Manuel Castellano Castro (born 27 March 1989), commonly known as Lillo, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a full-back.

Lillo
Personal information
Full name Manuel Castellano Castro[1]
Date of birth (1989-03-27) 27 March 1989 (age 35)[1]
Place of birth Aspe, Spain
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Full-back
Youth career
Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Valencia B 45 (0)
2008–2009Murcia (loan) 11 (0)
2010 Valencia 1 (0)
2010–2012 Almería B 44 (0)
2010 Almería 2 (0)
2012–2013 Alcoyano 23 (0)
2013–2016 Eibar 67 (0)
2016–2017 Sporting Gijón 25 (1)
2017–2020 Osasuna 60 (0)
2020 Maccabi Haifa 1 (0)
2020–2021 Numancia 18 (0)
2021–2023 Alcoyano 63 (0)
2023–2024 San Fernando 17 (0)
International career
2006 Spain U17 9 (0)
2007–2008 Spain U19 6 (0)
2009 Spain U20 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:50, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

Club career

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Born in Aspe, Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Lillo began his career with local Valencia CF, playing three seasons with the reserves. In 2006–07 and 2009–10, he totalled 23 appearances, with the team being relegated from Segunda División B on both occasions.[2][3] In between, he spent the 2008–09 campaign on loan at Real Murcia CF,[4] playing only 13 competitive games as the club finished 14th in the Segunda División.[5]

On 21 March 2010, Lillo appeared in his first official match with the main squad, featuring the first 45 minutes of a 2–0 La Liga home win against UD Almería.[6] In late May, as his contract with Valencia was expiring, he signed with Elche CF;[7] however, due to a mistake from his agent, the move was declared void and, two months later, he joined Almería.[8]

Lillo spent the vast majority of his first season with the Andalusians with the B side in the third tier, making three appearances for the first team. In November 2012, the free agent joined another side in that league, CD Alcoyano.[9]

On 18 July 2013, Lillo moved to SD Eibar, recently promoted to the second division.[10] He played 26 matches in his debut campaign, with the club being promoted to the top flight for the first time ever, and on 11 July 2014 renewed his link for a further year.[11]

Lillo agreed to an extension at the Basque team on 31 December 2014, until 2017.[12] On 5 July 2016, he mutually agreed to terminate his contract,[13] and signed a two-year deal with Sporting de Gijón hours later.[14] He scored his only goal in the main division on 15 January 2017, but in a 2–3 home loss to Eibar.[15]

On 1 September 2017, the free agent Lillo joined second-tier CA Osasuna on a two-year contract.[16]

Career statistics

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As of match played 9 May 2021[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Murcia (loan) 2008–09 Segunda División 11 0 2 0 13 0
Valencia 2009–10 La Liga 1 0 0 0 1 0
Almería 2010–11 La Liga 2 0 1 0 3 0
2011–12 Segunda División 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
Alcoyano 2012–13 Segunda División B 23 0 0 0 2[a] 0 25 0
Eibar 2013–14 Segunda División 26 0 2 0 28 0
2014–15 La Liga 31 0 2 0 33 0
2015–16 10 0 3 0 13 0
Total 67 0 7 0 0 0 74 0
Sporting Gijón 2016–17 La Liga 25 1 1 0 26 1
2017–18 Segunda División 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 25 1 1 0 0 0 26 1
Osasuna 2017–18 Segunda División 37 0 1 0 38 0
2018–19 19 0 1 0 20 0
2019–20 La Liga 4 0 0 0 4 0
Total 60 0 2 0 0 0 62 0
Maccabi Haifa 2019–20 Israeli Premier League 1 0 0 0 1 0
Numancia 2020–21 Segunda División B 18 0 2 0 20 0
Career total 208 1 15 0 2 0 225 1

Honours

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Eibar

Osasuna

Spain U20

References

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  1. ^ a b c Lillo at AS.com (in Spanish)  
  2. ^ "El descenso del filial, un error innecesario" [Reserves' relegation, unneeded mistake] (in Spanish). Levante-EMV. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  3. ^ "La victoria del Espanyol B certifica el descenso del Mestalla a Tercera" [Espanyol B win confirms Mestalla's relegation to Tercera] (in Spanish). Levante-EMV. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Lillo: "Vengo al Murcia a crecer como futbolista"" [Lillo: "I come to Murcia to grow as a footballer"] (in Spanish). La Verdad. 2 August 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  5. ^ "El club anuncia el fichaje de Amado, Lillo y Arturo" [Club announces signing of Amado, Lillo and Arturo] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  6. ^ Valencia 2–0 Almeria; ESPN Soccernet, 21 March 2010
  7. ^ El Elche ficha a Lillo (Elche sign Lillo) Archived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine; Info Expres, 27 May 2010 (in Spanish)
  8. ^ Lillo, ex del Valencia, ficha por filial (Lillo, formerly with Valencia, signs with reserves); Diario de Almería, 26 August 2010 (in Spanish)
  9. ^ Alcoyano cierra la plantilla con el fichaje de Manuel Castellano 'Lillo' (Alcoyano close roster with signing of Manuel Castellano 'Lillo'); Diario Información, 9 November 2012 (in Spanish)
  10. ^ El Eibar refuerza su zaga con el lateral Lillo, del Alcoyano (Eibar bolster defence with full-back Lillo, from Alcoyano); El Correo, 18 July 2013 (in Spanish)
  11. ^ Presentación oficial de Lillo y Jaime Jiménez (Official presentation of Lillo and Jaime Jiménez); SD Eibar, 11 July 2014 (in Spanish)
  12. ^ "Lillo renueva por dos temporadas más por la SD Eibar" [Lillo renews for two further seasons with SD Eibar] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  13. ^ "SD SD Eibar y el jugador Manuel Castellano, conocido como Lillo, acuerdan rescindir contrato" [SD Eibar and Manuel Castellano, known as Lillo, agree to contract termination] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Lillo será presentado mañana a las 12.15 horas en Mareo" [Lillo will be presented tomorrow at 12.15 in Mareo] (in Spanish). Sporting Gijón. 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  15. ^ "2–3. El Eibar se aprovecha de los errores defensivos del Sporting" [2–3. Eibar profit from Sporting's defensive mistakes] (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  16. ^ "El Club Atlético Osasuna se refuerza con Lillo" [Club Atlético Osasuna bolster with Lillo] (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  17. ^ a b c Lillo at Soccerway
  18. ^ ITA – ESP 1:2 (0:0) Archived 15 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine; Pescara 2009, 4 July 2009
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