Casto Espinosa Barriga (born 18 June 1982), known simply as Casto, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Club career Born in Pueblonuevo del Guadiana, Province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Casto spent four years at local Mérida (formative years included), making seven league appearances for the seniors in the Segunda División B. In 2003, he moved to Logroñés where he played one season before joining Albacete of Segunda División, featuring in one match for the first team in 2005–06.
Casto signed with Real Betis in the summer of 2006, where he initially began as third-choice behind Pedro Contreras and Toni Doblas. With the arrival of Portuguese international Ricardo in the following campaign, it seemed as though he would be provided with little opportunity to shine, even with Contreras' departure. However, after a serious injury to Doblas, he was called up from the reserves; after Ricardo also went down with a minor ailment, he made his debut in La Liga on 16 December 2007, in a 3–1 home win against Almería.
In March and April 2008 Casto, who eventually overtook Ricardo as starter after the latter's recovery, featured in Betis' first three back-to-back victories in over two years, with wins over Osasuna, Barcelona and Real Zaragoza. In his first five games his team won four, with the player keeping clean sheets in three.
As coach, Paco Chaparro stayed on the bench for 2008–09 and Casto won the battle for first-choice over Ricardo, being the undisputed starter during the early stages, a situation which would revert midway through the season. He started often after Ricardo's departure to Leicester City, only being overtaken by Adrián in 2012–13.
Casto left the Verdiblancos after his contract expired, and resumed his career in the second tier, representing Real Murcia, Las Palmas, Almería, Alcorcón and Extremadura. With the latter side, he spent the first half of the 2018–19 campaign unregistered as they had surpassed the agreed salary cap.
With Extremadura back in division three, Casto was released in January 2022 due to the club's severe financial problems. The following month, the 39-year-old announced his retirement.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMérida2001–02Segunda División B300010402002–033010—40Total60101080Logroñés2003–04Segunda División B0000—00Albacete2004–05La Liga0000—002005–06Segunda División1000—10Total10000010Betis2006–07La Liga0000—002007–089040—1302008–0918000—1802009–10Segunda División0010—102010–1117060—2302011–12La Liga22000—2202012–135060—110Total71017000880Murcia2013–14Segunda División4100020430Las Palmas2014–15Segunda División3001010320Almería2015–16Segunda División36000—3602016–1741000—410Total7700000770Alcorcón2017–18Segunda División39000—390Extremadura2018–19Segunda División17000—1702019–2038000—3802020–21Segunda División B19010—200Total7401000750Career total3520200403760
Honours Betis Segunda División: 2010–11
References
External links