Maykel Galindo Castañeda (born January 28, 1981 in Villa Clara) is a Cuban former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Career

International

A rising star in the youth ranks of the

Cuban national team Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

, he made his debut in a January 2002 friendly match against Guatemala. Galindo then made the senior squad for the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious ...

, to be played in the United States. He has earned a total of 35 caps, scoring 12 goals. He represented his country in 3 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and played at 3

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

final tournaments.

Defection

After scoring in a 3–1 loss to Costa Rica, Galindo sought asylum in the United States and successfully defected in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. In an interview with Irish radio show Team 33 on Newstalk, he said of his defection: "I made my decision when I went to United States and thought 'I'm not going back to Cuba'. I remember when I called my Mum, I said 'Mum, I'm not going back. I'm going to stay here, fighting'. She's crying but at the end of the day, she said 'You're my son, you're going to be alone over there. Take care, we support you with whatever you do'. And it's been almost 12 years." He confirmed that he had made his first visit to Cuba for more than 11 years in the Autumn of 2016.

Professional

Galindo signed with

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

in 2005 but struggled through injuries during his two seasons there. He then signed with

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

of Major League Soccer prior to the 2007 season and became a regular starter for Chivas. On April 21, 2007, Galindo scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the match in a 4–0 win over

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

. He remained with the club through the 2010 season, though he was briefly loaned to

FC Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second ti ...

of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

in 2010. A new regime hired by Chivas USA before the 2011 season deemed Galindo expendable and his contract option was declined on January 21, 2011. He spent the 2011 preseason training with

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

though Chivas USA still held his rights. FC Dallas finally traded a

Supplemental draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

pick for his rights and signed him on April 1, 2011. Galindo stayed with FC Dallas for the 2011 campaign. At season's end, the club declined his 2012 contract option, and he entered the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Galindo was not selected in the draft and became a free agent.

Honours

Seattle Sounders

Champion (1): 2005

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galindo, Maykel 1981 births Living people People from Villa Clara Province Defecting Cuban footballers Association football forwards Cuban footballers Cuba international footballers FC Villa Clara players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Chivas USA players Tampa Bay Rowdies players FC Dallas players Orange County SC players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Cuban expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Cuban expatriate sportspeople in the United States USL First Division players Major League Soccer players USSF Division 2 Professional League players USL Championship players