Darren Caldeira (born 19 September 1987) is an Indian former professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

er who played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He serves as director of football for

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು.ಎಫ್.ಸಿ) is an Indian professional football club based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club w ...

. Caldeira has also worked as a commentator in the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

for Star Sports.

Career

Early career

Born in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Maharashtra, India Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to the so ...

, Caldeira spent his youth career with

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, bef ...

. He later spent a year with the under-18 team of Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

. Then in 2010, after Mahindra United disbanded, Caldeira signed with

Air India FC Air India Football Club is a football section of the same-named Indian institutional multi-sports club. Founded by Anand Prajapati in 1952, the club is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Sponsored by Air India, the club previously played in the Mu ...

of the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

. After spending two seasons with Air India Caldeira signed with

Mumbai FC Mumbai Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The club predominantly competed in I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. Mumbai also participated in MDFA Elite League. The club ...

Bengaluru FC

In July 2013, it was announced that Caldeira had signed with new direct-entry side

. He then made his debut for the side on 29 September 2013 against

Rangdajied United F.C. Rangdajied United Football Club (formerly known as Ar-Hima) is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Mawngap-Mawphlang, in the south-west of Shillong, Khasi Hills, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. The club was founded ...

in which he started and played the full 90 minutes as Bengaluru won the match 3–0. He was signed by Bengaluru FC again in August 2016 for a four-months deal, and was released by the club in November 2016.

Mumbai

In 2015, Caldeira signed for

Chennai City

In 2017, Caldeira was signed by new

entrant

Chennai City FC Chennai City Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club predominantly competed in the I-League, which was then highest division of Indian football league system. They have also appeared in th ...

and made his first appearance for the club as a substitute in the first game against Minerva Punjab F.C.

ATK

In September 2017 he joined ATK of

. This was his first ever stint in ISL. He didn't really have an ideal season for ATK and couldn't do anything to turn around their disappointing campaign. He was given a lot of opportunities by manager Ashley Westwood and even though he did well to keep things moving in midfield, he lacked an attacking spark.

Mohun Bagan

In July 2018 it was announced that

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

have signed caldeira for the upcoming

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...

seasons.

Final years at Kerala Blasters

In 2019, Caldeira was signed by

side

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of football in India. The club was esta ...

. He was affected by a

sports injury Sports injuries occur during participation in sports or exercise in general. Globally, around 40% of individuals engage in some form of regular exercise or organized sports, with upwards of 60% of US high school students participating in one or ...

, and only made one appearance during the season. At the age of 33, he retired from professional on 31 December 2020.

Career statistics

References

External links

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Darren Caldeira
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldeira, Darren 1987 births Living people Footballers from Mumbai Indian men's footballers 21st-century Indian sportsmen Air India FC players Mumbai FC players Bengaluru FC players Men's association football midfielders I-League players Kerala Blasters FC players Indian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Indian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Association football commentators