Luís Castro, the Levante coach who backed Espí and handed a 15-year-old his LaLiga debut

Levante turned to Luís Castro in December 2025 with the team bottom of Spain's top flight on 10 points after 17 matches. The Portuguese coach had been dismissed by Nantes just a week earlier. What looked like another slide toward the Segunda División became a survival mission built on a simple idea: give young players a starting role when they show they are ready.

• Luís Castro joined Levante in December 2025, seven days after leaving Nantes.
• Carlos Espí became a regular starter, scored 11 goals and later moved for 25 million euros.
• Marc Santos made his LaLiga debut at 15 against Espanyol, the third-youngest in competition history.
• Diego Moyano, a 14-year-old right-back, has joined first-team training.
• Levante host Atlético Madrid at Orriols looking to maintain their attacking approach.

The Carlos Espí decision that changed Levante's season

Castro's most visible call was handing a starting place to Carlos Espí, a 20-year-old striker who had not been getting consistent opportunities. His response was immediate: eleven goals, top-flight survival and a later transfer worth 25 million euros. The Espí case was not luck, but the application of a rule the Portuguese coach has repeated since arriving at Buñol.

One of my rules, and the players know it, is that if I have a 29-year-old and a 19-year-old at the same level, the younger one plays.

For Castro, age is not a barrier when performance is there. His attention to Levante's academy goes beyond the reserve team: he has brought teenage left-back Marc Santos into the fold and opened the first-team door to Diego Moyano, a 14-year-old right-back still in his first year as a cadete.

Marc Santos, a LaLiga debut at 15 years old

In the opening league match of the season, against Espanyol, Castro handed a debut to Marc Santos, a left-back aged just 15. He became the third-youngest player to appear in the history of Spain's Primera División. The teenager has remained in first-team dynamics since then, proof of the coaching staff's confidence in a profile that combines boldness and physical readiness.

Club sources say the academy director recommended Santos when the reserve and youth options did not cover the position, and the coach raised no objections. That ease when promoting young players defines his approach to the lower ranks.

From teacher to developer at Benfica and the benches of France

Castro was never a professional footballer. He began coaching five-year-olds and spent years combining teaching with football. At 30, after agreeing with his wife to focus only on the game, he moved to Saudi Arabia to coach Al Nassr's Under-15 side. He later returned to Vitória de Guimarães as coach and coordinator, helping the club place players in every youth category of the Portugal national setup.

The major breakthrough came at Benfica, where he coached Joao Neves, Gonçalo Ramos and Martim Neto while reaching two UEFA Youth League finals. He lost in 2020 against Raúl González's Real Madrid Castilla and won in 2022 with a 6-0 victory over RB Salzburg. France followed, and his work at Dunkerque raised his profile: he left the club near promotion to Ligue 1 and in the Coupe de France semi-finals after pinning Luis Enrique's PSG with a 2-0 half-time lead.

Mourinho's influence, Fonseca's style and the plan against Atlético

Castro grew up admiring José Mourinho, whom he regards as the best Portuguese manager in history. Over time, his football has moved closer to the ideas of Paulo Fonseca, the current Lyon coach. At Levante he has built a side that rarely stops looking at the opposition goal, avoids sitting on results and maintains a recognisable approach even against stronger opponents.

Nobody plays football because they like running. My aim is for the players to enjoy it. And the fans too.

That idea will be tested at Orriols against Atlético Madrid, a team used to punishing open spaces and imposing a high physical tempo. Levante arrive with survival secured and a project still taking shape, one in which minutes for young players are not an anecdote but the backbone.

What Levante fans can expect from Castro's project

The Portuguese coach does not hide that his path has been longer because he did not play professionally. He acknowledges personal sacrifices and says he does not need to be in the Champions League to feel fulfilled. His challenge in Valencia is to keep Levante in the top flight while the Buñol academy becomes a steady source of first-team players.

The presence of Moyano and Santos in daily training suggests the commitment to youth is not a short-term fix. Castro has laid out a visible plan: pick those who perform, regardless of age, and sustain an ambitious style of play that connects with the crowd.