José Ignacio Castillo Álvarez[1] (born 11 April 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Despite this, he was not initially allowed to try his luck into professional football due to his lack of a European Union passport, and consequently opted to join Salentinian Serie D side Nardò, where he scored 17 goals.
[2] For the 2006–07 season Castillo agreed to join Serie B side Frosinone in a loan deal, but failed to impress, scoring only 5 goals in 30 matches and being mostly featured as a substitute during the campaign.
For the following season he signed for newly promoted Serie B club Pisa and presented himself by scoring two winning goals to Bari in his debut match with the nerazzurri.
After the end of his contract, Castillo announced his retirement from playing in order to start a coaching career; however, he reverted his decision later in April 2013 to accept a short-term contract till the end of season with Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Trapani, who were searching for an emergency striker to strengthen their promotion hopes.