Bundesliga starter Castañeda keeps US and Colombia options open

Santiago Castañeda, 21, has started every match for promoted SC Paderborn and says either the USMNT or Colombia could land his senior international future.

Santiago Castañeda has turned a third-division move in Germany into a starting role with Bundesliga newcomer SC Paderborn, and the 21-year-old midfielder from Tampa, Florida, is keeping his senior international future open between the United States and Colombia.

The midfielder passed up the chance to play at the University of Michigan in 2023 and signed instead with MSV Duisburg in the 3. Liga. Moving abroad for the first time to a country whose language he did not speak, he still earned a regular place in the Duisburg side at 18.

His route was unusual even before Europe. Castañeda left Tampa Bay United, a club that now competes in MLS Next, to play high school soccer, and he told USA TODAY Sports that few players travel a road like his.

He also believes Germany's third tier is widely underrated, particularly among American fans who know little about the German game, and he described the division as a strong, intense standard.

One season with Duisburg was enough to earn a transfer to Paderborn in the 2. Bundesliga, where he again became a starter. Paderborn finished third in the second division last season and beat Bundesliga club Wolfsburg in a promotion-relegation playoff, returning to the top flight for the first time in six years and for only the third time in club history.

A 6-foot-3 holding midfielder, Castañeda has held his spot through the latest step up, starting all four of Paderborn's Bundesliga matches this season. He admitted his first game at that level left him more drained than any match he had played, but shortly before the international break he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim that delivered Paderborn's opening win of the campaign.

Defense remains the foundation of his reputation, though he wants a more rounded game. Castañeda played as a No. 8 or No. 10 in his youth before being used in a deeper role as a professional, and he says he would like to take more risks going forward this season.

His international situation is unresolved. Eligible for the United States and Colombia, he says neither senior national team has been in touch, and his only representative experience so far is a pair of U.S. under-21 call-ups, in late 2025 and the summer of 2026. He was not part of Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT squad this month despite the coach calling in several new faces, and he hopes for a chance in the November window.

Born and raised in Tampa to Colombian parents, with his father Carlos a former professional player in Colombia, Castañeda says both countries feel like home and suggests the federation that shows interest first could settle the choice. American fans can watch him on Wednesday, Sept. 30, when Paderborn faces D.C. United in a friendly at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.