Nery Castillo Turning A Corner For Aris In Greece

It's been a tough last couple of seasons for Mexican international winger/forward Nery Castillo, but it appears that he's finally getting his career back on track. The speedster got off to a fantastic start as a young player at Olympiakos in Greece, but after his move to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2007, things went downhill. Castillo never stuck at Shakhtar and had unsuccessful loan spells at Manchester City and Dnipro. Then, last summer, Castillo had a disastrous spell as a designated player at Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. Now, Castillo is back in Greece, playing for Aris Thessalonki FC. He hasn't established himself as first choice yet, but if reports are any indication, he's well on his way.

The Mexican national team isn't exactly lacking in quick young wide players, but none of the current regulars are completely established. As talented as Andres Guardado, Giovani Dos Santos, and Carlos Vela are, they all have serious question marks with fitness and club playing time. The same can be said about Pablo Barrera and Efrain Juarez. There's no reason to believe there can't be a place in El Tri's side for Castillo if he's healthy and playing regular first team football.

It's easy to forget that Castillo is only 26 years old. He's still got a lot of football in front of him.