Joshua Javier Calderón Chaparro (born 11 September 1996) is a Puerto Rican soccer player who plays as a defender.

Joshua Calderón
Personal information
Full name Joshua Javier Calderón Chaparro
Date of birth (1996-09-11) 11 September 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth North Haven, Connecticut, United States
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
FC Westchester Academy
St Benedict's PDA
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Iona Gaels 59 (5)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Elm City Express
2019 Patriotas Boyacá 0 (0)
2019–2020 Boca Gibraltar
2020 CD Ferroviario 0 (0)
2021 AC Connecticut 2 (0)
2021 Metropolitan FA
2022 Western Mass Pioneers 2 (0)
International career
2012 Puerto Rico U17 3 (1)
2018–2019 Puerto Rico 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:19, 28 March 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:12, 28 March 2023 (UTC)

Early life edit

Calderón was born in North Haven, Connecticut to a Colombian father and Puerto Rican mother.[1]

College soccer edit

Having played soccer at the St. Benedict's Preparatory School's player development academy, Calderón committed to playing college soccer at the Iona University. He went on to make a total of fifty-nine appearances over four years for the university soccer team, the Iona Gaels, scoring five goals.[2]

Club career edit

After leaving university, Calderón spent a season with Elm City Express in the National Premier Soccer League in 2018.[3] He later travelled to Colombia and went on trial with Boyacá Chicó, before spending six months with Patriotas Boyacá, though he was unable to sign officially with either.[3][4] He also spent three months in Spain with UD Ourense, though this appears to be a trial, as no record of him appearing for the club exists.[4]

Calderón spent time with Colombian side Acción Cívica in 2019, and was briefly signed with Boca Gibraltar in December of the same year, before spending the 2020 pre-season with American side Hartford Athletic.[5] He also trained with English EFL League Two side Cambridge United, before his stay was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic in England.[5]

In October 2020, he was one of five Puerto Rican soccer players to travel to Bolivia to play in the Copa Simón Bolívar with CD Ferroviario.[1][6] He returned to the United States in 2021, playing two games for AC Connecticut in the USL League Two in May 2021.[7]

He signed with Puerto Rican side Metropolitan FA in July 2021, ahead of the club's participation in the CONCACAF Champions League.[5] Later in the same year, he returned to Colombia to train with Categoría Primera A side América de Cali He signed his first professional contract under Juan Carlos Osorio for América de Cali. Because of his affiliation with Metropolitan, the Puerto Rican Federation did not acknowledge him as a free agent and prevented him from debuting in the Colombian 1st Division. [3]

In 2022, he made two appearances for the Western Mass Pioneers in the USL League Two, and received a red card in team's 2–0 U.S. Open Cup win over Brockton.[8]

Personal life edit

His younger brother, Giovanni, is also a soccer player, and has also represented Puerto Rico at international level.[1] His older brother, Neekoli, is a former soccer player.[9]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Patriotas Boyacá 2019 Categoría Primera A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AC Connecticut 2021 USL League Two 2 0 2[a] 0 0 0 4 0
Western Mass Pioneers 2022 USL League Two 2 0 1[a] 0 0 0 3 0
Career total 4 0 3 0 0 0 7 0
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the U.S. Open Cup

International edit

As of matches played 28 January 2019[10]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps - Puerto Rico 2018 3 0
2019 4 0
Total 7 0

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Urrea P., Roberto (26 October 2020). "Joshua Calderón, colombo-estadounidense, con sueño boricua" [Joshua Calderón, Colombian-American, with a Puerto Rican dream]. capsulas.com.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  2. ^ "2017 Men's Soccer Roster: Joshua Calderon". ionagaels.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Este es Joshua Calderón, el defensor central zurdo que entrena con América de Cali" [This is Joshua Calderón, the left-footed central defender who trains with América de Cali]. elpais.com.co (in Spanish). 13 August 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b Jusino, Edwin (16 August 2019). "Joshua Calderón regresa a casa a defender los colores de Puerto Rico" [Joshua Calderón returns home to defend the colors of Puerto Rico]. futbolboricua.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Calderón se une al Metropolitan FA para la Liga Concacaf Scotiabank" [Calderón joins the Metropolitan FA for the Scotiabank Concacaf League]. sincensuradeportiva.com (in Spanish). 21 July 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Rumbo a Bolivia un grupo de futbolistas boricuas" [Heading to Bolivia a group of Puerto Rican soccer players]. lavozdigitalpr.com (in Spanish). 10 October 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  7. ^ "AC Connecticut Statistics". uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Western Mass Pioneers statistics". uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Giovanni Calderón". fullertontitans.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  10. ^ Joshua Calderón at National-Football-Teams.com

External links edit