Juan Castano

When Juan Castaño made his debut for Once Caldas in 2025, it capped a route into professional football that took longer than most of his teammates', and ran through countries few Colombian defenders pass through on their way up.

Castaño started out with amateur and youth sides in Colombia, including Coocalpro, Formadores and La Equidad, before his career took him abroad rather than through the usual domestic ladder. Between 2021 and 2023 he played for Ocotal in Nicaragua, a spell that gave him his first regular taste of senior football. In 2023 he moved on again, this time to the Dominican Republic, turning out for Delfines Del Este and Atlético Pantoja.

He returned to Colombian football in January 2024, joining Boyacá Chicó on a transfer. That stint was brief: by July of the same year he was a free agent and signed for Orsomarso, where he settled into a regular run in the side, making 20 appearances.

Once Caldas signed Castaño on a free transfer at the start of 2025, and he made his debut for the club that year, wearing number 16. He has not featured for Colombia's national team, and his career so far has been built on accumulating minutes across several leagues rather than on individual honours.