Giovanni Dwight Calderón Chaparro (born February 8, 2002) is a footballer who plays as a defender for the MLS Next Pro club New England Revolution II. Born in the mainland United States, he plays for the Puerto Rico national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Giovanni Dwight Calderón Chaparro | ||
| Date of birth | February 8, 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | North Haven, Connecticut, U.S. | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | New England Revolution II | ||
| Number | 66 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2013 | Connecticut FC Impact | ||
| 2014–2015 | FC Westchester | ||
| 2016–2017 | Beachside SC | ||
| 2017–2018 | D.C. United | ||
| 2018–2019 | New York City FC | ||
| 2019–2020 | Beachside SC | ||
| 2020–2021 | Nomads SC | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021 | Navy Midshipmen | 3 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Cal State Fullerton Titans | 40 | (1) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021 | Hartford Athletic | 0 | (0) |
| 2021 | AC Connecticut | 3 | (0) |
| 2022 | Ventura County Fusion | 20 | (0) |
| 2024– | New England Revolution II | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | Puerto Rico U17 | 8 | (0) |
| 2018 | Puerto Rico U20 | 10 | (0) |
| 2019– | Puerto Rico | 7 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:19; March 28, 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:12; March 28, 2023 (UTC) | |||
Early life
editCalderón was born in North Haven, Connecticut to a Colombian father and Puerto Rican mother.[1]
Club career
editEarly career
editCalderón first took an interest in soccer from the age of three, and joined his first club, Connecticut Football Club Impact, at the age of eight, playing alongside ten year olds.[2] He played youth soccer for FC Westchester, before going on to play for a number of academy sides, including professional clubs D.C. United and New York City FC.[3]
College soccer
editCalderón was given a scholarship worth $5,000 from the New York Red Bulls in November 2018.[4]
He played for the United States Naval Academy's soccer team, the Navy Midshipmen, in 2021.[5] He then transferred to the California State University, Fullerton, where he again represented the university in soccer and captaining the side.[3]
Professional
editIn May 2021, he signed a contract with Hartford Athletic of the USL Championship, following a trial in March of the same year. He became the first player in the club's history to sign a USL Academy Contract, which allowed him to keep his collegiate eligibility while remaining eligible to represent Hartford Athletic in USL competitions, having already committed to playing for the Navy Midshipmen in December 2020.[6][7]
Despite this, he went on to play for AC Connecticut in the USL League Two in the same month.[8] He made three appearances for AC Connecticut, before signing with the Ventura County Fusion for 2022 - going on to make five appearances in the league and five in the playoffs.[9] While at Ventura County Fusion, he captained the side and won the 2022 USL 2 National Championship.[10]
On July 6, 2024, he signed with New England Revolution II of MLS Next Pro.[11]
International career
editCalderón made his senior international debut for Puerto Rico on September 6, 2019, in a 4–0 friendly loss to Honduras.
Personal life
editHe has two elder brothers, Joshua and Neekoli, both of whom played soccer, with Joshua also representing the Puerto Rico national football team.[3]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 28 March 2023[12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hartford Athletic | 2021 | USL Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AC Connecticut | 2021 | USL League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Ventura County Fusion | 2022 | USL League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Career total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
- ^ Appearances in the playoffs
International
edit- As of matches played 28 March 2023[13]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Rico | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ Urrea P., Roberto (October 26, 2020). "Joshua Calderón, colombo-estadounidense, con sueño boricua" [Joshua Calderón, Colombian-American, with a Puerto Rican dream]. capsulas.com.co (in Spanish). Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ Vanoni, Maggie (May 24, 2021). "From North Haven and Hartford to the Puerto Rico National Team, Calderón's journey to professional soccer". ctpost.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Giovanni Calderón". fullertontitans.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Red Bulls help surprise high school player with scholarship". eu.usatoday.com. November 28, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Giovanni Calderón". navysports.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ Vanoni, Maggie (May 10, 2021). "North Haven's Giovanni Calderón signs first Hartford Athletic USL Academy Contract". ctpost.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ Sigal, Jonathan (May 12, 2021). "A new pathway? Giovanni Calderon signs with Hartford Athletic". hartfordathletic.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "AC Connecticut statistics". uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Ventura County Fusion statistics". uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Fusion Try To Get Back to Winning Ways vs. Marin Legends Sunday, June 19 at 10:30 am". vcfusion.com. June 18, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Revolution II sign defender Giovanni Calderon". July 6, 2024.
- ^ Giovanni Calderón at Soccerway
- ^ Giovanni Calderón at National-Football-Teams.com