Lillo (footballer)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Castellano and the second or maternal family name is Castro.
Lillo
Personal information
Full name Manuel Castellano Castro[1]
Date of birth (1989-03-27) 27 March 1989[1]
Place of birth Aspe, Spain
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position Full-back
Team information
Current team
 Melilla
Youth career
Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Valencia B 45 (0)
2008–2009 → Murcia (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)
2024–2025 Águilas 15 (0)
2026– Melilla 3 (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 as of 8 February 2026

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

Club career

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] He made 19 appearances for the champions in his second season.[17]

Until his retirement, except for a brief spell in the Israeli Premier League with Maccabi Haifa FC, Lillo competed in the Spanish lower divisions.[18][19][20]

Career statistics

As of match played 9 May 2021[21]
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

Eibar

Osasuna

Spain U20

References

  1. ^ a b c Lillo at AS.com (in Spanish)
  2. ^ Oliver, Chente (12 June 2007). "El descenso del filial, un error innecesario" [Reserves' relegation, unneeded mistake]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 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]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 26 April 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  4. ^ Muñoz, Miguel A. (2 August 2008). "Lillo: "Vengo al Murcia a crecer como futbolista"" [Lillo: "I come to Murcia to grow as a footballer"]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  5. ^ Hernández, Monserrate (3 June 2010). "El club anuncia el fichaje de Amado, Lillo y Arturo" [Club announces signing of Amado, Lillo and Arturo]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Valencia 2–0 Almeria". ESPN Soccernet. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ^ "El Elche ficha a Lillo" [Elche sign Lillo] (in Spanish). Info Expres. 27 May 2010. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  8. ^ Laynez, P. (26 August 2010). "Lillo, ex del Valencia, ficha por filial" [Lillo, formerly with Valencia, signs with reserves]. Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  9. ^ Seserino, P. (9 November 2012). "Alcoyano cierra la plantilla con el fichaje de Manuel Castellano 'Lillo'" [Alcoyano complete squad with signing of Manuel Castellano 'Lillo']. Diario Información (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  10. ^ "El Eibar refuerza su zaga con el lateral Lillo, del Alcoyano" [Eibar bolster defence with full-back Lillo, from Alcoyano]. El Correo (in Spanish). 18 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Presentación oficial de Lillo y Jaime Jiménez" [Official presentation of Lillo and Jaime Jiménez] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  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]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 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 Sanzol, Pablo (18 June 2019). "Los goles del Osasuna campeón" [The goals of champions Osasuna]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  18. ^ Romera, Luis (5 September 2020). "Lillo ficha por el Numancia para las próximas dos temporadas" [Lillo signs for Numancia for the next two seasons]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  19. ^ "El San Fernando CD anuncia un segundo fichaje: el experimentado central Lillo Castellano" [San Fernando CD announce a second signing: experienced stopper Lillo Castellano] (in Spanish). Andalucía Información. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  20. ^ Iborra, Javier; Lorda, Iñaki (13 January 2026). "El lateral del ascenso de Osasuna continúa su carrera en la UD Melilla" [The Osasuna promotion full-back continues his career at UD Melilla]. Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  21. ^ Lillo at Soccerway
  22. ^ Ramos, Gabi (8 June 2014). "¡Campeones de Segunda!" [Segunda champions!] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  23. ^ "ITA – ESP 1:2 (0:0)" (PDF). Pescara 2009. 4 July 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
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