José Luis Calderón

José Luis Calderón (born October 24, 1970) is an Argentine former football striker. He played for 17 years between 1989 and 2006 without winning a trophy, but since then, between the ages of 36 and 39 he won four major championships with three teams.

José Luis Calderón
Personal information
Full name José Luis Calderón
Date of birth (1970-10-24) October 24, 1970
Place of birth La Plata, Argentina
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1987–1989 Cambaceres
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1991 Cambaceres 83 (43)
1992–1995 Estudiantes LP 118 (52)
1996–1997 Independiente 41 (23)
1997–1998 Napoli 6 (0)
1998–2000 Independiente 64 (28)
2000–2001 América 40 (8)
2001–2003 Atlas 65 (28)
2003 Independiente 7 (0)
2004–2005 Arsenal de Sarandí 52 (20)
2005–2007 Estudiantes LP 65 (26)
2007–2008 Arsenal de Sarandí 32 (9)
2008–2009 Estudiantes LP 34 (5)
2010 Argentinos Juniors 17 (3)
2010 Cambaceres 1 (1)
Total 625 (244)
National team
1997–1999 Argentina 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Nicknamed Caldera, he is remembered for a 48-metre goal he scored against Boca Juniors in 1999 and for his hat-trick against Estudiantes' derby rivals Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata on October 15, 2006. He retired in 2010, at almost 40 years of age.

Club career

After a promising spell in the youth system of Defensores de Cambaceres, he was transferred to the team he is a fan of, Estudiantes de La Plata. His scoring helped the team return from relegation in 1994. Later, he played for Independiente and Arsenal de Sarandí in Argentina, as well as Atlas and América in Mexico. He also played for Italian side S.S.C. Napoli during the 1997–98 season.

Calderón has had multiple spells with Estudiantes, Independiente and Arsenal de Sarandí. He did not win any major honours until late in his career, winning the 2006 Apertura with Estudiantes and the 2007 Copa Sudamericana with Arsenal.

In July 2008 he rejoined Estudiantes for the third time in his career. He was runner-up with the team in the 2008 Copa Sudamericana, and was part of the squad that won 2009 Copa Libertadores, where he was used exclusively as a substitute.

On November 25, 2009, Calderón announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 39. He explained that his decision came after coach Alejandro Sabella informed him that he was not being considered for the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.[1] Sabella denied that this was indeed the case.[2]

On January 4, 2010, Calderón announced that Argentinos Juniors coach Claudio Borghi convinced him to return to football, after a brief retirement from the game. In an article, Calderón stated, "El Bichi (Borghi) has given me the chance to retire from within a football field".[3] He agreed to play for Argentinos for six months and then possibly retire.

Calderón was one of the key players in the Argentinos' team that won the 2010 Clausura championship. He played in 18 of the club's 19 games and scored 3 goals during their championship winning campaign. He also assisted Matías Caruzzo in a vital 93rd-minute winner goal against Independiente in the penultimate fixture of the campaign.

After winning the 2010 Clausura, Calderón played one last professional game with his first team, Defensores de Cambaceres, in which he scored one last goal from a penalty kick.[4]

International career

Calderón only had a brief interlude with the Argentina national football team. He played in the 1997 Copa América, but a fight with the then coach Marcelo Bielsa diminished his chances of ever playing for the national team again.

Personal life

Calderón's son Lucas is a professional footballer.[5][6][7]

Honours

Club
Estudiantes de La Plata
Arsenal de Sarandí
Argentinos Juniors

Individual

References
  4. "Calderón se fue con el sabor del gol en la boca". Clarín (in Spanish). 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  5. "Lucas Calderón, a prueba en Gimnasia". Inferiores Platenses. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  6. "Calderón: En mi familia son todos de GImnasia y ahora más". Infocielo. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  7. "Mi anhelo es ser campeón con la camiseta de Gimnasia, afirmó Lucas Calderón". El Dia. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
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