Miguel Ángel Calero Rodríguez (14 April 1971 – 4 December 2012) was a Colombian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
. He played 50 times for the
Colombia national team between 1995 and 2007.
While playing in Colombia, Calero won two championships, one with
Deportivo Cali
Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A.
Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful football t ...
(1996) and another one with
Atlético Nacional
Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...
(1998). In Mexico, he played 23 tournaments with
Club Pachuca and won 10 cups with the team. At an international level, Calero won four
CONCACAF Champions League
The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...
s and the
Copa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...
in 2006; he also won the
2001 Copa América
The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal.
Brazil were the two-time defending cha ...
with Colombia's national team.
Career
Calero was born in
Ginebra, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, but later became a
Mexican citizen
Nationality in Mexico is defined by multiple laws, including the 30th article of the Constitution of Mexico and other laws. The Constitution's 32nd article specifies the rights granted by Mexican legislation to Mexicans who also possess dual nat ...
.
He played for
Deportivo Cali
Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A.
Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful football t ...
winning the 1996
Copa Mustang Division Mayor: Primera A championship title and
Atlético Nacional
Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...
Colombia, then moving to
C.F. Pachuca,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, where he was captain of the team. With Pachuca, he won four national championships, three CONCACAF Champions Cups, one Copa Sudamericana and one SuperLiga title. He scored a goal against
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
on 11 August 2002.
He played for the
Colombia national team and was a participant at the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...
and at the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...
. In
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
he was part of the
Colombia team that won their first ever
Copa América
The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
championship.
He was known for wearing a baseball cap as a goalkeeper and a bandana, and for having a pair of wings on the back of his jersey around his number, 1. These wings symbolize his nickname, "
El Cóndor".
After a poor performance in
Copa América 2007, which included a 5–0 loss to Paraguay, Calero announced his retirement from the Colombia national team.
On 23 October 2011, Calero played his last game with Pachuca and retired from football.
Health deterioration and death
Calero was hospitalized on 26 November 2012 after he suffered from a
cerebral thrombosis
A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulatio ...
at his home in Pachuca. After suffering from a second cerebral thrombosis episode, Calero was pronounced clinically
brain dead
Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain function, which may include cessation of involuntary activity (e.g., breathing) necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person i ...
on 3 December 2012. For the rest of the day, he remained on life support but the injuries were irreversible. At a public conference on noon of 4 December, Calero was declared dead. His funeral was held in
Pachuca, Hidalgo
Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexican state of Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality for which the ...
, home of his tenured club
CF Pachuca
Club de Fútbol Pachuca is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Pachuca, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football.
Founded in 1892 as ...
. After the ceremonies, Calero was later cremated and his remains were divided with one half of it sent to his native
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, whereas the rest stayed in Mexico.
Honors
Deportivo Cali
*
Categoría Primera A
The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...
: 1996
Atletico Nacional
* Categoría Primera A: 1999
Pachuca
*
Mexican Championship: Invierno 2001, Apertura 2003, Clausura 2006, Clausura 2007.
*
CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...
: 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010.
*
Copa Nissan Sudamericana: 2006
*
North American SuperLiga
The SuperLiga was an annual association football competition in North America between four clubs from the Major League Soccer (United States and Canada) and four clubs from the Primera División (Mexico), the top professional league in each count ...
: 2007
Colombia
*
Copa América
The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
: 2001
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calero, Miguel
1971 births
2012 deaths
Colombian men's footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Colombia men's international footballers
Colombia men's under-20 international footballers
Deportivo Cali footballers
Atlético Nacional footballers
C.F. Pachuca players
Categoría Primera A players
Liga MX players
1998 FIFA World Cup players
1991 Copa América players
1995 Copa América players
1997 Copa América players
1999 Copa América players
2001 Copa América players
2007 Copa América players
2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
Copa Sudamericana–winning players
CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players
Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers for Colombia
Colombian expatriate men's footballers
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico
Colombian emigrants to Mexico
Naturalized citizens of Mexico
Copa América–winning players
Deaths from cerebral thrombosis
Neurological disease deaths in Mexico
Footballers from Valle del Cauca Department
Association football players with retired numbers
20th-century Colombian sportsmen