia/osvaldo-castro-el-genio-de-la-pata-bendita/ |publisher=La Tercera |access-date=8 August 2022 |language=es |date=15 May 2016}}

Castro made his home in Mexico City, working as a football coach, also founding the Escuela de Fútbol Colo-Colo (Colo-Colo Football Academy), where footballers such as Pablo Barrera and Luis Pérez began their career. In addition, Castro worked for the American football team Los Angeles Rams, helping players to develop strong shoots.