Joshua Calderón

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

Early life

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

College soccer

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.

Club career

After leaving university, Calderón spent a season with Elm City Express in the National Premier Soccer League in 2018. 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. 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.

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. He also trained with English EFL League Two side Cambridge United, before his stay was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic in England.

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. He returned to the United States in 2021, playing two games for AC Connecticut in the USL League Two in May 2021.

He signed with Puerto Rican side Metropolitan FA in July 2021, ahead of the club's participation in the CONCACAF Champions League. 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.

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.

Personal life

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

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Calderón, Joshua
1996 births
Living people
Sportspeople from New Haven County, Connecticut
Soccer players from Connecticut
Iona University alumni
Puerto Rican men's footballers
Puerto Rico men's international footballers
American men's soccer players
American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent
American sportspeople of Colombian descent
Men's association football defenders
USL League Two players
Iona Gaels men's soccer players
F.C. Boca Gibraltar players
AC Connecticut players
Western Mass Pioneers players
American expatriate men's soccer players
American expatriate sportspeople in Gibraltar
Expatriate men's footballers in Gibraltar