Gonzalo Castro Emerges as Borussia Dortmund Thrash Augsburg

Borussia Dortmund beat FC Augsburg 5-1 on Sunday, with a number of brilliant individual performances stealing the spotlight.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his second hat-trick in four days and has people such as World Soccer Talk's Dan Adu-Gyamfi wondering whether the Gabonese should be considered among the very best strikers in the game.

Marco Reus bagged a brace and thus ended the talk about his lack of form. Shinji Kagawa assisted three goals, ending his slump of four games without contributing to a goal in the Bundesliga.

One man whose display against the hapless Swabians didn't produce the kind of buzz it deserved is Gonzalo Castro. 

The 28-year-old didn't enjoy the best start to his Dortmund career after making the move to the Ruhr area from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.

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Man is a creature of habit, and the former Germany international looked like a prime example of that adage. Castro arrived at Leverkusen at the age of 12 and spent his entire career before the summer at the club, making an astounding 370 appearances in a Leverkusen shirt.

In black and yellow, however, Castro struggled to make any kind of impact before Sunday. Acquiring him for €11 million was widely regarded as a shrewd move by Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc, as Castro was seen as a replacement, per Ruhr Nachrichten, for Ilkay Gundogan, who was expected to leave the club in the summer.

When Gundogan changed his mind and extended his contract for another year, the outlook changed for Castro: He went from being a full-time starter at Leverkusen to a stopgap at Dortmund.

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Having to digest that demotion would at least explain his sluggish, uninspired start at Dortmund.

Sunday marked his seventh start in Dortmund's 18 games so far and only his third in the Bundesliga. Those numbers can't be satisfactory for a midfielder who started 335 of his 370 games for Leverkusen, according to Transfermarkt.

It was his first performance that showed head coach Thomas Tuchel he can rely on Castro. 

Tuchel deployed Castro on the right side of the attack in "a very variable 4-3-3 system," as the club's website put it. The midfielder showed his versatility throughout the 71 minutes he spent on the pitch, often switching positions with Reus and Kagawa.

ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko analysed Castro's performance: "[He] played in all three positions in offensive midfield throughout the game and impressed with key-passes and pre-assists. A confirmed alternative as of Matchday 10."

Castro's biggest contribution to Dortmund's comfortable win came in the 18th minute. After a dummy from Gundogan got him the little bit of space he needed, Castro found the Germany international with a lovely weighted ball he hit first time while contorting his body to get the angle right. It was the kind of ingenious, creative spark Castro had yet to show his new supporters. 

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Aubameyang makes it 1-0 to Dortmund against Ausburg #soccer https://t.co/g1Q5ZiGy6A

— Score Soccer (@scoresoccer) October 25, 2015"

On the whole, the 28-year-old looked much more lively and positive than he previously had at Dortmund, like a burden was lifted from his shoulders. He got a standing ovation upon his substitution, and Deutsche Welle's Jonathan Harding wasn't the only one who thought Castro deserved to play the full 90 minutes.

Playing on the wing seemingly helped Castro get over the hump. With his passing skills a notch below Gundogan's and Julian Weigl's, Dortmund's entrenched pairing in the middle of the park, he's not a great fit for a central role in Tuchel's possession-oriented system.

In the Bundesliga, he has completed just 73 per cent of his passes, per WhoScored.com. Weigl's at a lofty 90 per cent and Gundogan at 87.

Castro is an ideal fit, however, for the role as Dortmund's 12th man.

Because of his versatility and experience, he should play a vital role for the club if and when a regular starter misses significant time through injury or suspension.

With a busy schedule until the Bundesliga's winter break, Castro's emergence comes at a very welcome time for Dortmund.

Lars is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.