Nery Castillo: Is He an Option to Consider for the Mexican National Team?

Mexico is currently producing quality soccer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Although the CONCACAF region is not known for its strong competition, the team had never qualified with such ease out of the group stage, and even had an impressive 4-1 win over Costa Rica.

The backbone of the team is primarily the same of that in the 2010 World Cup, which has allowed its young "Golden Era" players (Javier Hernandez, Gio Dos Santos, Hector Moreno, Efrain Juarez, and Pablo Barrera) to grow alongside experienced veterans such as Rafael Marquez, Gerardo Torrado, and Carlos Salcido. But in this team with chemistry, idea and hunger to succeed, is there any room for the once prodigy of Mexican soccer, Nery Castillo?

Nery Castillo's international career can be best described as a roller coaster. After being allegedly bribed by Hugo Sanchez to choose to play for Mexico over both Greece and Uruguay, he made his official debut against Iran in 2007 and afterwards had a lackluster Gold Cup which saw Mexico come in second.

The following month in Copa America was where Castillo came in to his own and was among the tournament’s top scorers. Mexico had an impressive run with Castillo up top and boasted strong wins over Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, eventually finishing third. He was among that summer's biggest transfer targets, eventually moving from Olympiacos to Ukraine giant Shakhtar Dontesk for a club record fee of 20 million euros. This is seen as his biggest mistake, being loaned out unsuccessfully to clubs Manchester City, Dnipro, and even MLS side Chicago Fire.

Internationally for Mexico, he was no longer producing results as well. He had problems on and off the field as well as with the media, which saw his call-ups as questionable by many. Eventually, he stopped being considered and was not even seen as an option for the 2010 World Cup.

In January 2011, a ray of hope appeared which may have saved Castillo's career. What looked to be another doomed loan to Greek side Aris, actually revived him. He began getting minutes as a sub at first and would become a key player on the team being named player of the match various times. Both he and the club wish to stick together for next season which, if that happens, could see him getting regular playing time and a resurgence of his abilities shown in Copa America.

While the talent is definitely there, the big question is whether he is needed or would fit within Mexico's style of play. Currently, Mexico's manager plays a 4-2-3-1 formation. He likes his left wing, right wing, and center attacking mid to constantly overlap and exchange positions that allows them to attack defenders from numerous sides and confuse. This style of formation fits Nery very well as he is not a natural striker such as Chicharito. He likes to attack the center of the field coming in from wide and opening up spaces in the defense, much like Gio dos Santos and Angel Reyna do.

But with dos Santos, Guardado, Barrera, Vela and Reyna all able to play his position, Castillo might not have room on the roster. I do see dos Santos obviously as the undoubted starter as supporting striker for Mexico, but do believe Castillo can be used as a very strong impact substitute. He has that X-factor in him that brings creativity and ingenuity that can help late in a game.

Had he been called up to the Copa America, we would have been able to see if he has truly matured as a player and can bring something to the table. There are a lot of talented players right now, but Castillo definitely has what it takes to at least fight for a position on the team if he gets playing time.

He has made important strides for his career this past six months and hopefully he can continue. If he does, there is no reason why he should be taken out of the picture completely when we all know what he is capable of. Just think Copa America against Brazil, and you will be reminded of it.