Francisco Javier Calvo Quesada (born 8 July 1992) is a Costa Rican 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 le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club) is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya. They are better known as Konyaspor. In 1922 Konyaspor were founded with the name Konya Gençlerbirliği and have played at their current home stadium ...

and the Costa Rica national team.

Early life

After starting with

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

as a youth player from 2005 to 2010, Calvo moved to the United States to study at

San Jacinto College San Jacinto College is a public community college in the Greater Houston with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Channelview, De ...

after getting a scholarship and played football at university level during that period.

Club career

On his return to Costa Rica in 2011, Calvo played for

Herediano Club Sport Herediano (), commonly known as Herediano and nicknamed El Team, is a Costa Rican multisport club based in Heredia, Heredia province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Herediano is mostly known for its association ...

before a stint at Pérez Zeledón where he scored 5 goals in 21 matches. In January 2013 he moved abroad to play for then Danish champions

Nordsjælland North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...

but he returned to Herediano in summer 2013. In January 2015, Calvo joined

Santos de Guápiles Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos (DJ) (born 1971), Italian DJ * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos (footballe ...

as a loan. In late May, Francisco joined Saprissa. In his first season with Saprissa, he appeared in 39 matches and scored five goals. The following season, he continued to be a set-piece threat as he scored 9 goals in 24 matches playing as a defender. On 27 December 2016, Calvo joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Soc ...

. In 2018, Calvo was selected as an MLS All-Star, becoming the first Minnesota United player in club history to receive the honor. On 3 May 2019, Calvo was traded to Chicago Fire. Following the 2021 season, Calvo's contract option was declined by Chicago. On 26 January 2022, Calvo signed as a free agent with

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. On 5 March 2022, Calvo scored two late set piece goals for a ten-man San Jose team to salvage a 3–3 draw at home against the Columbus Crew. This performance led to him being named in the MLS Team of the Week. He now plays at Konyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig.

International career

On 29 May 2011, Calvo made his debut with the Costa Rica senior team in San José in a friendly game against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

. He was also part of the Costa Rica squad at the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil who claimed their fifth title. At a FI ...

. Calvo was also a reserve call-up for Costa Rica at the

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on June ...

, and later impressed senior head coach

Ricardo La Volpe Ricardo Antonio La Volpe Guarchoni (; born 6 February 1952) is an Argentine former professional footballer and manager. He is a World Cup-winning goalkeeper who played for most of his career in Argentina and Mexico. As a coach, La Volpe was ...

to win him a call-up for the Costa Rica squad at the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

. He made his debut in the competition in a game against Colombia, which ended in a 1–0 loss, and played in a 2–0 win against

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. also Francisco played

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in a 3–0 loss. In May 2018, Calvo was named in Costa Rica’s 23-man squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

in Russia. He later reprised the same role at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wor ...

in Qatar.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.''

Honours

CS Herediano *

Liga FPD The Primera División of Costa Rica, commonly known as Fútbol de Primera División (FPD), and Liga Promerica for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Unión de Clubes ...

: Clausura 2012 Deportivo Saprissa *

: Apertura 2015, Apertura 2016 Individual * MLS All-Star:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

* CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calvo, Francisco 1992 births Living people Footballers from San José, Costa Rica Men's association football defenders Costa Rican footballers Costa Rica men's international footballers Costa Rica men's under-20 international footballers C.S. Herediano footballers A.D. Municipal Pérez Zeledón footballers FC Nordsjælland players Deportivo Saprissa players Santos de Guápiles F.C. footballers Minnesota United FC players Chicago Fire FC players San Jose Earthquakes players Konyaspor footballers Liga FPD players Danish Superliga players Major League Soccer players Süper Lig players Costa Rican expatriate footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Turkey Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in the United States 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 Copa América players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Junior college men's soccer players in the United States